The Lingala Alphabet

Every letter, digraph, tonal accent, and special character explained with pronunciation guides and real Lingala examples.

Lingala (Lingála) is a Bantu language mostly spoken in Central Africa. Although, it can be written in various alphabets, Mandombe script being one of them, Lingala is mainly written using the Latin alphabet. The alphabet is spilt into:

  • 15 Simple Consonants
  • 17 Double consonants or digraphs
  • 3 Triple consonants or trigraphs
  • 5 simple vowels
  • 2 special vowels

A digraph is when we put two letters together to make one sound when we read or speak. A digraph can consist of consonants or vowels. In the same way, a trigraph is when we use three letters to make a single sound. E.g. the combined consonants Gb is often time replaced with Gw. As an example, gbagba or gwagwa means “bridge” in Lingala.
The letters c, h, j, q, r, and x are rare, but present some words borrowed from other languages. In the old spoken Lingala, r was usually replaced by the letter l.
Lingala is a tonal language with four tones, each shown by little accented letters. There is not such a “Lingala alphabet” but the specificities of the language make the writing quite unique.
If you’re curious about how Lingala is written, check out our lingala learning resources page or our article lingala compared to English.

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The Five Vowels

Lingala has five pure vowels, each pronounced consistently unlike English.

Section 1
a A
like “ah” in “father”
Mbala
time / occasion
e E
like “e” in “bed”
Moleki
passer-by
i I
like “ee” in “see”
Litoi
ear
o O
like “o” in “no”
Bolingo
love
u U
like “oo” in “moon”
Muntu
person (formal)

Special Vowels

Characters unique to Lingala that don’t exist in basic Latin.

Section 2
ɛ / Ɛ
Open e
Tɛmbɛlɛ-Stamp
ɔ / Ɔ
Open o
Mɔtɔ – fire

Vowels with tonal Accents

Each vowel can carry a high (´), falling (^), or rising (ˇ) tone changing meaning entirely.

Section 3
á
high tone on a
Matáta
Problem
â
falling tone on a
Sâmbóle
Clue
ǎ
rising tone on a
Mwǎsi
Woman, spouse
é
high tone on e
Mésá
Table
ê
falling tone on e
Ndê
What
ě
rising tone on e
Mwěsé
Star
ɛ́
high tone on ɛ
Molɛ́
Meal
ɛ̂
falling tone on ɛ
Tɛ̂
No
ɛ̌
rising tone on ɛ
í
high tone on i
Kozíma
To deceive
î
falling tone on i
Tî
Tea
ǐ
rising tone on i
Esǐ
Far
ó
high tone on o
Sóngóló
So-and-so
ô
falling tone on o
Sékô
Eternally
ǒ
rising tone on o
ɔ́
high tone on ɔ
Molɔ́ngɔ́
Diarrhea
ɔ̂
falling tone on ɔ
Sɔ̂lɔ́
Really
ɔ̌
rising tone on ɔ
Mɔ̌kɔ́
One
ú
high tone on u
Búma
Bamboo

Consonants

Most Lingala consonants are pronounced similarly to their English equivalents.

Section 4
Bb
as in “boy”
bana — children
Dd
as in “dog”
dangu — foot
Ff
as in “fan”
famba — to walk away
Gg
as in “go”
gato — shoe (loanword)
Kk
as in “king”
kala — formerly
Ll
as in “love”
lola — paradise
Mm
as in “mother”
mama — mother
Nn
as in “night”
nzoto — body
Pp
as in “pen”
pamba — wasteland / for nothing
Ss
as in “sun”
sango — news
Tt
as in “top”
tata — father
Vv
as in “very”
vanda — to stay / live
Ww
as in “water”
wapi — where
Yy
as in “yes”
yeba — to know
Zz
as in “zebra”
zomi — ten

Digraphs & Blends

Most Lingala consonants are pronounced similarly to their English equivalents.

Section 5
gb
Gbagba — bridge
like “gb” in “rugby”
kp
Ekpángba — warehouse
like “kp” in “cockpit”
kw
Mokwéte — Venus
like “qu” in “quick”
mb
Mbano — reward
like “mb” in “tumble”
mf
Mfúti — tax
like “mf” in “armful”
mp
Mpéma — breathe
like “mp” in “damp”
mv
Litamvula — fringe
like “mv” in “triumvirate”
mw
Mwambe — eight
like “mw” in “Tamworth”
nd
Ndáko — house
like “nd” in “garland”
ng
Ngúlu — pig
like “ng” in “tongue”
nk
Nkámá — cent
like “nk” in “monk”
ns
Nsinga — thread
like “ns” in “unstick”
nt
Ntaba — goat
like “nt” in “ant”
ny
Nyama — animal
like “n” in “new”
nz
Nzále — buffalo
ts
Etsúséláká — grammar
like “ts” in “its”

Trigraphs & Blends

Most Lingala consonants are pronounced similarly to their English equivalents.

Section 6
ngb
Ngbá – chopper
ngw
Ngwaa – bright
tsh
Tshádi – Chad

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