What does Rafiki mean?

Rafiki is the Swahili word for friend.

Swahili, or Kiswahili, is spoken by tens of millions of people across East Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Like many Swahili words, rafiki comes from Arabic, where rafiq means companion.

How to use it

Rafiki in films

Many people know the word from Disney's The Lion King, where Rafiki is the wise old character. Several characters in the film have Swahili names: simba, for example, means lion. (Rafiki the card game has no connection with Disney.)

Rafiki the card game

We named our game Rafiki because it's a game for friends. It started as the card game we played on every holiday: a fast mix of memory, swaps and slams where the lowest hand wins. Now anyone can play it free online.

• Play straight away against computer players with Quick Play.
• Or create a private room and share the code with up to 5 friends.
• No download, and it works on phones and computers.

New to it? Read how to play Rafiki. If you know Cabo, Cambio or Golf, you'll pick it up in one round.

Questions

What does Rafiki mean in English?

Rafiki means 'friend' in Swahili. 'Marafiki' means friends and 'rafiki yangu' means my friend.

What language is Rafiki?

Swahili (Kiswahili), spoken across East Africa. The word comes from the Arabic 'rafiq', meaning companion.

Is Rafiki the card game related to The Lion King?

No. The game is named after the Swahili word for friend and has no connection with Disney.