Western Africa
Video Chat with People from Guinea
Guinea is often called the water tower of West Africa, and its four natural regions feel like different countries. Conakry, the capital, stretches along a narrow peninsula on the Atlantic coast, with the Îles de Los a short boat ride away. The cool, green Fouta Djallon highlands around Labé, Dalaba and Mamou are full of waterfalls; Upper Guinea around Kankan is savanna country; and the Forest region around Nzérékoré is lush and hilly. Alongside French, the official language, Pular is widely spoken in the Fouta Djallon, Maninka in Upper Guinea and Susu along the coast. English is fairly rare, so a few words of French are useful.
Guinea stays on GMT year-round, which puts Conakry's evening in the afternoon in New York and in the evening in London. Music is a wonderful opener: Bembeya Jazz, Mory Kanté, Les Ballets Africains and some of the world's best-known djembe players all come from Guinea. Food is another, from rice with cassava-leaf sauce and peanut stew to fonio, a tiny ancient grain, and the mangoes and pineapples grown around Kindia. Football and the Syli National are always a safe bet.
Guinea at a glance
| Flag | 🇬🇳 |
|---|---|
| Official name | Republic of Guinea |
| Capital | Conakry |
| Region | Africa · Western Africa |
| Official language | French |
| Currency | Guinean franc (Fr, GNF) |
| Calling code | +224 |
| Time zone | Greenwich Mean Time (Africa/Conakry) |
How to say hello
A few words of French make a great first impression, even if you switch to English right after.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pular | On jaaraama! | ohn jah-RAH-mah | Hello! (polite; also used as "thank you") |
| Pular | Jam tan. | jahm tahn | I'm fine (literally "peace only") |
| Maninka | I ni ce! | ee nee CHEH | Hello! |
| French | Bonsoir! Comment allez-vous? | bohn-SWAHR, koh-mahn tah-lay VOO | Good evening! How are you? (polite) |
Tips for chatting with people from Guinea
- Find out which of the four regions they call home. The coast, the Fouta Djallon, Upper Guinea and the Forest region each have their own languages, food and music.
- Drumming fans should ask about djembe or Les Ballets Africains; it's a tradition people are proud to explain.
- Fonio makes a surprisingly good food question; most families have a favorite way to cook it.
- Pular belongs to the wider Fula language family spoken across West Africa, so ask how it compares with the Fula heard in Senegal or Mali; people enjoy pointing out the differences.
Only meet people from Guinea
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from Guinea, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for Guinea and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from Guinea, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from Guinea are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Neighboring countries
Guinea borders 6 countries. Curious about the people next door? Meet them too:
- Guinea-Bissau
- Ivory Coast
- Liberia
- Mali
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone