Learn Kikuyu - Wirute Gikuyu

Who are the Gîkûyû People

The Gîkûyû, or Kikuyu, are a Bantu speaking ethnic group found in Kenya, in the East Africa. The term Gîkûyû refers to the language and, by extension, to its native speakers. The Gîkûyû People comprise of over 8 million people spread across the globe with the majority of them residing in their native central Kenya. As a Bantu people, their origins and history stretch back centuries, forming a very rich cultural heritage.

Interest in Learning Kikuyu

Recently, a resurgence of interest in the Kikuyu language has emerged among younger generations. While English and Kiswahili have dominated for economic and social reasons, many young Agĩkũyũ are now eager to reconnect with their vernacular.  This change of interest is particularly evident among the people living in the diaspora, where many Gĩkũyũ seek to strengthen ties with their cultural roots and communicate with family. 

This article will attempt to introduce you to the Gĩkũyũ language in a simple way. Just like every other language Gĩkũyũ has its own collection of idioms and proverbs as a testimony that it is deeply rooted. I may not cover everything here but i will introduce you to the basics. 

Welcome Aboard!

 

Learn Kikuyu - Greetings

The English Alphabet 

The Kikuyu language borrow from the latin letters that make the English Alphabet.

Upper Case

A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,X

Lower Case

a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z

The Kikuyu Alphabet 

The Kikuyu Alphabet as compared to the English Alphabet has some Special Considerations, they also have additional vowels and deductions of letters that are not used at all.

A,B,C,D,E,-,G,H,I,J,K,L,-,M,N,O,-, ,-R,-,T,U,-,W,-,Y,-,Î,Û

Special Considerations - These are letters in the Kikuyu language that don't appear alone. One has to always write N before them
D and J. Example ND, NJ

Additional Vowels - Vowels with a special sound 
Î and Û

Deductions - Letters These are letters that are not used at all in the Kikuyu language FLPQSVXZ

Summary of Kikuyu Alphabet 

Upper Case 

A,B,C,ND,E,G,H,I,NJ,K,M,N,O,R,T,U,W,Y,Î,Û

Lower Case 

a,b,c,nd,e,g,h,i,nj,k,m,n,o,r,t,u,y,î,û

English Vowels 

a,e,i,o,u

Kikuyu Vowels 

a,e,i,o,u,î,û

How Kikuyu Vowels Sound 

a as in India 
e as in pen
i as in inn
o as in dot
u as in put
î as in ate
û as in oat

Let us now put together the Kikuyu Syllables by introducing consonants b or c
Remember b takes the sound of f and c takes the sound sh
Example baba sounds fafa and cûcû sounds shûshû

a,e,i,o,u,î,û 

• ba be bi bo bu bî bû
• ca ce ci co cu cî cû
• baba bubu ûcio icio
• cûcû cuca cai ici
• bacia bucia becû biû
• caba cabi cibû cabaci

Kikuyu Syllables with either nd or g

a,e,i,o,u,î,û 

• nda nde ndi ndo ndu ndî ndû
• nda ndîa ndaî ndio 
• gûa gîa igi gega
• igego ûguo ûgî uga
• ndigi ndogo ndûgû ndugo
• ganda gandia iga igua

Kikuyu Syllables with either h, nj or k

a,e,i,o,u,î,û 

• ha he hi ho hu hî hû
• ka ke ki ko ku kî kû
• nja nje nji njo nju njî njû

Kikuyu words with h and k

ha+ha = haha (here)
ke+ki = keki (cake)
nja = nja (outside)

• haha heho kahîû hûtia
• kogî kûgîa kûgûa kîgi
• kohe ûhiki kîhiko kahîî
• huho hînja hînja hîkîka

Gîkûyû nouns

Class 1 nouns

These are nouns denoting human beings. Humans can still feature in another class due to scorn or hatred, or otherwise possessing some special connection with religion or magic.

Mûndû - Person,

Kamûndû - small person,

Kîmûndû - big person (derogatory and should be avoided)

Andû - many people

Imûndû - a group of large persons (derogatory and should be avoided)

Mûthuri - man

Mûtumia - woman

Gatumia - small woman (derogatory and should be avoided)

Gîtumia - big woman (derogatory and should be avoided)

Atumia - many women

Ndumia - a group of big women (derogatory and should be avoided)

Mûirîtu - Girl

Kairîtu - small girl

Airîtu - many girls

Mwanake - young man

Anake - a group of young men

Class 2 nouns

These are nouns denoting second class spirits. Most trees, plants and animals appear here.

Mûtamaiyû - Olive tree

Mûkûyû - Sycamore fig tree

Matarakwa - Cedar tree

Mûgaa - Acacia tree

Mûrûthi - Lion

Class 3 nouns

These are nouns denoting nearly all birds, reptiles, insects and many lesser plants. Humans in these class are considered quite a demotion.

