burundi

IPA/bʊˈrʊndi/
KK[bɚˈʌndi]IPA/bʊˈrʊndi/

burundi — noun

1. an African nation that lies to the south of Rwanda and to the north of Tanzania

1.nounB1
Definition

an African nation that lies to the south of Rwanda and to the north of Tanzania

Example

Ritu has worked as a teacher in Burundi for the past four years.

used with 'in' for country as location

The geography teacher asked the class to find Burundi on the map of Africa.

Common collocations
  • in Burundi
  • from Burundi
  • leave Burundi
  • visit Burundi

Usage Note

Burundi is always capitalised as a proper noun and does not take an article ('the Burundi' is incorrect). Distinguish from sense 2, which uses the formal full name 'the Republic of Burundi'.

Common Mistakes

I went to the Burundi last year.
I went to Burundi last year.
country names do not take the article 'the'.

2. the Republic of Burundi, a country in east central Africa that borders Lake Tang

2.nounB2
Definition

the Republic of Burundi, a country in east central Africa that borders Lake Tanganyika, with Gitega as its capital city

Example

The Republic of Burundi held its first democratic elections in 2005 after a long civil war.

formal name: 'the Republic of Burundi'

Lake Tanganyika forms part of Burundi's southwestern border and is a very deep African lake.

geographical detail: Lake Tanganyika border

Common collocations
  • the Republic of Burundi
  • capital of Burundi
  • border of Burundi

Usage Note

This sense is most common in formal writing — news reports, encyclopaedias, and political documents. In everyday conversation, speakers use sense 1 ('Burundi') rather than 'the Republic of Burundi'.

Word family

  • Burundian
    adjectiveB1
  • Burundian
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These three countries are all neighbours of Burundi in the African Great Lakes region. Rwanda lies directly north of Burundi and shares a similar landscape of rolling hills, a high population density, and a colonial history under Belgian rule. Tanzania borders Burundi to the east and south and is much larger, stretching all the way to the Indian Ocean coast. Uganda lies further northwest, bordering Rwanda and Lake Victoria. Learners sometimes confuse these countries because they share similar colonial experiences and are all relatively small (except Tanzania). A good way to remember: Burundi is the southernmost of the three smaller nations, and its name is the only one that ends in '-undi' rather than '-anda' or '-ania'.

Rwanda ↗TanzaniaUganda

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • leave Burundi
  • visit Burundi
  • the Republic of Burundi
  • the capital of Burundi

Prepositions

Etymology

KirundiEnglish

The name Burundi comes from the Kirundi language. 'Uburundi' means 'the land of the Rundi people.' The name of the Rundi people is the source of both the country's name and the name of its national language, Kirundi.