Example dialogue: The Classroom

Student A: Subax wanaagsan, macaalin       Good morning, teacher.
Teacher:    Subax wanaagsan.                     Good morning.
                 Ma nabad baa?                          How are you?
Student A: Waa nabad.                               I am fine.
Teacher   : Fasalka gal.                               Enter the classroom.
Student A: Waa yahay, macallin.                 Ok, teacher.
Teacher   : Magacaaga ii sheeg.                   Tell me your name.
Student A: Magacaygu waa Cabdi.            My name is Abdi.
                 Ardeyga cusub baan ahay.         I am the new student.
Teacher   : Adiguse, magacaagu waa maxay? And you, what is your name?
Student B : Waa Maryan.                              It's Mary.
Teacher   : Buugga casharka labaad fura.     Open the book to chapter two.
                 Akhriya erayadan.                      Read these words.
                 Waa wanaag. Buugagga xira.     Good. Close the books.

Vocab:
fasal (ka) - classroom
ardey (ga) - student
cashar(ka) - chapter
eray (ga)   - word

Definite article: Example sentences

Remember that 'ka' or 'ta' is used to introduce new information, whereas 'kii' 'tii' is for nouns that have already been introduced or are known to the listener.

Masculine noun

Macallinkii meeyey?  -  Where is the teacher
Waa bustaha cusub   -   It is the blanket
Furihii noo dhiib        -   Give us the key
Dhinacii kale             -   The other side
Biyaha macaan          -  The delicious water
Suuqii baan tageyaa   - I'm going to the market


Feminine noun

Basasha jar                             - Chop the onion
Cuntadii ii keen                        -   Bring me the food
Hooyada wey xuntahay            - The mother is bad
Jariidaddii meedey?                  - Where is the newspaper?
Askariyadda feer                      - Hit the soldier

From Indefinite to Definite: Feminine nouns, a roundup

 A roundup of the ways to make a feminine noun definite.

 

Feminine noun ending	Definite article	Example	Definite article	Definite article(known)
o	Change 'o' to 'a' and add da	magaalo(town)	magaalada	magaaladii
d,h,kh,x,w,y,glottal stop	Change from 'ta' to 'da'	bad (sea)	badda	baddii
l	Remove 'l' and add 'sha'	basal (onion)	basasha	basashii
dh	Change from 'ta' to 'dha'	gabadh (girl)	gabadhdha	gabadhdhii

Note: 'gabadh' is the Northern pronunciation for 'girl'. In other areas, it can be pronounced as 'gabar', in which case to make it definite, you just add 'ta' (gabarta - 'the girl').

From Indefinite to Definite: Masculine nouns, a roundup

This is a roundup of the ways to make a masculine noun definite.

Masculine noun ending	Definite article	Example	Definite article	Definite article(known)
c, h, q, kh, x	Only add 'a'	magac (name)	magaca	magacii
g, w, y, i	Change 'ka' to 'ga'	buug (book)	buugga	buuggii
e	Change 'e' to 'a' and add 'ha'	buste (blanket)	bustaha	bustihii
o	Change 'o' to 'a' and add 'ha'	biyo (water)	biyaha	biyihii

Remember that for many masculine nouns, you just have to add 'ka' to make it definite. Whenever you learn a new word in Somali, you should make sure whether it is masculine or feminine, that way you'll know how to make it definite.

Caano Geel

Somalis love camels, and especially camel milk. The word for camels in Somali is 'geel'. It is a plural noun, so you use it to talk about camels in general, similar to the English plural noun 'sheep'. The word for a single female camel is 'hal' . The word for camel milk in Somali is 'caano geel'. It is extremely nutricious. Somalis live in a semi-arid environment where it is hard to grow vegetables. Most of the vitamins they need, they get from camel's milk. They prefer it to cow's milk (caanaha lo'da). Milk and meat are the main staple foods of the Somalis.


caanaha geela  - the camel's milk
caanaha lo'da - the cow's milk
caanahaas - that milk
geelaas -those camels
Caano geel baan jeclahay - I like camel's milk
caafimaad (ka)  - health

Dadka Soomaaliyeed iyo diinta (The Somali people and religion)

'Dadka Soomaaliyeed waa dad aad iyo aad u fiican oo muslimeen ah'


     Vocab 


    Dad - people
    aad iyo aad - very    
    fiican - good


  Somalis have been Muslims for over 1000 years. It has become an important part of Somali identity. A mosque in Somali is a 'masaajid'. A Somali would usually greet another Somali with the Islamic greeting 'Assalamu alaykum' (Peace be upon you). A Somali Muslim would pray at least 5 times a day. The verb 'to pray' in Somali is 'tuko'. 'Waan tukanayaa' (I'm praying).  There are two main words for God, 'Allah' or 'Ilaahay' and the Somali word 'Eebbe'.
 

