English–Krio Dictionary

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

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Browse common Krio vocabulary

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