English–Luo Dictionary

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

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Browse common Luo vocabulary

Word	Part of speech	Translation	Example
I	pronoun	an	I am here now. An ka kanyo sani.
you	pronoun	in	You are my friend. In en osiepna.
he	pronoun	en	He is very strong. En gi teko ahinya.
we	pronoun	wa	We are going home. Wa dhi dala.
they	pronoun	gi	They are in school. Gi e skul.
what	pronoun	angʼo	What do you want? Idwaro angʼo?
where	adverb	kanye	Where is your house? Odni nitie kanye?
when	adverb	karangʼo	When will you come? Ibiro karangʼo?
who	pronoun	ngʼa	Who is calling me? Ngʼa ma oluongana?
why	adverb	marangʼo	Why are you sad? Marangʼo ma in smut?
how	adverb	nade	How are you today? In nadi kawuono?
to be	verb	bedo	They want to be ready. Gi dwaro bedo ayikayika.
to have	verb	bedo gi	I have a book. An abedo gi buk.
to do	verb	timo	We do our work. Watimo ticwa.
to go	verb	dhi	I will go tomorrow. Adhibiro kiny.
to come	verb	biro	They will come soon. Gibiro machiegni.
to see	verb	nen	I see the house. A nen od.
to know	verb	ngʼeyo	I know that story. Angʼeyo siganono.
to think	verb	paro	We think about life. Waparo kuom ngima.
to want	verb	dwaro	I want some water. Adwaro pi.
to need	verb	dwaro	We need more time. Wadwaro kinde mangʼeny.
to make	verb	loso	They make good chairs. Giloso kom ber.
to take	verb	kawo	Take the book home. Kaw buk idhi go dala.
to give	verb	miyo	Please give me water. Kiyie imiya pi.
to say	verb	wuo	Do not say that. Kik iwuo kamano.
to tell	verb	nyiso	Tell me the truth. Nyisa adiera.
to ask	verb	penjo	I want to ask. Adwaro penjo.
to find	verb	nongo	We found the key. Wanongo lagoro.
to look	verb	ngʼiyo	Look at the sky. Ngʼi malo e polo.
to use	verb	tiyo gi	I use this knife. Atiyo gi pala ni.
to work	verb	tiyo	They work every day. Gitiyo pile pile.
to eat	verb	chiemo	Children eat rice here. Nyithindo chiemo nyaluo kanyo.
to drink	verb	madho	Drink water every morning. Mad pi kiek duto.
to sleep	verb	nindo	The child sleeps early. Nyathi nindo oyawore.
to walk	verb	wuok	We walk to school. Wawuok nyaka skul.
to run	verb	ringo	The boy can run fast. Wuowi nyalo ringo piyo.
to read	verb	somo	I read this book. Asomo bukni.
to write	verb	ndiko	She writes every day.
to speak	verb	wuoyo	They speak Luo well. Giwuoyo Dholuo maber.
to listen	verb	winjo	Listen to the teacher. Winj japuonj.
to hear	verb	winjo	I hear music outside. Awinjo wer oko.
to buy	verb	golo	We buy food there. Wagolo chiemo kanyo.
to sell	verb	chwalo	They sell fish here. Gichwalo rech kanyo.
to pay	verb	culo	I will pay today. Aculo kawuono.
to help	verb	konyo	Please help that child. Kiyie konya nyathinocha.
to love	verb	hero	I love my family. Ahero jooda.
to live	verb	bedo	We live in town. Wabedo e taun.
to die	verb	tho	Old trees can die. Yath machon nyalo tho.
to learn	verb	puonjo	Children learn at school. Nyithindo puonjo e skul.
to teach	verb	puonjo	They teach us Luo. Gipuonjo wa Dholuo.
to open	verb	yawo	Open the door slowly. Yaw dhoot mos.
to close	verb	loro	Close the window now.
person	noun	ngʼato	That person is kind. Ngʼatno en ngʼama ber.
man	noun	dichuo	The man is working. Dichuo tye ka tiyo.
