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:
  igitunguru (ibi-)   4  class 4
  singular: iki-,ic-
  plural: ibi-,ivy- ▶ onion
  click on the class number for details
   
• Kirundi verbs shown with past stem:
  kudesa (-deshe)  ▶ embroider
  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. abamēnja) to find the singular
  umumēnja (aba-)   1  class 1
  singular: umu-
  plural: aba- ▶ enemy
   
• 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. īmvye) to find the infinitive:
  kwīmba (-īmvye)  ▶ to dig
   
• 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

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Listen to Kirundi Radio
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choose a radio station... Radio Isanganiro FM Radio TV Buntu VOA Amakuru mu Gitondo 25.09. *

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!

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