Njangiri - an outcast

Ngîa - pauper

Ngombo - slave

Nding'oing'o - beetle

Ndinoho - snail

Nyenje - cockroach

Njagathi - lizard

Class 4 nouns

These are nouns denoting lifeless objects: some are man-made and others are natural. Some pitiable humans held in disrespect appear here, "scorn or hatred."

Kîhîî - big uninitiated boy (derisive)

Kîrîgû - big uninitiated girl (derisive)

Kîhembe - drum container

Gîtoi - gangster

Gîcamba - big brave person/animal (derisive)

Class 5 nouns

These are nouns denoting items of "ceremonial, religious and magical significance). Humans who play a very special part in family life feature here.

Baba - Father

Ithe - Their father (use it to refer to other people's father - reporting)

Maitû - Mother

Nyina - Their mother (use it to refer to other people's mother - reporting)

Guka - Grandfather

Cûcû - Grandmother

Mûthoni - in-laws

Mûthuri -

Ritho - evil eye (magical)

Gîkûyû pronouns

Pronouns

Niî - me, Wee - you, Inyuî - you (plural), Ithuî - we, O - them, We - him/her, yo - it, or Yo, Guo, kîo, ko, - depending on noun class.

The pronoun 'guo' will depend on the class of object

Guo - mûbira = it - ball

Guo - mûrango = it - door

Yo - ng'ombe = it - cow

Yo - nyûmba = it - house

Kîo - kîûra = it - frog

Ko - koora = it - small frog

The 'wee' for 'you' plural is pronounced with a long vowel to differentiate from 'we' for 'him/her' which is pronounced with a short vowel.

The Kikuyu language does not differentiate gender. (a sentence with him, her, he, she won't matter)

Gîkûyû Sentence - Prefixes, nouns and adjectives

The noun forms the subject of the sentence. Kikuyu nouns have a stem attached to a prefix. Several prefixes can be attached to change to another meaning associated with the noun.

Nyûmba - house

Kanyûmba - small house

Kînyûmba - big house

Tûnyûmba - small houses

Manyûmba - many houses

Mûndû - person

Kamûndû - small person

Kîmûndû - big person

Tûmûndû - small persons

Andû - Many persons

Mûgûnda - Land/farm

Tûmîgûnda - small farms

Kîmûgûnda - Big farm

Mîgûnda - Many farms

Kikuyu Adjectives and verbs have to agree with the noun in a sentence by having the same prefix as a noun, except in a few cases here and there. It is also important to note the translation into English is forced in some instances.

Nyûmba îmwe nene - one big house

Kanyûmba kamwe kanene - one small big house

Kînyûmba kîmwe kînene - one huge house

Mîtî îrî mînene - two big trees

Tûmîtî twîrî tûnene - two small big trees

Ng'ombe îmwe nene - one big cow

Kagombe kamwe Kanini - one small cow

Kigombe kîmwe kînene - one big cow

Positive, Negative and Interrogative statements

Positive

Note Kikuyu pronouns in brackets as an indicator that they are not necessary

(Niî) Ndî mûndû - I am a human

(Wee) Wî mû Gîkûyû - You are a Kikuyu

(Ithuî) Tûrî airîtu - we are girls

(Inyuî) Mûrî atumia - you are women

(O) Nî anake - they are young men

(We) Nî mwene - He/she is the owner

(Guo) Nî mûtî - it is a tree

Negative

In Kikuyu to negate a sentence we use;-

Ti - is not

Ndirî - I have not

Ndûrî - You have not and etc

(Niî) Ndirî ng'ondu - I am not a sheep

(Wee) Ndûrî mûraihu - you are not tall

(Ithuî) Tûtirî na irio - we have no foods

(Inyuî) Mûtirî a gûkû - you are not from here

(O) Ti aini - They are not singers

(We) Ti mûrîmi - He/she is not a farmer

(Guo) Ti mûkuhî - it is not short

Interrogative

When you ask a question in Kikuyu the statement is similar to the positive - The difference is in intonation. You start on a high note and end with a low note.

(Niî) Ndî mûndû? - Am I a human?

(Wee) Wî mû Gîkûyû? - Are you a Kikuyu?

(Ithuî) Tûrî airîtu? - Are we girls?

(Inyuî) Mûrî atumia? - Are you women?

(O) Nî anake? - Are they young men?

(We) Nî mwene? - Is he/she the owner?

(Guo) Nî mûtî?- Is it a tree?

Gîkûyû Tenses

Inflection or inflexion is the modification of a word to express different grammatical categories. Examples are tense, mood, voice, aspect, person, number, gender and case.

The Kikuyu language is heavily inflected. Below are examples of inflections to express a variety of tenses

Note that the pronouns are fused prefixes in the conjugated verb.

