Dinka

American  

[ding-kuh] / ˈdɪŋ kə /

noun

plural

Dinkas,

plural

Dinka

1. a member of a tall, pastoral people of Sudan.

2. the language of the Dinka, a Nilotic language closely related to Shilluk.

---

Dinka British  

/ ˈdɪŋkə /

noun

1. a member of a Nilotic people of South Sudan, noted for their height, which often reaches seven feet tall: chiefly herdsmen

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Nilotic group of the Nilo-Saharan family

---

Etymology

Origin of Dinka

from Dinka jieng people

Example Sentences

The conflict in has largely pitted the two largest ethnic groups against each other -- the Dinka aligned mostly with Kiir, and the Nuer mostly with Machar.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

Some in the camp even view the pope’s trip, which is being spent entirely in the capital, with suspicion, worrying that he could receive a sanitized, or Dinka, narrative.

From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2023

The battle for control mainly raged between the supporters of President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and supporters of the First Vice-President Riek Machar, a Nuer.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2023

South Sudan erupted into civil war shortly after declaring independence from Sudan in 2011, which pitted President Salva Kiir and his Dinka ethnic allies against his Vice President Riek Machar and his Nuer tribe.

From Reuters • Oct. 11, 2022

My status as a Dinka wife was now official.

From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau