Colours |
There is not one specific word for colour in Zarma, but there are several words and different ways to express the idea of colour. The word 'iri' (also meaning 'we') seems to be used most often in a general sense. The word 'hari' (also meaning 'water') is used for 'colour' in combinations. The word 'dumi' seems to be mostly related to the colour of skin of hair. It also signifies 'different sorts of something'. The word 'biya' means shadow, but is also used to indicate shade, hue or tint. One can use other terms to get the idea of colour. There are 9 main colours with several colour specifications. Example phrases are given to show the use of colours. For the colour of skin sometimes a different word is used. To conclude there are some special combinations with colour with a specific meaning.
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Words for 'colour' |
Zarma word |
English |
Example |
English translation |
| iri, iro |
colour; we, us, our |
i ga koko iro bare |
they will change the colour of the fabric |
| hari, haro |
colour; thing; water |
gooro hari |
orange (lit. the colour of a cola nut) |
| dumi, dumo |
colour, kind, sort |
a gaahamo kulu ga to mo da hamni dumi kulu |
it body is full of feathers, which had divers colors |
| biya |
hue, tint, shade; shadow, shade |
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| doniji, donijyo |
glowing metal
(lit. ? - oil) |
ay di koyne sanda doniji |
I saw as the colour of amber / copper |
guuru-say,
guuru-sayo |
'metal - yellow' |
i ga ɲaale sanda guuru-say ziirante cine. |
they are sparkling as the colour of bright brass |
| ɲaale |
to shine, to sparkle |
sanda hiiri kaŋ ga ɲaale |
as the colour of beryl |
| ɲalawyaŋ, ɲalawyaŋo |
brightness |
danga diji kaŋ a ɲalawyaŋ |
as the colour of ice |
| taalamante, taalamanta |
decorated, embelished |
a gonda jabba taalamante |
he has a coat of many colours |
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Colours |
Colour |
Zarma |
English |
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bi, biyo |
black |
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boosu-boosu |
gray |
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kwaaray, kwaarayo |
white |
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ciray, cira |
(blood) red, brown red |
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ciray coy (cuy) |
scarlet |
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ciray gina |
pink |
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boogu, booga
(SKd) yargay, yarga |
green; green-blue, hyacinth blue |
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yeeri, yeero |
gray-green |
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suudi, suudiyo;
buula (F) |
blue
(also: bluing, laundry blue) |
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siini, siino |
indigo blue |
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hansi kuri, hansi kuro;
buguda-buguda |
violet (lit. dog's blood) |
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suniya |
purple |
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say, sayo;
(SKd) oole, oola |
yellow |
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gooro hari, gooro haro 1 |
orange (lit. cola nut's colour) |
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daara; guraw, gurawo |
brown |
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haama |
dark brown |
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Other names used to describe the colour orange are 'kolkoti hari' (maize colour) and 'tonko hari' (hot pepper's colour) |
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Examples of use of colours in phrases |
Zarma |
English |
| ciray sanda danji cine |
fiery red |
| hari si kaa, zama beena ga ciray-ciray |
Iit will be fair weather, for the sky is red |
| almano gaahamo iciray coy |
a scarlet-colored animal |
| sintinay wano fatta, a ga ciray coy |
the first came out red all over |
| a banda mo bari ciray yaŋ go no, da guraw yaŋ, da ikwaaray yaŋ mo |
and behind him there were red, brown, and white horses |
| i na bankaarayey te nda fatala suudi nda suniya nda iciray |
clothing was made with blue, purple and red cloth |
| tuuri boogu |
a green tree |
| i ga boogu-boogu mo, wala i ga ciray-ciray |
greenish or reddish |
| kopto tayo |
green herb (lush) |
| reyzin ize gani |
green (sour) grapes (unripe) |
| wura nda nzarfu goray daariyaŋ go no mo marbre daba boŋ, kaŋ gonda iciray da ikwaaray da isay da ibi |
the couches were of gold and silver, on a pavement of red, white, yellow, and black marble |
| a gonda hamni mariyo fooyaŋ kaŋ yaŋ ga say-say |
the hair in it is yellowish and thin |
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The colour of skin |
Zarma |
English |
| annasara |
white person, European |
| biya |
shadow, spirit |
| boro bi |
black person, African |
| daara |
to be light (brown) skinned |
| haama |
to be dark (brown) skinned |
| saaye |
brown (cow) |
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Shades |
The standard way in Zarma to indicate that colour has a light shade is to add 'gani'. To say that the shade is dark, one adds 'nino'. There are however other and more ways to indicate the shade. Some examples are given below. |
Zarma |
English |
| Blue (buula) |
| buula gani |
light blue |
| buula nino |
dark blue |
| siini |
indigo blue |
| Gray (boosu-boosu) |
| boosu gani |
light gray |
| boosu nino |
dark gray |
| boosu |
charcoal black |
| Green (boogu) |
| booni, boono |
green (of unripe fruit) |
| gani, gano |
green (of unripe fruit) |
| tay, tayo |
green (of lush herbs, leaves, crops) |
| yeeri, yeero |
gray-green |
| Red (cirey) |
| ciray gani |
pink, light red |
| ciray cos |
real red |
| ciray coy (cuy) |
scarlet, intense red |
| ciray moros |
soft strong red |
| ciray nino |
(lively) dark red |
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Special combinations |
Zarma |
English |
| basi ciray, basi cira |
raw flesh |
| hamni kwaaray, hamni kwaara |
gray hair |
| gunguri say, gunguri sayo |
(egg) yolk, (egg) yoke |
| gunguri kwaaray, gunguri kwaara |
egg white |
| kuri margu |
(the) bruise |
| mo ize kwaariyaŋ, mo ize kwaariyaŋo |
sclera, white |
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| colour is both adjective and verb |
| bi |
black; to be black |
| ciray |
red; to be red |
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| doubling the colour name <colour>ish, that is somewhat <colour> |
| bi-bi |
blackish |
| ciray-ciray |
reddish |
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| i + <colour> = noun which reference to noun mentioned earlier |
| ibi |
the black |
| iciray |
the red |
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| <colour> + andi = to make, to colour or to become <colour> |
| biirandi |
to blacken, to make darker |
| cirandi |
to redden |
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