Dictionnaire Kikongo

Kikongo, or more commonly known as Kongo or Kituba, is one of the few Bantu languages spoken by the Ndundu and Kongo people living in the Democractic Republic of Congo and Angola.

Dictionnaire Kikongo is a simple yet useful software that offers its users translations to some of the most popular Kikongo words and expressions. Since the official language in Congo is French, it’s no surprise that the dictionary offers French translations appealing mostly to the country’s citizens, as well as any French speakers out there.

Before anything else, it’s worth noting that the app contains the most common words taken from the Rene Butaye Dictionary (SJ Edition de l’imprimerie B. St. Lg. Kisantu 1952).

The installation is quite straightforward, as the application has no special requirements. The interface is quite simple, so even the most novice of users won’t have many problems looking up Kikongo words. Users can either scroll through the list of words on the left side of the main window or use the adjacent search bar in the upper-left corner to pinpoint the exact words.

The definitions (all in French, of course), are listed in the right-sided panel which is the primary GUI element taking up most of the app’s window space. By clicking the Info. button from the lower part of the GUI, users can access a full list of signs and abbreviations, and that’s really about it.

Dictionnaire Kikongo is a non-pretentious application that takes little to no space and allows French-speaking users to look up Kikongo words and their definitions. Even though most of Congo’s population is French-speaking, we should point out that this app would have a bit more general appeal if it would provide English-based definitions as well.