Bambara/Dioula Dictionary
W - w
-w [ù] suff. plural suffix; suffixe du pluriel. den child. enfant. denw children. enfants.
wà1 part. question marker; marque de l'interrogation : est-ce que? Usage: Appears at the end of a sentence and formally marks it as a yes-no question. Màli ka di wa? Is Mali nice?
wà2 See: taa ‘go, leave’.
wà3 conj. and, and then, so; et puis, donc, alors. Lòko ̀ ka di. Wǎ à ka ɲì. Plantains are tasty. And they are good.
waa n. thousand; mille. Mɔ̀gɔ waa kelen nànà. One thousand people came. Usage: Must be used with a number (e.g., waa kelen 'one thousand' and never just waa on its own) Syn: bà. Variant: waga.
waa conj. "or" in questions; ou bien. Variant: wala.
waajibi n. obligation, necessity, requirement; obligation, nécessité, exigeance.
waajibiya vt. require, necessitate, force; exiger, forcer. Variant: wajibiya.
waanɛ adj. expert; expert.
waasa See: walasa.
waati n. moment, time; moment, temps, heure, durée. Syn: tùma. From: Ar. waqt. Variant: wagati.
waati dɔ (la) sometimes; parfois.
waati ye [m] mìnɛ Lit: Time has grabbed [sb] be late. Hakɛto! Waati ̀ ye n mìnɛ̀. Sorry! I am late. (Lit. 'Time grabbed me'. Cf. 'I got caught up in things.').
wagati See: waati ‘time ; moment’.
wala "or" in questions; ou. I bɛ taa wala i tɛ taa? Are you leaving or not? Variant: waa.
wàlàda See: wàlànda ‘lesson’.
wàlàha n. mid-morning (9-10am); mi-matin (9-10h).
walaka vt. take apart, disassemble, take down, destroy; démonter, défaire, détruire.
wàlàka n. chalkboard slate, wooden slate for Islamic studies; ardoise. Variant: wàlan.
wàlan See: wàlàka ‘slate ; Islamic wood slate’.
wàlànda n. school exercise or lesson; exercise, leçon. Variant: wàlàda.
walasa conj. so that, in order to; pour que, afin de. N b'à fɔ walasa à kàna bɔ i kɔnɔ. I'm saying it so that you don't forget. Je le dis pour que tu n'oublies pas. Variant: walisa; waasa; yaasa; yalasa.
walawala vt. 1 • untie, untangle; défaire.
2 • explain carefully, elaborate upon; expliquer avec soin.
walayi interj. interjection from Arabic expression "in the name of God"; interjection de l'arabe pour jurer sur le nom de Dieu. From: Ar.
wale n. action, activity; action, acte, activité.
wàlen n. traditional checkers game; jeu d'échecs.
wali1 See: walima ‘"or" in affirmative statements’.
wali-2 det. prefix placed in front of noun X to mean "someone else's X"; autrui. waliden someone else's child. l'enfant d'autrui. walikan the language of someone else. la langue d'autrui.
walima "or" in statements; ou. Variant: wali.
walisa See: walasa ‘in order to ; so that’.
wara n. Member of the "big cat" genus; fauve.
waraba n. lion; lion.
warabilen n. "Red Monkey"; singe rouge.
wari n. money; argent.
wari bɔ spend; dépenser. N ye wari caman ̀ bɔ I spent a lot of money. J'ai dépensé beaucoup d'argent.
wari sɔ̀rɔ make money; gagner de l'argent.
waribon n. bank; banque.
warimisɛn n. change (in terms of money); monnaie.
waritigi n. rich person; personne riche. Syn: nàfàlòtigi.
wàsa1 n. satisfaction; satisfaction.
wàsa2 vt. satisfy; satisfaire.
vi. suffice; suffire.
waso vr. brag; se vanter.
waso n. bragging; vantardise. Waso ̀ man ɲì. Bragging is bad. Se vanter, c'est mauvais.
wàye n. butcher; boûcher.
weele See: wele ‘call’.
wele vt. call; appeler. Variant: weele. See: weele ‘call’.
wɛ part. particle expressing an order; exprime l'injonction : donc, enfin. À fɔ wɛ! Dis-le donc!
wɛcɛ vt. make change (of money); faire la monnaie.
wɛrɛ det. 1 • another; autre.
