Learn Kriolu. Speak English. Connect with Cabo Verde.
Cover every level — from your first “Ola, kumó ki bu sta?” to fluent conversation — through realistic everyday interactions, stories, and a living community dictionary. Santiago & São Vicente variants.
⚡ KrioluBridge Live
Your complete communication toolkit — real language, real people, real opportunities.
How does it work?
Taking lessons to level up your Kriolu should not be hard or expensive.
On your own schedule
Short, interactive lessons you can take anytime, from anywhere — no need to adjust your life around a class timetable.
All levels, skip ahead
Start at the level that matches your skills — complete beginner to heritage speaker — and skip ahead or review freely.
Real social interactions
Lessons built on everyday Cabo Verdean life: greetings at home, bargaining at the market, travelling between islands.
Replay & practise
Replay listening, flashcards and quizzes as many times as you need to build real fluency and confidence.
Loved by our community ❤️
“I grew up abroad speaking broken Kriolu. Aside from family, I never had a way to learn our language — this gives me and my kids that door back home.”
Heritage learner · USA diaspora
“Words and phrases in varied forms of Kriolu, with cultural references — it makes it fun to dive into our maternal language.”
Tour founder · Santiago
“An open door to everyone wishing to learn — and to contribute — towards the enhancement of not only Kriolu, but creoleness itself.”
Linguist & author
📖 Learn through stories
Short bilingual stories narrated in Kriolu and English, from storytellers' traditions of the islands. Tap a story, read page by page, listen, and tap 🔊 on any line.
🎧 Ouve Kriolu
Hands-free listening: narrated stories and key phrases, spoken by your Kriolu voice. Press play, follow the transcript, and earn +10 XP per finished episode — perfect while cooking, walking or commuting.
💬 Papia ku Max
Practice real conversations with Max, your patient Kriolu-speaking friend. Pick a scenario, tap the right reply — or type it yourself — and earn +3 XP per reply. Every line comes from the app's verified Kriolu sources. Tap 🔊 on any bubble to hear it.
🗺️ Your road to fluent Kriolu
45 lessons · 15 units · 410+ core words — plus a 7,831-entry full dictionary. Follow the path in order — each stage builds on the last. Aim for 1 lesson a day and you'll finish the full course in about six weeks.
Units 1–2: greetings, family, food
Units 3–4: verbs, numbers, time, months
Units 5–6: directions, weather, eating out
Units 7–8: home, body, transport, money
Units 9–10: stories, opinions, work, tech
Units 11–12: grammar mastery, nature & the islands
Units 13–15: proverbs, music, media, fluency
🥉 Bronze League
Finish in the top 10 to promote — everyone starts here.
🃏 Flashcards
Tap a card to flip it. Mark what you know to earn XP — tricky cards come back more often.
🔤 English ⇄ Português ⇄ Kriolu
Type, paste or speak — in three languages, any direction. The language is detected automatically. Kriolu comes from a dictionary of 7,831+ words and phrases (Santiago/Badiu) — when São Vicente says it differently, both forms are shown. Tap 👍/👎 to help us improve.
Your translation appears here…
🟢 Green chips = word found in the dictionary · 🔴 Red = not in the dictionary yet (kept as-is — try simpler words, or add it in Dictionary → Contribute). 🇻🇨 São Vicente forms appear under the translation when they differ. 👍/👎 sends anonymous feedback that helps improve the translator.
⚡ Try these
🧠 How smart is it?
It recognises full phrases first (“Thank you very much” → Mutu obrigadu), then sentence patterns (“I want …”, “Where is …?”, “My name is …”, “I am from …”), then translates word by word from the built-in dictionary. It works offline and instantly. For perfect human translation of long texts, always check with a native speaker. ❤️
⚡ KrioluBridge Live
Your complete communication toolkit — learn and talk. Five tools that take KrioluBridge from a learning app to an everyday bridge between people. 🌍
🕘 Translation history
Everything you translate — here, in Smart Reply and in the image translator — collects on this device and syncs to your account when you're logged in. Tap one to translate it again.
