English–Acholi Dictionary

Browse common English words and their Acholi translations, with parts of speech and example sentences. Use this dictionary to look up everyday vocabulary or as a starting point for learning Acholi.

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Browse common Acholi vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Translation	Example
I	pronoun	an	I am here now. An atye kany kombedi.
you	pronoun	in	You are my friend. In itye larem na.
he	pronoun	en	He is at home. En tye i gang.
she	pronoun	en	She is my mother. En min awa.
we	pronoun	wa	We are going home. Wa tye ka cito gang.
they	pronoun	gi	They are in school. Gi tye i cukul.
what	pronoun	ango	What do you want now? I mito ango kombedi?
where	adverb	kwene	Where is your house? Gang mamegi tye kwene?
when	adverb	karangene	When will you come? I bino karangene?
who	pronoun	nga	Who is at the door? Nga tye i dog gang?
why	adverb	pi ngo	Why are you sad? I tye ki cwercwiny pi ngo?
how	adverb	nining	How do you know? I ngeyo nining?
to be	verb	bedo	They are very happy. Gi bedo ki yomcwiny matek.
to have	verb	bedo ki	I have a book. An abedo ki buk.
to do	verb	timo	We do the work. Wa timo tic.
to go	verb	cito	They go to school. Gi cito i cukul.
to come	verb	bino	Please come here now. Tim ber ibin kany kombedi.
to see	verb	nen	I see the moon. An aneno dwe.
to know	verb	ngeyo	She knows my name. En ngeyo nying na.
to think	verb	pongo	I think about home. An apongo pi gang.
to want	verb	mito	They want more water. Gi mito pi mapol.
to need	verb	dwongo	We need your help. Wa dwongo kony mamegi.
to make	verb	timo	She makes good tea. En timo ca ber.
to take	verb	mako	Take the book home. Mak buk icit kwede gang.
to give	verb	miyo	Give me some water. Miya pi manok.
to say	verb	waco	He says the truth. En waco ada.
to tell	verb	wac	Tell me your name. Waci nying mamegi.
to ask	verb	penyo	I ask one question. An apenyo lapeny acel.
to find	verb	nongo	We found the child. Wa onongo latin.
to look	verb	ngiyo	Look at the sky. Ngiyi polo.
to use	verb	tiyo ki	We use this table. Wa tiyo ki mesa man.
to work	verb	tic	They work every day. Gi tic ceng acel acel.
to eat	verb	cam	The child eats rice. Latin camo bele.
to drink	verb	mat	I drink cold water. An amat pi ngic.
to sleep	verb	nino	The baby sleeps well. Latino nino maber.
to walk	verb	wuot	We walk to school. Wa wuot i cukul.
to run	verb	ringo	The boy runs fast. Labwony ringo oyot.
to read	verb	kwan	She reads a book. En kwan buk.
to write	verb	coyo	I write my name. An acoyo nying na.
to speak	verb	loko	They speak Acholi well. Gi loko Acoli maber.
to listen	verb	winyo	Listen to the teacher. Winyi lapwonya.
to hear	verb	winyo	I hear the music. An awinyo wer.
to buy	verb	wilo	We buy fresh food. Wa wilo cam manyen.
to sell	verb	culo	They sell fish here. Gi culo rec kany.
to pay	verb	culo	I pay the money. An aculo cente.
to help	verb	kony	Please help the child. Tim ber ikony latin.
to love	verb	mar	I love my family. An amar familia na.
to live	verb	bedo	We live in Gulu. Wa bedo i Gulu.
to die	verb	tho	Old trees die slowly. Yat macon tho mot mot.
to learn	verb	kwan	Children learn at school. Lutino kwan i cukul.
to teach	verb	pwonyo	They teach the children. Gi pwonyo lutino.
to open	verb	yab	Open the door now. Yab dog gang kombedi.
to close	verb	loro	Close the window please.
person	noun	dano	That person is kind. Dano ma tye ka eni kica.
