Kabuverdianu

Cape Verdean Creole

Portuguese-based creole

FamilyPortuguese-based creole Speakers~1M ScriptLatin (ALUPEC unified orthography since 1998) CountriesCabo Verde; diaspora in USA, Portugal, Netherlands, Senegal Official inCabo Verde (national language; Portuguese is sole official) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3kea

Cape Verdean Creole (Kriolu, Kriol) is the Portuguese-based creole of the Cabo Verde archipelago in the Atlantic, with ~1M L1 speakers in the islands and a substantial diaspora (~500K in USA Boston/Brockton, Portugal, Netherlands, Senegal). Two main dialect groups: Sotavento (leeward — Santiago, Maio, Fogo, Brava) and Barlavento (windward — Santo Antão, São Vicente, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista). Despite being the L1 of virtually all Cape Verdeans and serving as national language, Portuguese remains sole official and dominates schooling. The 1998 ALUPEC (Alfabeto Unificado para a Escrita do Caboverdiano) created a unified orthography, formally adopted in 2009.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Cape Verdean Creole

Water

agu

aɡu

Fire

fogu

foɡu

Sun

sol

sɔl

Moon

lua

lua

Star

strela

ˈstɾelɐ

Night

noti

ˈnoti

Rain

txuba

ˈtʃubɐ

Snow

nevi

ˈnevi

Wind

bentu

ˈbentu

Earth

téra

tera

Stone

pedra

ˈpɛdɾɐ

Mountain

monti

ˈmõti

Sea

mar

maɾ

Mother

mai

maj

Father

pai

paj

Daughter

fidja

ˈfidʒɐ

I

mi

mi

You

bu

bu

We

nos

nɔs

Name

nómi

ˈnɔmi

Person

algen

alˈɡen

Head

kabésa

kaˈbɛsɐ

Eye

odju

odʒu

Ear

oredja

oˈɾedʒɐ

Nose

naris

naˈɾis

Mouth

boka

ˈbɔka

Tooth

denti

ˈdenti

Tongue

lingua

ˈliŋɡwa

Hand

mon

mɔ̃

Foot

pé

pɛ

Heart

korason

korasɔ̃

Bone

ósu

ˈɔsu

Blood

sangi

ˈsɐ̃ɡi

Poop

kaka

ˈkakɐ

Love

amor

amor

Tree

arvi

arvi

Dog

katxor

katʃɔr

Cat

gatu

ɡatu

Fish

pexi

ˈpeʃi

Bird

pásaru

pasaɾu

Butterfly

borboléta

boɾboˈlɛtɐ

Egg

ovu

ˈovu

Bear

ursu

ˈuɾsu

Horse

kabalu

kaˈbalu

House

kaza

kaza

Milk

leti

ˈleti

Honey

mel

mɛl

Salt

sal

sal

Wine

vinhu

ˈviɲu

Rice

arôs

ɐˈɾos

Chocolate

xokulati

Iron

féru

ˈfɛɾu

Wheel

roda

ˈrɔdɐ

Silk

seda

ˈsedɐ

Book

livru

ˈlivɾu

Eat

kume

kume

Drink

bebe

bebe

Sleep

durmi

ˈduɾmi

One

un

un

Two

dos

dos

Three

tres

tɾes

Four

kuatru

ˈkwatru

Five

sinku

ˈsiŋku

Hundred

sen

sen

Hello

ola

ɔla

Thank you

obrigadu

obriɡadu

Good

bon

bɔ̃

New

novu

ˈnovu

Red

burmedju

buɾˈmɛdʒu

White

branku

ˈbɾɐ̃ku

Black

pretu

ˈpɾetu

Green

verdi

ˈveɾdi

Blue

azul

aˈzul

Computer

konputador

kõputaˈdoɾ

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

Tea

xa

ʃa

Coffee

kafé

kaˈfɛ

Sugar

sukra

ˈsukɾɐ

Orange

laranja

laˈɾɐ̃ʒɐ

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Portuguese-based creole

Meaning Cape Verdean CreoleGuinea-Bissau KriolAngolan PortugueseMozambican PortugueseBrazilian PortugueseCape Verdean PortugueseMacanese Portuguese
Water agu /aɡu/ yagu /ˈjaɡu/ água /ˈaɡwɐ/ água /ˈaɡwɐ/ água /ˈaɡwɐ/ água /ˈaɣwɐ/ água /ˈaɣwɐ/
Fire fogu /foɡu/ fugu /ˈfuɡu/ fogo /ˈfoɡu/ fogo /ˈfoɡu/ fogo /ˈfoɡu/ fogo /ˈfoɣu/ fogo /ˈfoɣu/
Sun sol /sɔl/ sol /sɔl/ sol /sɔl/ sol /sɔl/ sol /sɔw/ sol /sɔɫ/ sol /sɔl/
Moon lua /lua/ lua /ˈlua/ lua /ˈluɐ/ lua /ˈluɐ/ lua /ˈluɐ/ lua /ˈluɐ/ lua /ˈluɐ/
Star strela /ˈstɾelɐ/ strela /ˈstrɛla/ estrela /ɨʃˈtɾelɐ/ estrela /ɨʃˈtɾelɐ/ estrela /isˈtɾelɐ/ estrela /ʃˈtɾelɐ/ estrela /ɨʃˈtɾelɐ/
Night noti /ˈnoti/ noti /ˈnoti/ noite /ˈnojte/ noite /ˈnojte/ noite /ˈnojtʃi/ noite /ˈnojte/ noite /ˈnojtɨ/
Rain txuba /ˈtʃubɐ/ cuba /ˈtʃuba/ chuva /ˈʃuvɐ/ chuva /ˈʃuvɐ/ chuva /ˈʃuvɐ/ chuva /ˈʃuvɐ/ chuva /ˈʃuvɐ/
Snow nevi /ˈnevi/ nevi /ˈnɛvi/ neve /ˈnɛvɨ/ neve /ˈnɛvɨ/ neve /ˈnɛvi/ neve /ˈnɛvɨ/ neve /ˈnɛvɨ/
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