Gikuyu/ Kikuyu Greetings

Standard Kikuyu has three main divisions. These are Gaki (Nyeri), Metumi (Muranga) and Kabete or Kiambu Kikuyu (Muriuki 1974). Gĩkũyũ was not only a language but also the name of a patriarch ancestor.
The following are some common Gikuyu greetings

• Wimwega
• Uhoro Waku
• Geithika
• Ni ndakugeithia

All these mean how are you but in different forms. Wimwega  sounds more formal and Uhoro waku can be used to inquire further how a person is doing.

In Nyeri (Nyiri) however greetings differ as shown below

•  Wakia awa: awa (father). This is used by ladies to men who are their father or in the family lineage should be considered as a father. The anwer to this is Wakia maitu. It's worth noting that a mother would also greet the son this way, 
•  Wakia maitu: this is for men/women to mothers in the real sense or to all the women who would qualify to be their mother. The answer to this would be, wakia awa (to a man) and wakia iiû (to a lady).
•  Wakia iiû: a mother greeting a daughter. the reply is wakia maitu, e.g, Wanjiku's Mother: wakia iiû? Wanjiku: wakia maitu.
•  Wakia cûcû: grand child to the grandmother. the reply is the same.
•  Wakia wakini: (not commonly used). This is between men of the same age-group (riika). The reply is the same.
• Wanyua (also not common): between a young and an old man. reply the same.

Education titles in Gĩkũyũ - Marĩtwa ma ngathĩ cia gĩthomo

Education titles in Gĩkũyũ - Marĩtwa ma ngathĩ cia gĩthomo

Gĩgĩkũyũ	Gĩthũngũ (English)
1. Mũranja wa Ũturi	Bachelor of Arts
2. Ugo wa Mũranja wa Ũturi	Bachelor of Arts Thesis
3. Mũranja wa Thayathi (Ũthimũri)	Bachelor of Science
4. Ugo wa Mũranja wa Thayathi (Ũthimũri)	Bachelor of Science Thesis
5. Mũramati wa Ũturi	Master of Arts
6. Ugo wa Mũramati wa Ũturi	Master of Arts Thesis
7. Mũramati wa Thayathi (Ũthimũri)	Master of Science
8. Ugo wa Mũramati wa Thayathi (Ũthimũri)	Master of Science Thesis
9. Mũgo wa Ũthamaki	Doctor of Philosophy
10. Ũgo wa Mũgo wa Ũthamaki	Ph.D. Dissertation
11. Ugo/Njugo	Thesis/Theses
12. Ũgo/Moogo	Dissertation/Dissertations

Ngatho nyingĩ kuma kũrĩ ; www.gatua.com

Parts of the body in Gĩkũyũ- Ciĩga cia mwĩrĩ

mũtwe - head
Njuĩrĩ - hair
Iniũrũ - nose
Kanua - mouth
Igego- tooth, magego – teeth,
Ikaburu – molar, makaburu - molars
Kĩreru - chin
nderu – beard, materu - beards
riitho – eye. maitho – eyes, butu - eyelashes
ngingo - neck
kĩande – shoulder, ciande - shoulders
guoko – hand, moko - hands
Kaara – finger, tũara fingers (Tuara, with a change of tone,also means deliver something somewhere)
igokora - elbow
Nda - stomach
Gĩthũri - chest
Mũkonyo - Belly button
Njohero - Waist
Kĩero – thigh, ciero - thighs
Kũgũrũ – leg, magũrũ - legs
ikinya – foot, makinya - feet ( also foot steps)
Clothing and related items
Nguo - clothes, Nguo cia mwĩrĩ - clothes for the body - mwĩrĩ body
Shati - shirt, Thuruarĩ - Shorts/pants, Mũbũto - Trousers
Thogithi - socks, Ngobia - hat/cap, tai - neck tie,
Mĩwani - spectacles, kiratũ - shoe, Iratũ- shoes, Taritari - sandals
Gĩtambaya - cloth, Gĩtambaya kia mũtwe - Head scarf
Mindira - ear rings, Bangiri - bangle(s), Mbete - ring, Mũgathi - necklace

Kairitu karia njikaraga nako - The girl i live with...

Yes i am a girl and i live with a girl.... Even my people - andu a gichagi nimoi ati nindiraikara na kairitu, We commonly refer her as Kairitu karia njikaraga nako. She is young this one, early twenties...Just graduated from the university . Bright eyed, strong and definetely ambitious... i miss being like that. You are filled with optimism, your dreams are timeless and you have not faced enough dissapointments to make your faith alittle weak.... Anyway this girl is kikuyu like me but she does not know the language at all.(Apart from haiya, Ngai, Atia atia, and of course all the vegetable and fruits names)

Last week she asked me what 'kuhoha ' means... i said it means to wither. The she told me she thought it meant tired... found it very funny. Our vegetables are 'tired' Interesting all her friends are kikuyu and they dont speak the language at all. Of course apart form the word haiya and the rest! Its interesting that day by day she learns a new word. She still gets shocked that i speak to my dad in gikuyu over the phone... that i can quote bible verses in kikuyu... I wish she could love the language more... love her second name the way is was meant to be and not make it sound like a foreign disease.. 'Shiko' or 'Shixx' . What happened to old plain "Njitagwo Wanjiku wa Irungu". Despite that i identify with her, I understand her generation. Her parents never spoke to he in kikuyu and her efforts to learn were probably comedy time in the house and no one took this learning endeavor seriously.

