Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

djembe

/ˈd͡ʒɛmbeɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.80 in modern English

Syllables: djem-be
IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɛmbeɪ/

18

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A large, rope-tuned, skin-covered drum played with the bare hands, used in West African and some fusion music.

Example Sentences

"There are three principal types of traditional drums in Guinean Sousou culture: the djembe, the dundun, and the tama. The djembe is a single-headed goblet-shaped drum with a relatively high-pitched tone."
"The djembe is one of the best-known and popular African drums, particular with those in the West who are interested in learning a drumming tradition."
"The djembe has become the most recognizable drum from West Africa, with a history that can be traced to the twelfth century Mali Empire and the Mandinka people."
"Very few djembes are perfectly round. Most are slightly egg- or triangle-shaped. Lack of roundness is not a problem for sound: many such djembes sound excellent."

Etymology

From French djembé, from Mandinka jembe which derives from the Bambara language, "djé" is the verb for "gather" and "bé" translates as "peace." As a result, "Anke djé, anke bé" which translates to "everyone gather together in peace" and defines the drum's purpose.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: djembé, jembe

Inflected Forms

djembes (plural) djembé (alternative) jembe (alternative) jenbe (alternative) djimbe (alternative) jimbe (alternative) dyinbe (alternative)

Questions

How do you pronounce djembe?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒɛmbeɪ/.
What does djembe mean?: A large, rope-tuned, skin-covered drum played with the bare hands, used in West African and some fusion music.
Where does djembe come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce djembe

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “djembe”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈd͡ʒɛmbeɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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