man	noun	lacoo	The man is strong. Lacoo tye ki tek.
woman	noun	dako	The woman is cooking. Dako tye ka tedo cam.
child	noun	latin	The child is sleeping. Latin tye ka nino.
boy	noun	labwony	The boy is running. Labwony tye ka ringo.
girl	noun	nyako	The girl is reading. Nyako tye ka kwan.
family	noun	familia	My family is large. Familia na dit.
mother	noun	min	My mother is here. Min awa tye kany.
father	noun	won	My father works hard. Won awa tic matek.
friend	noun	larem	My friend came yesterday. Larem na bino i dyer.
house	noun	gang	The house is new. Gang manyen.
home	noun	gang	We are going home. Wa tye ka cito gang.
school	noun	cukul	The school is big. Cukul dit.
country	noun	piny	Our country is peaceful. Piny wa tye ki kwo muber.
world	noun	piny	The world is changing. Piny tye ka lokke.
street	noun	yo	The street is busy. Yo tye ki lwak mapol.
room	noun	ot	The room is clean. Ot leng.
time	noun	cawa	Time goes quickly. Cawa cito oyot.
day	noun	ceng	Today is a hot day. Tin ceng lyeto.
night	noun	dyewor	The night is cold. Dyewor ngic.
morning	noun	odiko	I walk every morning. An awuot odiko weng.
evening	noun	otino	We drink tea this evening. Wa mato ca otino man.
week	noun	wiki	I work every week. An atic wiki weng.
month	noun	dwe	This month is busy. Dwe man tye ki tic mapol.
year	noun	mwaka	This year is good. Mwaka man ber.
today	adverb	tin	I am happy today. An atye ki yomcwiny tin.
tomorrow	adverb	kiny	We will come tomorrow. Wa bino kiny.
yesterday	adverb	dyer	She came yesterday morning. En bino dyer odiko.
now	adverb	kombedi	Come here now please. Bin kany kombedi tim ber.
sun	noun	ceng	The sun is hot. Ceng lyeto.
moon	noun	dwe	The moon is bright tonight. Dwe lengo dyewor man.
star	noun	acer	I see one star. An aneno acer acel.
sky	noun	polo	The sky is blue. Polo tye rangi blue.
earth	noun	piny	The earth is our home. Piny en gang wa.
fire	noun	mac	The fire is hot. Mac lyeto.
water	noun	pi	The water is clean. Pi leng.
rain	noun	kot	The rain is heavy. Kot dit.
wind	noun	yamo	The wind is strong. Yamo tye ki tek.
tree	noun	yat	That tree is tall. Yat man bor.
mountain	noun	got	The mountain is high. Got malo.
river	noun	aala	The river has much water. Aala tye ki pi mapol.
food	noun	cam	The food is ready. Cam dong otayari.
bread	noun	mukaati	I ate bread today. An acamo mukaati tin.
rice	noun	bele	The rice is hot. Bele lyeto.
meat	noun	ringo	We are cooking meat. Wa tye ka tedo ringo.
fish	noun	rec	The fish is fresh. Rec manyen.
egg	noun	tol	The child ate an egg. Latin acamo tol.
milk	noun	cak	The baby drinks milk. Latino mato cak.
fruit	noun	nyig yat	We buy fresh fruit. Wa wilo nyig yat manyen.
tea	noun	ca	She drinks tea daily. En mato ca ceng acel acel.
coffee	noun	kawa	I drink coffee now. An amat kawa kombedi.
head	noun	wiye	My head hurts today. Wiye na tye ka two tin.
eye	noun	wang	Her eye is red. Wanggi tye makwar.
ear	noun	iti	My ear hears well. Iti na winyo maber.
mouth	noun	dog	Open your mouth wide. Yab dogi matek.
nose	noun	um	My nose is cold. Um na ngic.
hand	noun	cing	Wash your hands now. Lwok cingi kombedi.
foot	noun	tye	My foot hurts badly. Tye na two matek.