Its never too late to try... Kairitu karia njikaraga nako nikarageria (The girl i live with is trying to learn gikuyu)

It has obviously been long. No ona kuhana uguo gĩkũyũ no mũhaka tũthome.I have a friend who inquired about the months of the year in Gikuyu language. Most of us know the months in English and so we do not take time to learn the moths in Gikuyu. So here they are!

Mĩeri ya Gĩgĩkũyũ	Gĩthũngũ/ English
1. Mũgaa	January
2. Mũgetho (kana Themithũ)	February
3.Kĩhu	March
4. Mũthaatũ	April
5. Gĩthathanwa	May
6. Gacicia	June
7. Muoria Nyoni	July
8. Mũgiranjara	August
9. Kamũgaa	September
10. Kĩhu gĩa Kerĩ	October
11. Kanyua Hũngũ (kana Kanyua Mbora)	November
12. Gatumu	December

Ndemwa cia Gikuyu

Ndemwa Cia Gikuyu- Letters of the Gikuyu Alphabet

Ukigikorwo ndwakurire hindi twathomaga gabuku getagwo "wirute gothoma na kwandika gikuyu"  noukorwo utoi maundu maingi ma. Kabuku kau kari na ng'ano imwe njega muno muno... Kamwe gacio kari rugano rwa "wango'mbe waihura" Nikio andu  amwe marandika gikuyu uru muno. Ni uru muno kurigwo ni ruthoni rwaku kana gwiciria ati ni guthie na mbere hindi iria uraremwo ni  kwaria gikuyu kiega.

Ndindiramakire muno kuona mundu andikite " Fafa"  nandamuria uguo ni kuga atia aranjira ni  "baba" na githungu ni ' father' kana 'daddy'. Ndemwa cia gikuyu  ni ici.


Ndemwa Cia Gikuyu

a- baba

b- (mugambo wa f)- bururi

c- cucu igwetawo ta s (it depends on the dialect) andu a nyeri 'sh' andu a murang'a (s)

d - no ikiandiko kaingi niyo ngagirirwo n- ndutu

e- ene

g- guka

h- hungu

i - ibuku
j-  no ikiandiko kaingi niyo ngagirirwo n- njuku

k- kunoga

m- muno- ikiandikwo rimwe niyo ngagirirwo b - mbere- mbura
n- nugu
o -  (vowel)  ihuthikaga kunyitithania
r- riua-
t- tiiri
u- (vowel) ihuthikaga kunyitithania- kanyau
w- waru
y- ihuthikaga na n - kunyua

OTHERS

ĩ- Kaingi ndikoragwo computer ini.i gwetago ta  sound 'a' na githungu
ũ- igwetagwo ta sound "o" na githungu.

Nyimbo cia Kuinira Ngai

My earliest childhood memory: people singing  and me moving my mouth and pretending to know the song...It still happens even now. Every time i visit an Anglican church and we have to sing those old songs which if transleted, the meaning and weight gets lost.. Its never the same. Its like asking "Oh what peace we often forfeit, take it to the lord  in prayer" and the alternative in gikuyu .

I dont have a favourite song in the hymn book.... they are all so good. However both my grandmas (two women of faith) Nyina wa mahuru na Nyina wa Jathani (read Jason) mari atumia a witikio munene muno muno. I remember during one of the burials singing the song "Wihoke Mwathani Rugendoini" and i sang the song with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. Tears because my dad was burying his mother and i watched him trying to appear strong. I watched him mouht the word from ' Ibuku ria Thaara' "Mundu owothe uciaritwo ni mutumia....."  I though it was sad because the woman in question had raised him. I was sad because this woman had fondly called me "nyakanyagia" i dont know what it means but i loved it. I was sad because i competed for her affection with my other cousins. I was sad because after the death of my mother she had done her best to teach me that life was not always fair and not everyone had your best intersts at heart.I was sad because she was for a few years before losing her memory a mother to me.


"Ngaci ya mwana wene niyo ihoragia mwaki" she always said. I smiled because she was at rest..  I smiled because she always spoke her mind without fear of being judged. I smiled because she taught me my first vulgar kikuyu words and the shock when my dad heard me say them.. I smiled becasue she told me about her circumcicion ceremony when i was eight years old.... I smiled because her food always tasted good even if it was all cooked in the same pot and was boiled together. I remembered nostalgically of how she would carry her bible in her kiondo as she went for " githomo"(service)  and me for  "sunday" (sunday school) and how later we would drink a "thota"(soda)  from " ha wa jothitu" (wa Johnstone) So with tears in my eyes, a smile on my lips and a wavering voice i sang "Wihoke mwathani rugendoini...."

Oh no i lost it .........i was going to write some of those dear songs  but i guess thats for next time