Krio–English Dictionary

Look up Krio words and get English translations, with parts of speech and example sentences. Browse the common-word table below or type a Krio word into the lookup tool.

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Browse common Krio vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Translation	Example
a	pronoun	I	A don rɛdi naw. I am ready now.
yu	pronoun	you	Yu na mi padi. You are my friend.
i	pronoun	he	I de na os. He is at home.
i	pronoun	she	I gladi bad. She is very happy.
wi	pronoun	we	Wi de go os. We are going home.
dɛn	pronoun	they	Dɛn de wok ɛvri de. They work every day.
wetin	pronoun	what	Wetin yu want? What do you want?
usay	adverb	where	Usay mi buk de? Where is my book?
usaytin	adverb	when
udat	pronoun	who	Udat de na doa? Who is at the door?
wetin mek	adverb	why	Wetin mek yu de kray? Why are you crying?
aw	adverb	how	Aw yu sabi? How do you know?
bi	verb	to be	Dɛn go bi ya. They will be here.
get	verb	to have	A get tu buk dɛn. I have two books.
du	verb	to do	Wi de du wi wok. We do our work.
go	verb	to go	A de go skul. I go to school.
kam	verb	to come	Plis kam wit mi. Please come with me.
si	verb	to see	A si di mun. I see the moon.
sabi	verb	to know	Dɛn sabi di stori. They know the story.
tink	verb	to think	A tink se yu rayt. I think you are right.
want	verb	to want	Wi want moa wata. We want more water.
nid	verb	to need	A nid yu ɛlp. I need your help.
mek	verb	to make	I de mek gud bret. She makes good bread.
tek	verb	to take	Tek dis bag go os. Take this bag home.
gi	verb	to give	Gi mi di buk. Give me the book.
se	verb	to say	No se dat. Do not say that.
tel	verb	to tell	Tel mi di trut. Tell me the truth.
aks	verb	to ask	Aks di ticha naw. Ask the teacher now.
fɛn	verb	to find	A dɔn fɛn mi ki dɛn. I found my keys.
luk	verb	to look	Luk di skay. Look at the sky.
yus	verb	to use	Yus dis klin kɔp. Use this clean cup.
wok	verb	to work	Dɛn de wok na tɔn. They work in town.
it	verb	to eat	Wi de it res ɛvri de. We eat rice daily.
drɛŋk	verb	to drink	Drɛŋk smɔl kol wata. Drink some cold water.
slip	verb	to sleep	Di pikin de slip bifo. The child sleeps early.
waka	verb	to walk	Wi de waka ɛvri monin. We walk every morning.
ron	verb	to run	Di bɔy de ron fas. The boy runs fast.
rid	verb	to read	A de rid dis buk. I read this book.
rayt	verb	to write	Rayt yu nem ya. Write your name here.
tok	verb	to speak	I de tok fayn bad. She speaks very well.
lisin	verb	to listen	Lisin di myuzik. Listen to the music.
yeri	verb	to hear	A de yeri di ren. I hear the rain.
bay	verb	to buy	Dɛn de bay fresh fish. They buy fresh fish.
sel	verb	to sell	Wi de sel frut ya. We sell fruit here.
pe	verb	to pay	Pe di mɔni naw. Pay the money now.
ɛlp	verb	to help	Plis ɛlp di pikin. Please help the child.
lɔv	verb	to love	A lɔv mi famli. I love my family.
liv	verb	to live	Dɛn de liv nia skul. They live near school.
day	verb	to die
lan	verb	to learn	Pikin dɛn de lan na skul. Children learn at school.
tich	verb	to teach	Dɛn de tich Ingrish ya. They teach English here.
opin	verb	to open	Opin di doa sɔlsɔl. Open the door slowly.
klos	verb	to close
pɔsin	noun	person	Ɛvri pɔsin nid wata. Every person needs water.
man	noun	man	Di man tranga. The man is strong.
uman	noun	woman
pikin	noun	child	Di pikin de slip. The child is sleeping.
bɔy	noun	boy	Di bɔy de ron na osayd. The boy runs outside.
gel	noun	girl	Di gel de rid fayn. The girl reads well.
famli	noun	family	Mi famli big. My family is large.
mama	noun	mother	Mi mama de ya. My mother is here.
papa	noun	father	In papa de wok at. His father works hard.
padi	noun	friend	I na mi padi. She is my friend.
os	noun	house	Dat os nyu. That house is new.
os	noun	home	Wi de go os. We are going home.
skul	noun	school	Di skul de nia. The school is nearby.
siti	noun	city
kɔntri	noun	country	Wi kɔntri fayn bad. Our country is beautiful.
wɔl	noun	world
strit	noun	street	Di strit long. The street is long.
rum	noun	room	Di rum klin. The room is clean.
tɛm	noun	time	Tɛm de go fas bad. Time goes very fast.
de	noun	day	Tide na gud de. Today is a good day.
nayt	noun	night	Di nayt kol. The night is cold.
monin	noun	morning	Dis monin kol smɔl. This morning is cool.
ivnin	noun	evening
wik	noun	week	Dis wik bizi. This week is busy.
mɔnt	noun	month
yia	noun	year	Dis yia impɔtin. This year is important.
tide	adverb	today	A bizi tide. I am busy today.
tumara	adverb	tomorrow	Wi go go tumara. We will go tomorrow.
yɛstade	adverb	yesterday	A bin si am yɛstade. I saw him yesterday.