heart	noun	cwiny	Her heart is calm. Cwinygi opore.
name	noun	nying	My name is Ocen. Nying na Ocen.
book	noun	buk	This book is new. Buk man manyen.
word	noun	lok	That word is difficult. Lok man pe yot.
language	noun	leb	Acholi is a language. Acoli leb acel.
money	noun	cente	I have no money. An pe abedo ki cente.
work	noun	tic	This work is hard. Tic man pe yot.
love	noun	mar	Love brings people together. Mar coko dano kacel.
music	noun	wer	The music is beautiful. Wer ber ahinya.
story	noun	lok	Her story is true. Lokgi ada.
way	noun	yo	This way is easy. Yo man yot.
thing	noun	gin	That thing is mine. Gin ma eni en mara.
life	noun	kwo	Life is very important. Kwo pire tek ahinya.
door	noun	dog gang	The door is open. Dog gang oyabe.
table	noun	mesa	The table is clean. Mesa leng.
chair	noun	kom	The chair is broken. Kom oballe.
car	noun	motoka	The car is new. Motoka manyen.
good	adjective	ber	This food is good. Cam man ber.
bad	adjective	rac	The water smells bad. Pi man ngwec rac.
big	adjective	dit	We have a big house. Wa bedo ki gang madit.
small	adjective	matidi	The child is small. Latin matidi.
new	adjective	manyen	I bought a new book. An awilo buk manyen.
old	adjective	macon	That house is old. Gang man macon.
long	adjective	bor	The road is long. Yo bor.
short	adjective	kitidi	The rope is short.
high	adjective	malo	The mountain is high. Got malo.
low	adjective	piny	The table is low. Mesa tye piny.
hot	adjective	lyeto	The tea is hot. Ca lyeto.
cold	adjective	ngic	The water is cold. Pi ngic.
happy	adjective	ki yomcwiny	The children are happy. Lutino tye ki yomcwiny.
sad	adjective	ki cwercwiny	She feels sad today. En tye ki cwercwiny tin.
beautiful	adjective	ber	The girl is beautiful. Nyako ber.
easy	adjective	yot	This work is easy. Tic man yot.
fast	adjective	oyot	The car is fast. Motoka cito oyot.
slow	adjective	mot mot	The old man walks slow. Lacoo macon wuot mot mot.
right	adjective	atir	Your answer is right. Damo mamegi atir.
wrong	adjective	pe atir	That answer is wrong. Damo man pe atir.
important	adjective	pire tek	Water is important for life. Pi pire tek pi kwo.
true	adjective	ada	This story is true. Lok man ada.
full	adjective	opye	The cup is full.
empty	adjective	ono	The bottle is empty.
young	adjective	matidi	The mother is young. Min matidi.
strong	adjective	ki tek	That man is strong. Lacoo man tye ki tek.
weak	adjective	pe ki tek	The child is weak. Latin pe tye ki tek.
red	adjective	makwar	The flower is red.
black	adjective	marac	The cow is black. Dyang marac.
white	adjective	maleng	The paper is white.
yes	interjection	ee	Yes, I know him. Ee, an angeyo en.
no	interjection	pe	No, I do not know. Pe, an pe angeyo.
not	adverb	pe	I am not ready. An pe atayari.
and	conjunction	ki	Mother and father are here. Min ki won tye kany.
or	conjunction	onyo	Tea or coffee is fine. Ca onyo kawa ber.
but	conjunction	ento	I came, but she left. An abino, ento en ocito.
if	conjunction	ka	If you come, we eat. Ka ibino, wa cam.
because	conjunction	pien	I stayed because it rained. An abedo pien kot ocobo.
with	preposition	ki	I came with my friend. An abino ki larem na.
without	preposition	ma pe ki	He left without money. En ocito ma pe ki cente.
for	preposition	pi	This gift is for you. Miyo man pi in.
from	preposition	ki i	She came from home. En bino ki i gang.
to	preposition	i	We went to school. Wa ocito i cukul.