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<!DOCTYPE HTML> <html> <head> <title>Kinyarwanda alphabet, pronunciation and language</title> <meta name="description" content="Kinyarwanda is a Bantu language spoken mainly in Rwanda, and also in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda by about 12 million people." />  <script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-WB7PSHBG');</script>  <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://www.omniglot.com/images/logos/omniglot_thumbnail.jpg" /> <meta property="og:type" content="https://www.facebook.com/pg/Omniglot-100430558332117/posts/" /> <link href="/styles/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <script src="https://the.gatekeeperconsent.com/cmp.min.js" data-cfasync="false"></script> <script async src="//www.ezojs.com/ezoic/sa.min.js"></script> <script> window.ezstandalone = window.ezstandalone || {}; ezstandalone.cmd = ezstandalone.cmd || []; </script></head> <body> <div id="header">  <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-WB7PSHBG" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <p><a href="/index.htm"><img src="/images/logos/header_omniglot.png" width="600" height="70" alt="Omniglot - the online encyclopedia of writing systems & languages" /></a></p> <ul> <li><a href="/index.htm">Home</a></li> <li><a href="/writing/index.htm">Alphabets</a></li> <li><a href="/conscripts/index.htm">Constructed scripts</a></li> <li><a href="/writing/languages.htm">Languages</a></li> <li><a href="/language/phrases/phraseindex.htm">Phrases</a></li> <li><a href="/language/numbers/index.htm">Numbers</a></li> <li><a href="/language/ml.htm">Multilingual Pages</a></li> <li><a href="/search.htm">Search</a></li> <li><a href="/news/index.htm">News</a></li> <li><a href="/about.htm">About</a></li> <li><a href="/contact.htm">Contact</a></li> </ul></div> <div id="bodybox"> <span style="text-align:center;"><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-162"></div> <script> ezstandalone.cmd.push(function() { ezstandalone.showAds(162); }); </script></span><div id="body"> <h1>Kinyarwanda (Ikinyarwanda)</h1> <p>Kinyarwanda is a Bantu language spoken with about 12 million speakers who live mainly in Rwanda, where it is the national language, along with French and English. It is also spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Kinyarwanda is closely related to Kirundi, which is spoken in Burundi and Tanzania. </p> <p>A standardised spelling system for Kinyarwanda has been in use since the 1940s, though the spelling systems used by Roman Catholic and Protestant missions differ somewhat. </p> <h2>Kinyarwanda alphabet and pronunciation</h2> <p><img src="../images/writing/kinyarwanda.gif" width="567" height="621" alt="Kinyarwanda alphabet and pronunciation" /> </p> <h3>Notes</h3> <ul> <li>K = [k<sup>h</sup>] before A, [k<sup>w</sup>] before O and U, and [k] elsewhere</li> <li>Kinyarwanda is a tonal language, but the tones are not usually indicated in writing.</li> </ul> <p><a href="../charts/kinyarwanda.xls">Download an alphabet chart for Kinyarwanda</a> (Excel) </p> <h3>Sample text</h3> <p>Abantu bose bavuka aliko bakwiye agaciro no kwubahwa kimwe. Bose bavukana ubwenge n'umutima, bagomba kugilirana kivandimwe. </p> <h3>Translation</h3> <p>All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.<br /> <em>(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)</em> </p> <h2>Sample video in Kinyarwanda</h2> <div class="intrinsic-container intrinsic-container-16x9"> <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1P6ygw-VKKo" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> <p class="info"><a href="/writing/kinyarwanda.htm">Information about Kinyarwanda</a> | <a href="/language/phrases/kinyarwanda.php">Phrases</a> | <a href="/language/numbers/kinyarwanda.htm">Numbers</a> | <a href="/babel/kinyarwanda.htm">Tower of Babel</a></p> <h2>Links</h2> <p>Information about the Kinyarwanda language<br /> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinyarwanda_language">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinyarwanda_language</a><br /> <a href="http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kin">http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kin</a><br /> <a href="http://kinyarwanda.ijuru.com/">http://kinyarwanda.ijuru.com</a> </p> <p>Kinyarwanda lessons<br /> <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/wisc.edu/learning-kinyarwanda/">https://sites.google.com/a/wisc.edu/learning-kinyarwanda/</a><br /> <a href="https://kigalinews.wordpress.com/learn-kinyarwanda/">https://kigalinews.wordpress.com/learn-kinyarwanda/</a><br /> <a href="https://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/audio/languagelessons/rwanda/RW_Kinyarwanda_Language_Lessons.pdf">https://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/audio/languagelessons/rwanda/RW_Kinyarwanda_Language_Lessons.pdf</a><br /> <a href="https://quizlet.com/6617305/kinyarwanda-lessons-1-10-flash-cards/">https://quizlet.com/6617305/kinyarwanda-lessons-1-10-flash-cards/</a><br /> <a href="https://www.livelingua.com/project/fsi/Kirundi/">https://www.livelingua.com/project/fsi/Kirundi/</a></p> <p>Kinyarwanda phrases<br /> <a href="http://gordanondera.wikispaces.com/Kinyarwanda+phrases">http://gordanondera.wikispaces.com/Kinyarwanda+phrases</a><br /> <a href="http://morganinafrica.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/rwandan-dictionary-kinyarwanda-english.html">http://morganinafrica.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/rwandan-dictionary-kinyarwanda-english.html</a><br /> <a href="http://www.flashcardexchange.com/cards/kinyarwanda-common-phrases-2050070">http://www.flashcardexchange.com/cards/kinyarwanda-common-phrases-2050070</a><br /> <a href="http://www.musanze.com/helpful-phrases/">http://www.musanze.com/helpful-phrases/</a></p> <p>Online Kinyarwanda-English dictionary<br /> <a href="http://kinyarwanda.net/">http://kinyarwanda.net</a></p> <p>Online news in Kinyarwanda<br /> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/greatlakes/">http://www.bbc.co.uk/greatlakes/</a> </p> <h2>Bantu languages</h2> <p><a href="/writing/bangi.htm">Bangi</a>, <a href="/writing/basaa.php">Basaa</a>, <a href="/writing/bemba.php">Bemba</a>, <a href="/writing/bena.htm">Bena</a>, <a href="/writing/benga.htm">Benga</a>, <a href="/writing/bhaca.htm">Bhaca</a>, <a href="/writing/bukusu.htm">Bukusu</a>, <a href="/writing/bulu.htm">Bulu</a>, <a href="/writing/centralteke.htm">Central Teke</a>, <a href="/writing/chichewa.php">Chichewa</a>, <a href="/writing/chokwe.htm">Chokwe</a>, <a href="/writing/chuwabu.htm">Chuwabu</a>, <a href="/writing/comorian.htm">Comorian</a>, <a href="/writing/digo.htm">Digo</a>, <a href="/writing/duala.php">Duala</a>, <a href="/writing/eton.htm">Eton</a>, <a href="/writing/ewondo.php">Ewondo</a>, <a href="/writing/fang.htm">Fang</a>, <a href="/writing/ganda.php">Ganda/Luganda</a>, <a href="/writing/gogo.htm">Gogo</a>, <a href="/writing/gusii.htm">Gusii</a>, <a href="/writing/gwere.htm">Gwere</a>, <a href="/writing/haya.htm">Haya</a>, <a href="/writing/hehe.htm">Hehe</a>, <a href="/writing/herero.php">Herero</a>, <a href="/writing/ibinda.htm">Ibinda</a>, <a href="/writing/ikizu.htm">Ikizu</a>, <a 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