Lingala

noun

Lin·​ga·​la liŋ-ˈgä-lə 

: a Bantu language widely used in trade and public affairs in the Congo River area

Examples of Lingala in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Local languages, like French and Lingala, are as foreign as her surroundings. — Mark Banchereau, Chicago Tribune, 15 May 2026

In the press box at halftime, Congolese journos exhort the team in French and Lingala, a Bantu language native to their homeland. — Franklin Leonard, Vanity Fair, 14 May 2026

In 2020, when digital social activism reached its peak, Lingala noticed that, in a social sense, conservatism then became the unpopular counterculture. — Essence, 21 Aug. 2025

Kabila, by contrast, gives off an air of detachment, reinforced by his foreign upbringing, his lack of fluency in Lingala, and persistent rumors of Rwandan ancestry. — Stuart A. Reid, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Lingala

• cabala
• corolla
• impala
• kabbalah
• kamala
• koala
• masala
• oglala
• allah
• bala
• cala
• cholla