🧠 How it works — honestly
English ⇄ Kriolu translation runs privately inside your browser and works offline. Portuguese directions use this site's translation service when you're online. Speech recognition covers English and Portuguese — Kriolu speech uses our best-effort Portuguese ear with Kriolu respelling. The Screen Translator and Keyboard are Android features: they arrive with the KrioluBridge Android app (in development — no fake demos here). Nothing is ever read, sent or translated in the background — you always tap first. ❤️
📚 Translations & Expressions
A dictionary of 7,831+ Kriolu translations and everyday expressions — the complete English–Kriolu (Badiu/Santiago) reference, plus community contributions. Tap 🔊 to hear a word.
📚 Sources: “English to Kriolu Dictionary” (Badiu/Santiago & Sanpajudu/Barlavento forms) · “Disonariu Kabuverdianu” (Pires, Hutchison & Gonçalves, 1994, Mother Tongue Editions) · “Kriolu Communication Tools” phrasebook — imported with light cleanup.
✍️ Contribute a word
Our dictionary grows with the community — like Kriolu itself. Add a word or expression and it will appear here instantly (saved on this device).
📐 Kriolu grammar — the whole system
Good news: Kriolu grammar is beautifully logical. Verbs never change for person, there are no genders or verb tables to memorise — small marker words do all the work. Master this page and you can build almost any sentence.
Who is speaking
N / Ami — I, me
bu / Abo — you (one person)
el — he, she, it
nos / Anos — we, us
nhos — you (several / formal)
es — they, them
Nha = my · bu = your · se = his/her · nos = our · ses = their
Nha mai = my mother
Subject – Verb – Object
Same shape as English:
N (I) ta kume (eat) pexi (fish)
= I eat fish.
Questions keep the same order — just add a question word or a rising tone:
Bu kre agua? — Do you want water?
The heart of Kriolu
Put a marker before the verb instead of changing it:
(no marker) — completed fact: N kume = I ate
ta — habit / future: N ta kume = I eat / I'll eat
sa ta — happening now: N sa ta kume = I'm eating
dja — already: N dja kume = I already ate
-ba (suffix) — past habit/state: N moraba li = I used to live here
ta + verb + -ba — was doing: N ta kumeba = I was eating
Saying “not” with ka
Put ka before the verb/marker:
N ka sabe — I don't know
El ka sta li — She isn't here
N ka ta bai — I'm not going / I don't go
Nunka = never · ka … mas = no longer
Three little giants
sta — be (state, place, feeling): N sta bon = I'm well · El sta na kaza = He's home
é — be (identity, quality): N é di Praia = I'm from Praia · Es é bonitu = It's beautiful
ten — have / there is: N ten un fidju = I have a child
Me, you, him, her — stuck on the verb
Short pronouns attach after the verb:
-m me · -bu you · -l him/her/it · -nos us · -nhos you (pl.) · -s them
N odja-l — I saw him/her
Djuda-m! — Help me!
N konxi-bu — I know you
Ask anything
Kuzé? — What?
Kenha / Ken? — Who?
Undi? — Where?
Kuandu? — When?
Pamodi / Pamó? — Why?
Kantu? — How much / many?
Ki ora? — What time?
Kumó / Modi? — How?
Kal? — Which?
Bigger, better, best
mas + adjective = more/-er:
mas grandi = bigger · mas altu = taller
midjór = better · piór = worse
tan … komu = as … as:
tan altu komu bo = as tall as you
di tudu = of all (the most): mas grandi di tudu
Complex sentences
si = if · kuandu = when · pamodi = because · mas = but · enton = so/then
Si bu bai, N ta bai tanbe.
If you go, I'll go too.
N fica kaza pamodi N sta duenti.
I stayed home because I'm sick.
More than one
Plural is usually shown by -s or by context/numbers:
dos fidju = two children
nha amigu-s = my friends
un = a/an · kel / es = this/that one:
kel kaza = that house
es livru li = this book here
Telling someone to do it
Just use the verb, with energy:
Ben li! — Come here!