woman	noun	dhako	The woman is cooking. Dhako tye ka tedo.
child	noun	nyathi	The child is sleeping. Nyathi tye ka nindo.
boy	noun	wuowi	The boy is reading. Wuowi tye ka somo.
girl	noun	nyako	The girl is singing. Nyako tye ka wer.
family	noun	joodu	My family is large. Joodu en maduongʼ.
mother	noun	min	My mother is here. Mina ni ka kanyo.
father	noun	wuon	His father is strong. Wuon gi teko.
friend	noun	osiep	She is my friend.
house	noun	ot	The house is new. Ot en manyien.
home	noun	dala	We are going home. Wa dhi dala.
school	noun	skul	The school is nearby. Skul nitie machiegni.
city	noun	taun	This city is big. Taun ni en maduongʼ.
country	noun	piny	Our country is peaceful. Pinywa olingʼ.
world	noun	piny	The world is changing. Piny tye ka loko.
street	noun	yo	The street is busy. Yo opongʼ gi ji.
room	noun	ot	This room is clean. Otni ler.
time	noun	kinde	Time moves very quickly. Kinde dhi piyo ahinya.
day	noun	odiechiengʼ	Today is a hot day. Kawuono en odiechiengʼ maliet.
night	noun	otieno	The night is quiet. Otieno olingʼ.
morning	noun	okinyi	This morning is cold. Okinyi ni en liet.
evening	noun	odhier	We will meet this evening. Wabiro romo odhier ni.
week	noun	juma	This week is busy. Juma ni opongʼ gi tich.
month	noun	dwe	Next month will be long. Dwe mabiro biro bed motegno.
year	noun	higa	This year is good. Higa ni ber.
today	adverb	kawuono	I am busy today. Atiye gi tich kawuono.
tomorrow	adverb	kiny	We will travel tomorrow. Wabiro wuok kiny.
yesterday	adverb	nyoro	I saw him yesterday. Anena nyoro.
now	adverb	sani	Come here now. Bi kanyu sani.
sun	noun	chiengʼ	The sun is hot. Chiengʼ liet.
moon	noun	dwe	The moon is bright tonight. Dwe lier tinende.
star	noun	sulwe	That star is bright. Sulweno lier.
sky	noun	polo	The sky is blue. Polo en rachar.
earth	noun	piny	The earth is round.
fire	noun	mach	The fire is hot. Mach liet.
water	noun	pi	The water is cold. Pi liet.
rain	noun	koth	The rain is heavy. Koth dhi matek.
wind	noun	yamo	The wind is strong. Yamo tek.
tree	noun	yat	That tree is tall. Yatno bor.
mountain	noun	got	That mountain is high. Gotno bor malo.
river	noun	aora	The river is wide. Aora oyangʼ.
sea	noun	nam	The sea is far. Nam ni ni mabor.
food	noun	chiemo	The food is ready. Chiemo otyeko.
bread	noun	muka	I bought fresh bread. Agolo muka manyien.
rice	noun	nyaluo	Rice is good food. Nyaluo en chiemo maber.
meat	noun	ringʼo	The meat is cooking. Ringʼo tye ka tedore.
fish	noun	rech	The fish is fresh. Rech nitie manyien.
egg	noun	tongʼ	The egg is broken. Tongʼ ochak.
milk	noun	chak	The milk is warm. Chak liet matin.
tea	noun	chai	I drink tea daily. Amadho chai pile.
coffee	noun	kahawa	He drinks coffee every morning. En madho kahawa kiek duto.
head	noun	wich	My head hurts today. Wicha lit kawuono.
eye	noun	wangʼ	Her eye is red.
ear	noun	it	My ear hurts badly. Ita lit ahinya.
mouth	noun	dhok	Open your mouth wide. Yaw dhoki maber.
nose	noun	um	My nose is blocked. Uma otingʼ.
hand	noun	lwet	Wash your hand well. Luok lweti maber.
foot	noun	tiend	My foot hurts now. Tienda lit sani.
