Quick user guide

• type a word in either Kirundi, English or French language.
  Click for a quick, for a thourough and more detailed search
   
• Kirundi nouns are shown with their class and plural prefix:
  umumezo (imi-)   2  class 2
  singular: umu-
  plural: imi- ▶ hoe handle
  click on the class number for details
   
• Kirundi verbs shown with past stem:
  guhamiriza (-hamirije)  ▶ to dance
  click on any Kirundi verb to conjugate it in any of 25 Kirundi tenses
   
• click on    to hear the pronunciation by a native speaker. Click on   to record and contribute an audio pronunciation file
   
• search by plural (e.g. abapfu) to find the singular
  umupfu (aba-)   1  class 1
  singular: umu-
  plural: aba- ▶ dead person
   
• click on En-En dictionary to see meanings, examples, phonetics, origins, synonyms, antonyms etc.
  
• Click on the    icon to open the menu offering many additional functions
  
• Distinguish Kirundi vowels with long or high tones:
  guhana (-hannye)   vs.  guhāna (-hanye)
   
• analyze any conjugated form (e.g. mukababwira), no matter the class, subject, tense or object and find the correct verb
  
• search verbs by past stem (e.g. ōngoreye) to find the infinitive:
  kwōngorera (-ōngoreye)  ▶ to whisper
   
• Choose which translation direction or results you want to see:
    All Kirundi English/Français  
   
• Read and  listen to imigani (tales), ibisokozo (children's riddles), Kirundi jokes, over 500 proverbs, contemporary and traditional music with their lyrics, Kirundi radio stations or any passage from the New Testament. All with native Kirundi speakers.
   
• Study Kirundi with over 200 lessons, covering essentiel vocabulary, grammar and exercises; and download the study books and dictionaries as printable PDF files.
   
• search for over 7.700 Kirundi terms with more than 10.400 audio recordings and over 11.300 terms in English and French.
   
• find the geolocation (map view) and altitude for 6.900 places in Burundi

Download PDF's

This unique dictionary by Betty Cox is known for the deep cultural insight it provides to many Kirundi terms. It has been thouroughly revised, adapted to present-day Kirundi orthography rules and many new words and meanings have been added.

Kirundi Dictionary (original)
Kirundi Dictionary (alphabetical)
In the original version the entries are sorted by the word stem, this is helpful to learn new vocabulary by recognizing the relationship to already known words of the same stem. But users without any knowledge of basic Kirundi grammar may have difficulties to find a word. Therefore we included here also the same dictionary with all vocabulary in simple alphabetical order.

The Kirundi self study course guides you through 125 lessons and makes you learn both the necessary vocabulary and basic grammar.

The second volume with over 80 lessons delves deeply into Kirundi grammar. After completion of this 2-volume course you will have a thorough command of the Kirundi language.

Book I, Kirundi Lesson book
Book II, Kirundi Grammar book

Other Resources

• Listen to native Kirundi Speakers reading the New Testament. This bilingual App (Kirundi and English) makes you learn Kirundi easily through listening and learning the correct pronunciation while following the written text in either Kirundi or English. Google Play Store: Kirundi / English NT Audio App


• The Study Course uses numerous examples from the Kirundi Bible Translation of 1967. Get the complete bible as App on your phone. Google Play Store: Bibiliya Yera mu kirundi


• Kirundi is very similar to Kinyarwanda (the language spoken in Rwanda), for which you can find many resources online. Check out this excellent Kinyarwanda and Kirundi Comparative Grammar


• Check out this excellent website with lots of ressources and infos: www.ikirundi.org

Login / Register

Listen to Kirundi Radio
Train your listening skills and follow Kirundi native speakers!

choose a radio station... Radio Isanganiro FM Radio TV Buntu VOA Amakuru mu Gitondo 15.10. *

Copyright © 2026

Original dictionary and language course by Elizabeth Ellen Cox, 1969; Marston Memorial Historical Center

Revised & augmented 2005 - 2026
by M.Philipps, Bujumbura Christian University, Burundi
& the user community of this App

English pronunciation by
Merriam-Webster

English-English dictionary provided by the Free Dictionary API (www.dictionaryapi.dev)

Bible translations: World English Bible (WEB), Louis Segond 1910, Bibiliya Yera (Kinyarwanda)

Kirundi voice recordings done by Bienvenu Ndayishimiye, Miki Dieu-Merci, Christophe Kivunge, Mpundu Aimé Nécessaire and Elsa-Myntha Kezakimana.
Special Thanks to my Kirundi teachers Martin Rudasingwa and Innocent "Ruseka" Niyonsaba.


Thank you!

The following organizations made this App possible

Propose new dictionary entry

Change password

Privacy Policy

M.Philipps built the BCU Kirundi Study App as a Free app. This Service is provided by M.Philipps at no cost and is intended for use as is.

This page is used to inform visitors regarding my policies with the collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information if anyone decided to use my Service.

If you choose to use my Service, then you agree to the collection and use of information in relation to this policy. The Personal Information that I collect is used exclusively for providing and improving the Service. I will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy.

The terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms and Conditions, which are accessible at BCU Kirundi Study App unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy.

Information Collection and Use

For a better experience, while using our Service, I may require you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information, including but not limited to your name and email address.

The app does use third party services that may collect information used to identify you.

Log Data

I want to inform you that whenever you use my Service, in the case of an error in the app I collect data and information (through third party products) on your phone called Log Data. This Log Data may include information such as your device Internet Protocol ("IP") address, device name, operating system version, the configuration of the app when utilizing my Service, the time and date of your use of the Service, and other statistics.

Cookies

Cookies are files with a small amount of data that are commonly used as anonymous unique identifiers. These are sent to your browser from the websites that you visit and are stored on your device's internal memory.

This Service does not use these "cookies" explicitly. However, the app may use additional third party code and libraries that use "cookies" to collect information and improve their services. You have the option to either accept or refuse these cookies and know when a cookie is being sent to your device. If you choose to refuse our cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of this Service.

Service Providers

I may employ third-party companies and individuals due to the following reasons:

• To facilitate our Service;
• To provide the Service on our behalf;
• To perform Service-related services; or
• To assist us in analyzing how our Service is used.

I want to inform users of this Service that these third parties have access to your Personal Information. The reason is to perform the tasks assigned to them on our behalf. However, they are obligated not to disclose or use the information for any other purpose.

Security

I value your trust in providing us your Personal Information, thus we are striving to use commercially acceptable means of protecting it. But remember that no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure and reliable, and I cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Links to Other Sites

This Service may contain links to other sites. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that site. Note that these external sites are not operated by me. Therefore, I strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of these websites. I have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.

Children’s Privacy

These Services do not address anyone under the age of 13. I do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13. In the case I discover that a child under 13 has provided me with personal information, I immediately delete this from our servers. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact me so that I will be able to do necessary actions.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

I may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. Thus, you are advised to review this page periodically for any changes. I will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. These changes are effective immediately after they are posted on this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or suggestions about my Privacy Policy, do not hesitate to contact me.

This privacy policy page was created at privacypolicytemplate.net and modified/generated by App Privacy Policy Generator