Senta! — Sit!
Ka fala! — Don't speak!
Obi! — Listen!
Speak first, perfect later
Kriolu speakers love it when you try. A simple “Ola, kumó ki bu sta? N sta ta prende Kriolu!” (Hello, how are you? I'm learning Kriolu!) will open every door, market stall and family kitchen in Cabo Verde. ❤️
📋 Kriolu reference
The whole language on one page — phrases, numbers, money, grammar and cultural words. Tap any 🔊 to hear it spoken.
💬 Everyday expressions
👋 Greetings
❓ Question words
🗣 Conversation starters
The phrases that get you through any first conversation.
🎨 Colors · 🔢 Numbers · 🥇 Ordinals · 📅 Days
🎨 Colors
🔢 Numbers 1–10
🥇 Ordinals
📅 Days of the week
💰 Money & prices
How to say any amount in escudos — and the phrases you need to pay for it. Tap 🔊 to hear each one.
💵 Skudu — the Cape Verdean escudo
The money of Cabo Verde is the escudo cabo-verdiano (CVEC), pegged to the euro: 1 € ≈ 110$. Prices are written with the cifrão: 150$00 = 150 escudos · 2.500$00 = 2,500 escudos. Centavos are almost never used — amounts are simply rounded. Markets and street stalls are cash-only; cards are widely accepted in Praia and Mindelo shops, and Multicaixa is the local ATM network.
🗣 Asking & paying
🔢 Numbers for prices
💬 Say a price
People usually drop the word skudu: Kusta dos mili. = It costs 2,000$.
📐 Basic grammar
📝 Five rules
• Nouns are masculine or feminine — the masculine predominates.
• Plural adds S, but is often omitted.
• The definite article (the) is usually omitted; the indefinite (a, some) is kept.
• Adjectives agree with gender, seldom with number.
• Negation: ka before the verb — N ka sabe.
⚡ To be: ser × sta
Ser — permanent states: who you are.
Sta — temporary states: how you are right now.
⏱ Verb tenses
Present — root unchanged: N podi.
Past — add -ba: podeba, viveba, permitiba.
Future — ta + present: N ta podi.
Conditional — ta + past: N ta podeba.
👉 Demonstratives
Es — this / these
Kel — that
Kes — those
Kel la · Kes la — that / those over there
👥 Pronouns
| Personal | Possessive | Possessive adj. |
|---|---|---|
| I — N / Ami | my — Nha | mine — Di meo |
| you — Bu / Abo | your — Bu | yours — Di bo |
| he — El / Ael | his — Se | his — Di sel |
| she — El / Ael | hers — Se | hers — Di sel |
| we — Nu / Anos | our — Nos | ours — Di nos |
| you all — Nhos / Anhos | your — Nhos | yours — Di nhos |
| they — Es / Aes | their — Ses | theirs — Di ses |
🏃 Essential verbs
🇨🇻 Cultural vocabulary
Words with no English equivalent — food, music and island life.
🔤 Alfabétu Kabuverdianu
Since 2009 Kriolu has officially had its own alphabet: 24 letters + 4 digraphs — DJ, LH, NH and TX. There is no C, Q or W — every sound gets its own letter. Tap a letter to learn its word, hear the sentence and answer the question out loud.
Adapted with gratitude from “Nha Primeru Livru di Alfabetu Kabuverdianu” by Learn Kabuverdianu.
🎵 Nos Terra, Nos Kriolu
“Our land, our Creole.” Language lives in food, music and family — explore what makes Cabo Verde home.
Katxupa
The national dish: slow-cooked hominy corn, beans, vegetables and fish or meat. Fried leftovers with egg — katxupa refogadu — are the classic breakfast.
Morna & Cesária Évora
The soulful morna, carried worldwide by Cesária Évora of Mindelo, sings of love, sea and sodadi.
