Romani dialects

Roma, Romany Gypsies, Manuches, Kale and Sinti and people with Roma descent live in various countries across the world.

There are more than 10 million people of Romani descent in Europe alone. Romani is a rich family of languages with an Indo-Aryan root. Romani is the only Indio-Aryan language that has been spoken exclusively in Europe since the Middle Ages and whose vocabulary and grammar are related to Sanskrit.

The language used by Romani people is a source of great pride, facilitating the connectivity and communication between people across the world. Nearly all Romani speakers are multilingual (speak another language) and also use the language of the majority population where they live. It is estimated that there are 4.6 million Romani speakers in Europe. There are many different dialects of Romani spoken and in England alone, there can be differences in words commonly spoken in the North and in the South of the country and differences in spelling between people.

Thank you to Mattey Mitchell, Mihai Bica, Aluna Lepadatu and Martina Stipakova for support with these translations.

How are you? Sar shan/so keresa? So kăres? Sar sal?
I'm good thank you Shom kushti, palikerava toot Mes sim mișto, nais tukă Laces, Palikerav
What is your name? So see chiro nav? So si kiro anav? Sar pes vicines?
My name is... Murro nav see… Muro anav si... Me pes vicinav…
Would you like a cup of tea? Komessa lumbas/chai? Kames ekh cuci ciau? Kames teja?
I would love a cup of tea Ava, may komava lumbas/chai Me kamav ekh cuci ciau Kamlomas teja
One, two, three Yek, doi, trin Ekh, dui, trin Jek, duj, trin
Pig Bawlo
Child, children Chavi, chavies
Pretty Romany girl Rinkeni chi, chi shugra
Stupid, fool, idiot Dinlo
Fortune telling Dukkering
Non-travelling person Gorja (Gawjie)
Man Mush
Brother Pal, pral
Oh dear Oh dordi
Bread Manro, panam
Romany talk Romany Rokker
To speak Rokker
The Romani language Romany Jib
Person Rom
To be happy Mandies kushti
Clever/knowledgeable Godi, yokki
To run Praster, shav
Traditional Romany wagon Vardo
Fire Yog

If you are a teacher, take a look at our teaching resources.

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