Change of 'ta' to 'sha'

Finally, if the feminine noun ends in 'l', then remove the 'l' and add 'sha'. For example,


basal - onion     basasha  - the onion  
dabeyl - wind    dabeysha - the wind 
dul -top/surface  dusha - the top
meel -place       meesha - the place
walaal - sister   walaasha - the sister

Change of 'ta' to 'da' (Part 2)

If a feminine noun ends in a vowel other than 'o', or with 'd', 'h', 'kh', 'x', 'w', 'y', or in a glottal stop, then to make it definite change the 'ta' to 'da'.


duni   - world         dunida - the world
si       - way            sida     - the way, method
mindi - knife           mindida - the knife
bad   - sea              badda -  the sea
nabad - peace        nabadda - the peace
dhex   - middle       dhexda   - the middle
warqad - letter        warqadda - the letter
wasakh - garbage   wasakhda - the garbage/rubbish
eey     - female dog  eeyda - the female dog
lo'      - cattle           lo'da - the cattle




Warqadda qor - Write the letter
Dunida cusub  - The new world

Change of 'ta' to 'da'

To make the feminine noun definite, you add 'ta'. However, when the feminine noun ends in 'o', the 'o' changes to 'a' and you add 'da' at the end. If the noun has been mentioned before or is known to the listener, then you change 'o' to 'a' and add 'dii' to the end.


cunto     -  food       cuntada - the food        cuntadii - the food
sheeko   - story      sheekada -the story       sheekadii -the story
shaqo    - work        shaqada  - the work      shaqadii  - the work
magaalo - town       magaalada - the town    magaaladii - the town
daawo   -  medicine daawada - the medicine daawadii - the medicine


Cuntadii meeday?- Where is the food?
Shaqadii baan helay   - I got the job (that I talked to you about)
Halkan waa magaalada Laas Qoray - This is Laas Qoray town

Change of 'ka' to 'ha'

If the masculine noun ends in a vowel other than 'o', change the vowel to 'a', and add 'ha' to the end of the noun.


fure                - key             furaha - the key    
buste             - blanket        bustaha - the blanket
madaxweyne - president     madaxweynaha - the president
hilible            - butcher        hiliblaha - the butcher
aabbe           - father           aabbaha - the father


When the noun has already been mentioned or is known to the listener, change the vowel at the end to'i' and add 'hii'

furihii  - the key
bustihii - the blanket
madaxweynihii - the president
hiliblihii - the butcher
aabbihii - the father


Bustihii meeyey - Where is the blanket?
Furihii baan illaawey - I forgot the key




If the masculine noun ends in 'o', change 'o' to 'a', then add 'ha'.


biyo -water          biyaha - the water
xoolo -livestock   xoolaha -the livestock
gacmo -hands      gacmaha - the hands


When the listener is aware of the noun, change end vowel to 'i' and add 'hii'


biyihii    - the water
xoolihii  - the livestock
gacmihii - the hands

Change of 'ka' to 'ga'

To make a noun definite, you add 'ka' if it is masculine. However, if the masculine noun ends with 'g' or 'w' ,'y', or 'i', the suffix 'ka' changes to 'ga'. Therefore,


Buug (book) is a masculine noun.
To say 'the book', you don't say 'buugka', you say 'buugga'


buug - book            buugga - the book
ilig     - tooth;           iligga    - the tooth
oday - old man        odayga - the old man
guri - house             guriga - the house
askari - soldier        askariga - the soldier
daw - way, road     dawga - the way, the road
Soomaali - Somali   Soomaliga - the Somali


Af Soomaaliga waa af gurux - the Somali language is a beautiful language 

Definite article: Difference between 'ka' and 'kii', 'ta' and 'tii'

There are two types of definite article('the') in Somali.
You use 'ka' or 'ta' if you are introducing something new into the conversation


Isagu waa macallinka cusub - He is the new teacher


You use 'kii' or 'tii' if the topic is already known to the listener


Macallinkii meeyey? - Where is the teacher? (The listener knows that the teacher exists)


Lacagtii meeday ?    - Where is the money? (The listener knows that the money exists)

This(noun) is ....

