Manding (Bambara, Dyula, & Malinké)
Numbers in Context (Currency Conversion)
Currency: CFA
The currency in Côte d’Ivoire is CFA, which is divided into its smallest bill unit of 500. When you go the market and ask “______ jeru jeru?” the seller will respond by saying “For one, (drassi) _____.” Drassi, while not always spoken aloud, is a term which shows the CFA conversion.
-Malo boro jeru jeru? How much is a bag of rice?
-Malo boro kelen, drassi waga wolonfila. One bag of rice is worth 7000 (35,000 CFA).
-Waga wolonfila? Baraka! 7000? Discount!
-Waga woro di n ma. I can do 6000 (30,000 CFA) then.
While the buyer and seller spoke in Jula, they both understood the conversion by a factor of 5 into CFA (7000 x 5 = 35,000). Also notice how it is customary to haggle in the markets. An important word that comes from Arabic is baraka, which in the context of commerce is used to lower the price of an item (the original word does not actually mean “discount”).
Example Number Chart with Currency Conversion
How many of these words can you recognize below? Try to make your own list of numbers and conversions, practicing them written and aloud. Note that in all cases, the number comes AFTER the noun in Manding. Also note that the prices below may not reflect actual costs, and that not every noun below is meant to be bought/sold.
| Number | Drassi | Wari / drassi + # |
| misi (1) kelen | 1 | 5 CFA |
| Ba (2) fila | 2 | 10 CFA |
| mangalon (3) saba | 3 | 15 CFA |
| ban (4) naani | 4 | 20 CFA |
| sise (5) loru | 5 | 25 CFA |
| baranda (6) woro | 6 | 30 CFA |
| mogo (7) wolonfila | 7 | 35 CFA |
| negeso (8) segin | 8 | 40 CFA |
| djembe (9) konondo | 9 | 45 CFA |
| wulu (10) tan | 10 | 50 CFA |
| sura (11) tan ni kelen | 12 | 55 CFA |
| sagajigi (20) munga | 20 | 100 CFA |
| filabru (21) munga ni kelen | 21 | 105 CFA |
| bokoronu (30) bisaba | 30 | 150 CFA |
| muso (40) binaani | 40 | 200 CFA |
| ce (50) biloru | 50 | 250 CFA |
| logo (60) biworu | 60 | 300 CFA |
| seben (70) biwolonfila | 70 | 350 CFA |
| bala (80) bisegin | 80 | 400 CFA |
| guitarri (90) bikonondo | 90 | 450 CFA |
| kunu (100) keme | 100 | 500 CFA |
| safina (200) keme fila | 200 | 1000 CFA |
| Lamuru (300) keme saba | 300 | 1500 CFA |
| Dunun (400) keme naani | 400 | 2000 CFA |
| sogo (500) keme loru | 500 | 2500 CFA |
| tora (1000) waga kelen | 1000 | 5000 CFA |
| mobili (2000) waga fila | 2000 | 10,000 CFA |
| telefon (3000) waga saba | 3000 | 15,000 CFA |
| drekke (10,000) waga tan | 10,000 | 50,000 CFA |
Want to define a word above? Check it here in the dictionary.
