Language lesson
🇨🇩 Lingala
Lingala grew along the Congo River as a trade language and travelled the world through Congolese rumba and soukous music.
- Spoken in
- DR Congo, Republic of the Congo
- Speakers
- About 40 million speakers
- Language family
- Niger-Congo · Bantu branch
Lesson one
How it sounds.
Lightly tonal and very open — most words end in a vowel, which is part of why it sings so well.
Say it out loud
Seven phrases to start with.
- MboteHellosay it: m-BO-teh
- Ozali malamu?Are you well?say it: o-ZA-lee ma-LA-moo
- Nazali malamuI am wellsay it: na-ZA-lee ma-LA-moo
- MelesiThank yousay it: meh-LEH-see
- Nkombo na ngai…My name is…say it: n-KOM-bo na ngai
- TokomonanaSee yousay it: to-ko-mo-NA-na
- Kende malamuGo wellsay it: KEN-deh ma-LA-moo
Behind the words
Culture notes.
- Congolese rumba is on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.
- Kinshasa is one of the largest French-speaking cities in the world, but the street speaks Lingala.
- La sape — the society of elegant dressers — turns tailoring into performance.
Practise today: Greet with 'Mbote', ask 'Ozali malamu?' and answer 'Nazali malamu'.