naw	adverb	now	Kam ya naw. Come here now.
sɔn	noun	sun	Di sɔn hot. The sun is hot.
mun	noun	moon
sta	noun	star	A si wan sta. I see one star.
skay	noun	sky	Di skay blu. The sky is blue.
faya	noun	fire	Di faya hot. The fire is hot.
wata	noun	water	Drɛŋk smɔl klin wata. Drink some clean water.
ren	noun	rain	Di ren hebi. The rain is heavy.
tri	noun	tree	Dat tri tol. That tree is tall.
flawa	noun	flower	Di flawa fayn bad. The flower is beautiful.
mauntin	noun	mountain	Di mauntin hai. The mountain is high.
riva	noun	river
si	noun	sea
it	noun	food	Di it dɔn rɛdi. The food is ready.
bret	noun	bread	A bay fresh bret. I bought fresh bread.
res	noun	rice	Wi de it res ɛvri de. We eat rice daily.
mit	noun	meat	Di mit hot. The meat is hot.
fish	noun	fish	Dɛn kuk di fish. They cooked the fish.
ɛg	noun	egg	A it wan ɛg. I ate one egg.
milk	noun	milk	Di milk kol. The milk is cold.
frut	noun	fruit	Dis frut swit. This fruit is sweet.
ti	noun	tea	I de drɛŋk hot ti. She drinks hot tea.
kɔfi	noun	coffee	A de drɛŋk kɔfi naw. I drink coffee now.
ɛd	noun	head
yay	noun	eye
ia	noun	ear
mɔt	noun	mouth
nos	noun	nose
an	noun	hand	Wɔsh yu an dɛn fos. Wash your hands first.
fut	noun	foot
at	noun	heart
nem	noun	name	Wetin na yu nem? What is your name?
buk	noun	book	Dis buk nyu. This book is new.
wɔd	noun	word
langwej	noun	language	Krio na wi langwej. Krio is our language.
mɔni	noun	money	A nid moa mɔni. I need more money.
wok	noun	work	Dis wok at. This work is hard.
lɔv	noun	love	Lɔv impɔtin bad. Love is very important.
myuzik	noun	music
stori	noun	story	Tel mi wan stori. Tell me a story.
we	noun	way
tin	noun	thing
layf	noun	life	Layf no izi. Life is not easy.
doa	noun	door	Klos di doa sɔlsɔl. Close the door gently.
tebul	noun	table	Di buk de pan di tebul. The book is on the table.
chea	noun	chair	Sidɔm pan di chea. Sit on the chair.
moto	noun	car	Di moto nyu. The car is new.
gud	adjective	good	Dis it gud. This food is good.
bad	adjective	bad
big	adjective	big	Dɛn de liv na wan big os. They live in a big house.
smɔl	adjective	small	Di rum smɔl. The room is small.
nyu	adjective	new	A bay wan nyu moto. I bought a new car.
ol	adjective	old	Dis os ol. This house is old.
long	adjective	long
shɔt	adjective	short	Di stori shɔt. The story is short.
hai	adjective	high	Di mauntin hai. The mountain is high.
lo	adjective	low
hot	adjective	hot	Di ti hot. The tea is hot.
kol	adjective	cold	Di wata kol. The water is cold.
gladi	adjective	happy	Di pikin dɛn gladi. The children are happy.
sad	adjective	sad
fayn	adjective	beautiful	Di flawa fayn. The flower is beautiful.
izi	adjective	easy	Dis wok izi. This work is easy.
at	adjective	hard
fas	adjective	fast	Di bɔy fas. The boy is fast.
slo	adjective	slow	Di moto slo. The car is slow.
rayt	adjective	right	Yu ansa rayt. Your answer is right.
rɔŋ	adjective	wrong	Dat ansa rɔŋ. That answer is wrong.
impɔtin	adjective	important	Dis buk impɔtin. This book is important.
tru	adjective	true	Dat stori tru. That story is true.
ful	adjective	full	Di kɔp ful. The cup is full.
ɛmti	adjective	empty	Di rum ɛmti. The room is empty.
yɔŋ	adjective	young	I yɔŋ bad. She is very young.
tranga	adjective	strong	Dat man tranga. That man is strong.
wik	adjective	weak
rɛd	adjective	red	Di flawa rɛd. The flower is red.
blu	adjective	blue	Di skay blu. The sky is blue.
grin	adjective	green	Di tri grin. The tree is green.
yɛlo	adjective	yellow	Di flawa yɛlo. The flower is yellow.
blak	adjective	black	Di bag blak. The bag is black.
wayt	adjective	white	Di kɔp wayt. The cup is white.
yɛs	interjection	yes	Yɛs, a dɔn ɔndastan naw. Yes, I understand now.
no	interjection	no	No, a no fit go. No, I cannot go.
no	adverb	not	A no rɛdi. I am not ready.
ɛn	conjunction	and	Ti ɛn bret dɔn rɛdi. Tea and bread are ready.
ɔ	conjunction	or	Ti ɔ kɔfi fayn. Tea or coffee is fine.
bɔt	conjunction	but
if	conjunction	if	If yu kam, kɔl mi. If you come, call me.
bikos	conjunction	because
wit	preposition	with	I kam wit mi. She came with me.
witawt	preposition	without	I lef witawt mɔni. He left without money.
fɔ	preposition	for	Dis gif na fɔ yu. This gift is for you.
frɔn	preposition	from	A kam frɔn skul. I came from school.
to	preposition	to