This boy is a tall boy              -  Wiilkan waa wiil dheer


This woman is a bad woman  -  Naagtan waa naag xun


This meat is tasty meat           - Hilibkan waa hilib macaan




When you want say ' This (noun) is...' you add 'kan' if it is a masculine noun, or 'tan' if it is a feminine noun.

The Definite Article

Like many other languages, the Somali universe is split into masculine and feminine. When you want to use the definite article "the", you first have to determine whether the word is masculine or feminine.


Generally,


For masculine nouns: To use the definite article, put 'ka' at the end of the word

macallin - teacher
macallinka- the teacher
nin - man
ninka - the man
wiil - boy
wiilka - the boy

 For feminine nouns: Add 'ta' to the end of the word


lacag - money
lacagta - the money
gabar - girl
gabarta - the girl
caruur - children
caruurta - the children

There is a lot more to learn,for now just remember this basic rule; 'ka' for masculine nouns, 'ta' for feminine nouns.

Family matters (Simple Dialogue)

Don't worry if you don't understand all of the words


Naagtan magaceedu waa Zaynab          - This woman's name is Zaynab


Waa Rooble naagtiis                             -  She is Rooble's wife


Iyada iyo Rooble way isqabaan             - She and Rooble are married
                                                                (lit: 'they hold each other')
Yuusuf iyo Rooble shaley bey isbarteen- Yuusuf and Rooble got to know
                                                                each other today
Yuusuf waa Zaynab walaalkeed             - Yuusuf is Zaynab's brother




Vocab


naag - woman
walaal - brother
shaley - yesterday

Basic pronouns

Aniga    -    I
Adiga    -   You
Isaga     -   He
Iyada     -  She
Annaga  -  We (listener excluded)
Innaga    -  We(listener included)
Idinka    - You (all)
Iyaga     - They




The difference between 'Annaga' and 'Innaga' is that 'Annaga' excludes the listener whereas 'Innaga' includes the listener.


To make the pronoun the subject change the ending from 'a' to 'u'


Anigu waa karraani  - I am a clerk
Isagu waa askari      - He is a soldier
Iyadu waa dhakhtar - She is a doctor
Adigu waa fulay       - You are a coward

Introductions

Magacaa?                             -    What's your name?
Magacaygu waa Yuusuf        -     My name is Yuusuf
Yuusuf ayo?                          -     Yuusuf who?
Yuusuf Xasan.                       -     Yuusuf Hassan
Yuusuf, barasho wanaagsan   -     Yuusuf, good to know you
Barasho wanaagsan               -     Good to know you


Magac - name


Possesive pronoun suffixes


-ay(ga) my
-aa(ga)your
-iis(a)  his
-eed(a)her


You put these suffix at the end of a noun. Hence,


Magacayga - my name
Buuggayga    - my book
Gurigayga   - my house




When 'magacayga' (my name) is the subject it becomes 'magacaygu'. 'Magacaa' is the shortened form of 'Magacaaga'(your name).


'Ayo' means 'who'. When you want to ask who someone is, you say 'Waa ayo?' (Who is it?).


Albaabka fur  - Open the door
Waa ayo?       -  Who is it?
Waa Liibaan    - It's Liban
Hayye             -  OK

Noun + Adjective

An adjective is a word you use to describe a noun. In Somali it comes after the noun. For example,


Maalin wanaagsan - Good day (lit. 'day good')


Waddo weyn        - Big/wide road


Hilib weyn            - Large meat


Magaalo weyn      - Big town


Af weyn               - Big mouth('af' means both 'mouth' and 'language')


Af adag                 - Difficult language


Af Soomaali       - Somali language


Af Soomaali waa af adag - Somali is a difficult language

Greetings - Somali style

Maalin wanaagsan  -   Good day


Subax wanaagsan  -    Good morning


Galab wanaagsan   -    Good afternoon


Habeen wanaagsan -   Good evening

Is it...?

Ma buug baa?                         Is it a book?
Ma laabis baa?                        Is it a pencil?
Ma qalin baa?                          Is it a pen?
Ma gabadh baa?                      Is it a girl?
Ma baabuur baa?                     Is it a car?


Ma + Noun + baa?                  Is it a (noun)?