2 • next; prochain.
wɛ̀rɛ n. livestock market, corral; marché de bétail.
wili See: wuli ‘get up ; rise’.
wǒ n. hole (in a vertical plane like a wall or moveable plane like an article of clothing); trou. Sim: dìngɛ.
wolo 1 • vi. born; naître. N wolola, à mɛɛna! I was born a long time ago.
2 • vi. bear, give birth; accoucher. Mùso ̀ wolola den ̀ na. The woman bore a child.
3 • vt. give birth to, father; faire naître. À y'i wolo -- i b'à bònyà! She gave birth to you -- respect her! N mùso ̀ wolola cɛ ̀ la. My wife gave birth to a boy.
wòlo n. skin, leather, animal skin; peau, cuire. Variant: gòlo ‘Jula’.
woloba n. birth mother; propre mère, qui a mis au monde (par opposition aux tantes appelées également ba).
woloma vt. differentiate; distinguish; classify; distinguer; trier; différencier.
wolonfìla Syn: wolonwula. seven; sept.
wolonwula Syn: wolonfìla. seven; sept.
wolosɛbɛn n. birth certificate; cértificat de naissance.
woloso n. slave; esclave de deuxième génération, captif de case.
woro n. 1 • thigh; cuisse.
2 • drumstick; gigot. Variant: woto ‘Jula’.
wòro n. kola nut; noix de kola.
wòròdugu n. South; sud.
woso n. sweet potato; patate douce, patate.
woto Usage: Jula See: woro ‘thigh’.
wòtoro n. wagon; charette.
wɔ̀lɔ n. partridge-like bird of the bush; francolin.
wɔɔrɔ six; six.
wɔrɔ vt. peel, husk, shell; éplucher. kà tìga wɔrɔ to shell peanuts. décortiquer des arachides. Variant: wɔrɔn.
wɔrɔn See: wɔrɔ ‘peel’.
wɔ̀si1 vi. sweat, perspire; transpirer, suer.
wɔ̀si2 n. sweat, sweating, perspiration; transpiration, sueur.
wɔ̀sìji n. sweat, perspiration; transpiration, sueur.
wɔ̀yɔ1 n. yelling, argument; cris, dispute.
wɔ̀yɔ2 vi. yell, shout; crier en groupe.
wula1 n. afternoon, evening, early evening; après-midi, petit soir (en français d'Afrique).
wula2 n. the bush; la brousse. Syn: kungo.
wulada n. beginning of the afternoon or early evening; début de l'après-midi.
wùlen Usage: Jula See: bìlen ‘red’.
wùlènman Usage: Jula Variant: bìlènman ‘red’.
wuli vi/vr. 1 • get up, rise, go up; se lever, monter. I bɛ wuli tùma jùmɛn? When do you get up? Tu te lèves à quelle heure ?
2 • start up; démarrer. Mɔbili ̀ wulila ka taa The car started up and left. La voiture a démarré et elle est partie.
3 • boil; bouillir. Ji ̀ wulila The water boiled. L'eau s'est mise à bouillir. Variant: wili.
wuli-kà-jɔ̀ n. 1 • mobilization, up-rising.
2 • protest, demonstration; manifestation. Variant: wulikajɔ; wulikalɔ ‘Jula’.
wulu n. penis; sexe masculin, pénis.
wùlu n. dog; chien. Variant: wùru ‘Jula’.
wùru Usage: Jula See: wùlu ‘dog’.
wusu vt. smoke (typically meat or fish); fumer (de la viande ou du poisson).
wusulan n. incense; encens.
wuya n. lie, fib; mensonge. Syn: nkàlon.