Are you looking to learn how to pronounce some names in Kikuyu? Here is a beginners guide on how to pronounce facial features in Kikuyu as you slowly learn the language. Kikuyu is a phonetic language and most of the words are pronounced as written except when you have the vowels “Ũ” and “ĩ” which are pronounced as “oh” and “eh” respectively. This guide will introduce you to basic names that we use in everyday conversation especially through describing how we feel.
Kikuyu is quite easy to learn as we don’t have too many variations of the same group of things. Furthermore, pronunciation is not hard once you understand how to roll your tongue while speaking the words and, our ‘g‘ can be either soft or hard. Our “s” “ch” can sometimes be pronounced as ‘sh’ depending on which region of Kikuyu is being spoken. For instance, Kiambu region an “s” or “c” is pronounced as is while Nyeri region pronounces their “s” and “ch” as “sh” for example, ‘Mũcere‘ (Kiambu) becomes ‘Mũshere‘ (Nyeri).
This beginners guide comes with the names as spelled and Kikuyu and how to pronounce facial features in Kikuyu. Therefore, making it easy for you learn the language. Furthermore, I included a downloadable image of the same in case you want to practice with a flashcard.
Kikuyu facial features
Mutwe- head
Pronounce “mo-toh-eh
Ũthio – face
Pronounce “oh-thi-oh
Ritho – eye
Pronounced “wreath-oh”
Maitho – eyes
Pronounce “ma-e-tho”
Inioro – nose
Pronounce “e-ni-oro”
Kanua – mouth
Pronounce “kan-oo-ah”
Rũrĩmĩ – tongue
Pronounce “ro-reh-meh”
Mirũmũ – lips
Pronounce “may-ro-mo”
Magego – teeth
Pronounce as written “mah-geh-go” using a soft ‘g’
Goto – ear
Pronounce as written “go-to” using a soft ‘g‘
Mato – ears
Pronounce as written “mah-to”
Juere – hair
Pronounce “ju-eh-re”
Gigo – neck
Pronounce as written “gi-go” with a hard ‘g‘
Deru – beard
Pronounce as written “deh-ru”
See how easy it is to pronounce facial features in Kikuyu. I hope that was not too hard on you. I believe to learn any language you just need to get the hang of rolling your tongue and vibrating your throat. Once you get a hang of it, it becomes easier to remember. It’s all muscle memory. Do not forget to download the image attached in case you need to keep refreshing your memory offline.
Be sure to check out our other articles on here as we continue to preserve this beautiful language and its culture.
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