Sodadi
A deep, bittersweet longing for a person, place or time. With more Cape Verdeans abroad than at home, sodadi is a way of life — and Kriolu is the bridge.
Two Kriolu families
Sotavento (Santiago, Maio, Fogo, Brava) and Barlavento (São Vicente, Santo Antão, Sal…) — this app teaches Santiago, with more variants coming.
Sound like family
Familia sta bon? — Is the family well?
Deus ku bo — God be with you.
Fika ku Deus — Stay with God (warm goodbye).
Sidadi Velha
Cidade Velha — Ribeira Grande di Santiago, the cradle of the Cabo Verdean nation and its first capital — inscribed by UNESCO as Patrimoniu Mundial di Umanidadi (World Heritage) on 26 June 2009. Walk its royal road, the Pelourinho and the São Filipe fortress: five centuries of history.
ALUPEC
Kriolu is written with ALUPEC, the unified alphabet officially recognised in Cabo Verde. Spelling here follows ALUPEC for the Santiago variant.
👤 Kriolu Learner
Level 1 · Beginner
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Complete all 3 daily quests to bank a freeze (max 2). Spent automatically if you miss a day.
🏅 Achievements
⚙️ Settings
Variant: Santiago (Badiu) · Audio: browser voice (free) or a cloned Cape Verdean voice (beta — card below)
🎤 English accent (voice recognition)
American, British, Nigerian, Ghanaian, Indian, Kenyan, South African and more — pick how English sounds to you. Falls back automatically if a model is unavailable.
🔔 Daily reminder (optional)
A gentle nudge to keep your streak alive — fires while the app or a browser tab is open. Off by default, no spam, opt out anytime.
Reminders are off.
🗣️ Cape Verdean Voice beta
Speak every word, phrase, translation and lesson with a real cloned Kriolu voice (ElevenLabs). When enabled on this site it is used automatically everywhere — no need to switch it on. Falls back to the free browser voice offline.
🔐 The ElevenLabs API key never leaves the server — the site admin sets it under Settings → Kriolu Voice in WordPress admin.
Bem-vindu! Welcome
Create a free account to save your progress across devices.
Demo account — saved only on this device.
Smart Reply · Skrebi i tradusi
Write your reply in any language, pick the language to send, translate, fix it if you want — then copy and paste it in WhatsApp, Messenger or SMS. Nothing is ever sent automatically.
Image Translator · Tradusi imagen
Photos, screenshots, documents — we read the text, you check it, then translate. English and Portuguese read best; Kriolu images come through the Portuguese reader, so fix any slips in the box.
You can also paste a screenshot (Ctrl+V)
Screen Translator
A floating KrioluBridge bubble over your apps
On Android, the KrioluBridge bubble floats over WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Messenger, TikTok and your browser. Tap it and it translates the messages on your screen — selected text, or the whole screen with the camera reader — into English, Portuguese or Kriolu, automatically detecting the language. You choose: always English, always Portuguese, always Kriolu, or ask me first.
Our promise: it only ever reads your screen at the moment you tap the bubble. Never in the background, never secretly, and nothing is stored.
Until the Android app ships: use Smart Reply 💬 (here in Live) — copy the translation and paste it into any app. It already works today.
Translation Keyboard
Type in any language, translate as you go
The KrioluBridge Keyboard for Android types in English, Portuguese and Kriolu with a translate key: write in one language, tap, and the translated text lands right in the message field — you review it and press Send. It suggests words from the same 7,831-entry dictionary the learning app uses, and it's optional: it never replaces your keyboard without your permission.
Until then: Smart Reply 💬 gives you the same write → translate → copy flow on any device, today.
Conversation mode · Interprete
Tap the mic and start talking.
The app hears each phrase, detects whether it\'s English 🇬🇧 or Kriolu 🇨🇻, translates it and speaks it aloud. Tap any green bubble to hear it again.
Kriolu is heard through a Portuguese ear (best effort — no Kriolu speech engine exists yet). Works best in Chrome/Edge with the mic allowed.