heart	noun	chuny	His heart is strong. Chunye tek.
name	noun	nyingʼ	My name is Akinyi. Nyingʼa en Akinyi.
book	noun	buk	This book is new. Bukni en manyien.
word	noun	wach	That word is difficult. Wachno tek.
language	noun	dhok	Luo is a language. Dholuo en dhok.
money	noun	pesa	I need more money. Adwaro pesa mangʼeny.
work	noun	tich	The work is hard. Tich tek.
love	noun	hera	Love is very powerful. Hera gi teko ahinya.
music	noun	wer	The music is beautiful. Wer ber ahinya.
story	noun	sigana	That story is true. Siganano en adier.
way	noun	yo	This way is easy. Yo ni yot.
thing	noun	gima	That thing is important. Gimano en gimamoko.
life	noun	ngima	Life is very precious. Ngima ber ahinya.
door	noun	dhoot	The door is open. Dhoot oyawore.
table	noun	mesa	The table is clean. Mesa ler.
chair	noun	kom	The chair is broken. Kom oremo.
car	noun	motoka	The car is fast. Motoka dhi piyo.
good	adjective	ber	This food is good. Chiemo ni ber.
bad	adjective	rach	That road is bad. Yono rach.
big	adjective	maduongʼ	Their house is big. Odg i maduongʼ.
small	adjective	matin	The child is small. Nyathi matin.
new	adjective	manyien	I bought a new book. Agolo buk manyien.
old	adjective	machon	That house is old. Otno machon.
long	adjective	bor	The road is long. Yo bor.
short	adjective	machiegni	The rope is short.
high	adjective	malo	The bird flies high. Winy yudo malo.
low	adjective	piny	The cloud is low.
hot	adjective	liet	The tea is hot. Chai liet.
cold	adjective	ngʼich	The water is cold. Pi ngʼich.
happy	adjective	mor	I am very happy. Amito ahinya.
sad	adjective	smut	She feels sad today.
beautiful	adjective	ber	The flower is beautiful.
easy	adjective	yot	This work is easy. Tichni yot.
hard	adjective	tek	This question is hard. Peny ni tek.
fast	adjective	piyo	That car is fast. Motokano dhi piyo.
slow	adjective	mos	The old man walks slow. Dichuo machon wuok mos.
right	adjective	adier	Your answer is right. Duani en adier.
wrong	adjective	ok adier	That answer is wrong. Duono ok adier.
important	adjective	ginyalo	This work is important.
true	adjective	adier	That story is true. Siganano en adier.
full	adjective	opongʼ	The bottle is full.
empty	adjective	nono	The room is empty. Ot nono.
young	adjective	matin	The boy is young. Wuowi en matin.
strong	adjective	tek	That man is strong. Dichuono tek.
weak	adjective	yie	The child is weak.
red	adjective	makwar	The cloth is red.
blue	adjective	marachar	The sky is blue. Polo en marachar.
green	adjective	maquel	The grass is green.
black	adjective	ratengʼ	The cow is black. Dhiangʼ ratengʼ.
white	adjective	rachar	Her dress is white.
yes	interjection	ee	Yes, I know him. Ee, angʼeye.
no	interjection	da	No, I cannot come. Da, ok anyal biro.
not	adverb	ok	I am not ready. Ok ayik.
and	conjunction	kod	Tea and bread are ready. Chai kod muka oyik.
or	conjunction	kata	Tea or coffee is fine. Chai kata kahawa ber.
but	conjunction	to	I came, but he left. Abiro, to en odhi.
if	conjunction	ka	If you come, call me. Ka ibiro, luonga.
because	conjunction	nikech	I stayed because it rained. Abedo nikech koth noloyo.
with	preposition	kod	I came with my friend. Abiro kod osiepna.
without	preposition	mak mana	He left without money. En odhi mak mana pesa.
for	preposition	ne	This gift is for you. Michni en ne in.
from	preposition	koa	I came from home. Abiro koa dala.
to	preposition	nyaka	We walked to school. Wawuok nyaka skul.