Translating terms of endearment into Bambara

Hi everyone, my partner is Malian and I’d love to be able to say sweet things to him in Bambara, as well as learn some polite phrases. Thanks for your help! 😊

Here are a few examples: I love you My love My heart My life You’re the man of my life I care about you I want to live with you Kiss me I miss you Thank you Please Hello See you soon

Hi Nahilas, here’s a translation of the words you requested:

I love you: N b'i fɛ

My love: N kanuŋɔgɔn

My heart: N jarabi

You are the man of my life: E de ye n kelen ka cɛ ye

I care about you: N b'i fɛ kɔsɔbɛ

I want to live with you: N bɛ sa i nofɛ

I miss you: I ɲanafi bɛ n na

Thank you: I ni cɛ

Please: A kɛ Ala kama (when begging) / haketo (for a polite request)

Hello: I ni sɔgɔma

See you soon: K'an bɛ

Don’t hesitate to ask if you need any further details! And if you need more specific words or pronunciation help for these.

Hello Sir,

Hats off for this translation! I’m particularly happy to see that you’re really using the standard Bamanankan (Bambara) alphabet characters—that is, you distinguish between the vowels ɛ and e, as well as ɔ and o (in fact, Bambara has seven oral vowels, not five). Plus, you’re also using the palatal and velar nasals, specifically ɲ and ŋ. Excellent!

A few notes and questions:

1. Instead of kɔsɔbe, I’d write kosɛbɛ or even kosɔbɛ.

2. Why haketo as one word? To my knowledge, it’s an abbreviated phrase: from A ye hakɛ to comes Hakɛ to, a polite formula. It’s left with a noun and a verb: fault/sin – to spare/forgive, which ultimately means *Forgive me!* or *Pardon me!*

3. I don’t know or understand the word ɲanafi. But I’d venture to say it’s the noun ɲɛnafin "sight-in-darkness > nostalgia, melancholy, sadness, boredom"?! Literally translated, it means *Your nostalgia is mine*, so figuratively: *I miss you*. That’s it, right?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4I0ZMjPfrY

4. K’an bɛ: the vowel ɛ is clearly nasalized, so it’s better to write bɛn. Compare it with the auxiliary bɛ!

5. N bɛ sa i nofe: ah, the postposition nɔfɛ "trace-by > behind/after". Is the verb sa here "to die"? *I die after you* = *I want to live with you*. Hmm, possible, yes...

My sincere greetings to Bamako (I’ve always loved this city, especially the traditional neighborhoods like Medina Koura, Bamako Koura, Bozola, Badalabougou, but also Hippodrome, Magnambougou, and Falajé) and

Ala m'i sɔnna hɛra la.

hgb