Present Tense	(I eat)	You (Singular)	You (Plural)	We	They
Simple	Nîndîaga	Nîûrîaga	Nîmûrîaga	Nîtûrîaga	Nîmarîaga
Present Continuous	(I am eating)
	Nîndîrarîa	Nîûrarîa	Nîmûrarîa	Nîtûrarîa	Nîmararîa
Future tense	(I will eat)
Before the end of the today	Nîngûrîa	Nîûkûrîa	Nîmûkûrîa	Nîtûkûrîa	Nîmekûrîa
Tomorrow and after	Nîngarîa	Nîûkarîa	Nîmûkarîa	Nîtûkarîa	Nîmakarîa
Past Tense	(I have eaten)
A moment ago	Nîndarîa	Nîwarîa	Nîmwarîa	Nîtwarîa	Nîmarîa
Past Tense	(I ate)
Sometime today	Nîndîire	Nîûrîire	Nîmûrîire	Nîtûrîire	Nîmarîire
Yesterday	Nîndîrarîire	Nîûrarîire	Nîmûrarîire	Nîtûrarîire	Nîmararîire
A long time ago	Nîndarîire	Nîtwarîire	Nîmwarîire	Nîtwarîire	Nîmarîire

Gîkûyû numerals

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
îmwe	igîrî	ithatû	inya	ithano	ithathatû	mûgwanja	inyanya	kenda	ikûmi

 

11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
ikûmi na îmwe	ikûmi      na  igîrî	ikûmi na ithatû	ikûmi      na  inya	ikûmi na   ithano	ikûmi    na  ithathatû	ikûmi       na  mûgwanja	ikûmi   na inyanya	ikûmi na kenda	Mîrongo îrî

 

10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100
ikûmi	Mîrongo îrî	Mîrongo îtatû	Mîrongo îna	Mîrongo îtano	Mîrongo îtandatû	Mîrongo mûgwanja	Mîrongo înana	Mîrongo kenda	Igana rîmwe

 

100	200	300	400	500	600	700	800	900	1000
Igana rîmwe	Magana merî	Magana matatû	Magana mana	Magana matano	Magana matandatû	Magana mûgwanja	Magana manana	Magana kenda	Ngiri îmwe

 

1000	2000	3000	4000	5000	6000	7000	8000	9000	10,000
Ngiri îmwe	Ngiri igîrî	Ngiri ithatû	Ngiri inya	Ngiri ithano	Ngiri ithathatû	Ngiri mûgwanja	Ngiri inyanya	Ngiri kenda	Ngiri ikûmi

10,000	20,000	30,000	40,000	50,000	60,000	70,000	80,000	90,000	100,000
Ngiri ikûmi	Ngiri mîrongo îrî	Ngiri mîrongo îtatû	Ngiri mîrongo îna	Ngiri mîrongo îtano	Ngiri mîrongo îtandatû	Ngiri mîrongo mûgwanja	Ngiri mîrongo înana	Ngiri mîrongo kenda	Ngiri igana rîmwe

 

100,000	200,000	300,000	400,000	500,000	600,000	700,000	800,000	900,000	1,000,000
Ngiri igana rîmwe	Ngiri magana merî	Ngiri magana matatû	Ngiri magana mana	Ngiri magana matano	Ngiri magana matandatû	Ngiri magana mûgwanja	Ngiri magana manana	Ngiri magana kenda	Mirioni îmwe

Gîkûyû demonstrative pronouns

A demonstrative pronoun is a word used to stand for a noun. They are used to point to something or someone specific. The English demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these and those. 

There are three types of demonstratives in Gĩkũyũ.

•  Proximal - These are demonstratives used to indicate proximity of objects closer to the speaker 

• Distal - These are demonstratives used to indicate objects distance and farther away from the speaker. 

• Anaphoric - There is also a demonstrative that can be used anaphorically to refer to objects not physically present but understood to be the topic of reference to both interlocutors. The anaphoric demonstrative can have full and shortened versions in some noun classes. In other noun classes, only a shortened version exists.

 

Table: Gîkûyû demonstrative pronouns

Class	Proximal	Distal	Anaphoric
1	ûyû	ûrîa	ûcio/ûu
2	aya	arîa	acio/au
3	ûyû	ûrîa	ûcio/ûu
4	îno	îrîa	îyo/îu
5	rîrî	rîrîa	rîu
6	maya	marîa	macio/mau
7	gîkî	kîrîa	kîu
8	ici	iria	icio/iu
9	îno	îrîa	îyo/îu
10	ici	iria	icio/iu
11	rûrû	rûrîa	rûu
12	gaka	karîa	kau
13	tûtû	tûrîa	tûu
14	ûyû	ûrîa	ûcio/ûu
15	gûkû	kûrîa	kûu
16	haha	harîa	hau
17	gûkû	kûrîa	kûu