Minionese (The Minion Language)

--by JerseyCaptain--

During the various movies and mini-movies of the franchise, we hear the minion characters speaking what at first sounds like gibberish.  However, upon closer analysis, it becomes clear that they are actually speaking words which sound vaguely familiar.  This is because they are, in fact, doing just that.  The minion language, developed by directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, incorporates aspects of many real-world languages, including French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Filipino and English...and individual minionese words are mirrors of words from those languages.  Of course, there are many instances when the voice actors (Coffin, Renaud and a couple of others) also are speaking gibberish too.
 

In the absence of an official Minionese phrase book (from either Universal Pictures or Illumination Entertainment, the copyright owners), anything which can be found on the internet (or elsewhere) about the minion language is simply fan interpretation of what is heard on screen.  And there are many internet sites which have a minion lexicon.  Many are echoes of what is found on similar sites, and there are also variations on words in the language, based on how they were heard by a certain fan. 


Perhaps either Universal or Illumination will release an official lexicon or phrasebook someday.  Until then, the minion language is pretty much left up to individual interpretation, as nothing yet posted on the internet falls into the official or canon categories (as noted above, there are various interpretations...and everyone seems to think that theirs is the only correct one.  Many people are quite passionate about that too, so you have been forewarned). 
 

As an additional resource, here is a well-written article about the language and its development.

However, before we delve into the language itself, here is a brief video, from Illumination Entertainment's YouTube page, about it:

 

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So let's have a look at the minion language.  Below I have broken the minion words and phrases in alphabetical order, given not only concurrence with what else appears on the internet, but upon my own careful hearing and interpretation of the spoken words.  I have added some that no other internet site has...which means what I added will also include my own interpretation of any given word or phrase as it translates to English.  Some words are equivalent or similar to their English counterparts, others to other real-world languages.  In some cases, I have provided a pronunciation example in parentheses right after the word.  It is worth noting that, in the case of some Minionese words, such as the word for "stop", there is more than one pronunciation (in this case, either "stopa" or "stupa", depending upon how the particular voice actor pronounced the word on screen).

 

A

ama - arm

aya! - hey!

B

banana - banana

bananonina - ugly

bapple - apple

bee do - general alarm sound

bella - pretty/beautiful

bello - hello

bido - I'm sorry

bomba - bomb

bulaka - "what's going on here?"

C

chaisy - chair

con - like/as (comparative adjective)

D

du - you

dul - two

G

gelato - ice cream

gli (pronounced like the Italian "gli"...sounds similar to "li") - he/it

H

hana - one

K

kanpai! - cheers

kaput - broken

L

la - the/a/an

la batima ki? - how about this?

la batima no? - how about no?

la boda - marriage

la piñata - swatter (fly swatter)

le bi do? - you okay?

M

makara na - what is a.../what's a...

makari do (pronounced "mahkahree doh")? - what's wrong with you?

makaro! - I give up!

matoka - I'm hungry

me (pronounced "meh") - me

me ti amo - I love you

me li dua - I'll do it

mi - my

moka! - damn!
(also general expression of frustration or determination)

N

na, du, throo! - ready, set, go!

O

ooh la la! - oh brother!/oy vey!

P

papagena - beautiful/sweetheart/baby
(term of romantic affection)

papoi (sometimes spelled/pronounced "baboi") - toy

para tu - for you

po ka - what

poopaye - goodbye

pula nola matoka - I'm really hungry

pwede na? - can we start?

pwego! - fire! (a gun)

S

sae - three

sika (pronounced "seeka" or sometimes "seega") - watch/look

sopa - shut up

speta - watch/look

stupa/stopa - stop

T

tank yu - thank you

tatata bala tu - I hate you

teka badaboom! - ready the cannon!

tu - you

tulalioo ti amo - we love you