Raali ahow (I'm sorry)

Sorry I haven't been posting here regularly lately, I'm trying to look for a job, so I'm a bit busy. Also, it's getting harder thinking of new things to add here. If there's anything you want to know how to say in Somali, post a comment in the comment box.

Also, I'll be travelling to Europe next month, so I suspect I might not be posting so much for a while. Sorry!

Yaa leh? - Whose is it?

In Somali, when you want to ask whose bag/bike/car etc it is, you use 'yaa leh?' .

Buuggan yaa leh? - Whose book is this?
Baabuurkaas yaa leh? - Whose car is that?
Cuntadan yaa leh? - Whose food is this?

We have covered 'yaa' before. It means 'who'.

Yaa baxay? - Who went out?
Yaa cunay keegayga? - Who ate my cake?

'Leh' is a verb.  It means 'to possess/own'. To answer the question you can say,

Anigaa leh - It's mine
Isagaa leh  - It's his
Iyadaa leh - It's hers
Maxamed baa leh - It's Mohamed's
Cabdi baa leh - It's Abdi's
Warsamaa leh - It's Warsame's

If the noun before 'baa leh' ends in a consonant, then you can add 'baa leh'. However, if the noun ends in an 'a' like 'Aniga' or an 'e' like 'Warsame', then remove the 'b' from 'baa' and add 'aa' to the noun. 

This is a very useful phrase. You can point to things, use the demonstrative pronouns (this,that,etc) and add 'yaa leh?' to ask to whom it belongs.

Qalinkan       yaa leh? - Whose pen is this?
Qalinkaas        "    "     - Whose pen is that?
Koobkan          "   "     - Whose cup is this?
Koobkaas        "    "     - Whose cup is that?
Gurigan           "     "    - Whose house is this?
Gurigaas          "    "     - Whose house is that?
Telefishankan  "   "      -  Whose T.V. is this?
Telefishankaas "    "     - Whose T.V. is that?

Qoyskayga (My family)

Qoyskayga waa lix qof. Aabbahay iyo Hooyahay, iyo laba wiil iyo laba gabdhood oo aannu walaalo nahay. Aabbahay waa 45 jir.  bank buu u shaqeeyaa. Aroor kasta, wuxuu guriga ka baxaa sideedda oo shaqada aadaa. Wuxuu jecelyahay filimada iyo kubadda. Hooyo, guri bay joogtaa oo ka shaqeeysaa. Aroortii, waxay sameesaa canjeero. Habeenkii, waxay karisaa bariis iyo hilib. Waan jeclahay hooyaday.
Walaalkay iga weyn waa 25 jir. Wuxuu qalinjebiyey 2005 tii. Wuxuu bartay injiniirnimada . Hadda, wuxuu ka shaqeeyaa Sacuudiga.
Walaashay iga weyn waa 20 jir.  Ardey jaamacadeed bey tahay. Waxay barataa af Shiinaha.
Walaashay iga yar waa 10 jir. Weli dugsi bey tagtaa. Waxay jeceshahay bisad iyo kartuun. Mustaqbalka, waxay dooneysaa inay noqoto dhaktarad.

Vocab
Qoys(ka) - family
qof(ka) - person
Aabbahay - my father
Hooyaday - my mother
wiil - boy
gabdhood - girls
Aroor kasta - every morning
filimo(da) -  films
kubad(da) - football
habeen(ka) - evening
Walaalkay iga weyn - My elder brother
Walaashay iga weyn - My elder sister
qalinjeb - to graduate(lit: 'to break my pen')
injiniirnimo(da) - engineering
Sacuudiga - Saudi Arabia
Ardey jaamacadeed - a university student
af Shiinaha - the Chinese language
dugsi(ga) - school
bisad(da) - cat
kartuun(ka) - cartoons
mustaqbal(ka) - future
waxay dooneysaa - she wants
noqoto - to become (feminine form)
dhaktarad(da) - doctor (feminine form)

Walaal - brother/sister

In Somali, the word 'walaal' can mean 'brother' or 'sister'. How do Somalis tell the difference? Largely by context. However, you can also distinguish them by the different definite articles,

Walaalka - the brother
Walaasha - the sister

'Walaal' is used not only for blood brothers/sisters, but for people generally in society.


(At a Somali restaurant table)
Walaal, ii dhiib mileexda - Pass me the salt

Maxaa dhacay? - What happened?

'Maxaa' in Somali means 'what'. We saw before that you can fuse this word with certain pronouns to ask people what they are doing.

Maxaad       sameenaysaa? - What are you doing?
WHAT -YOU              DOING   

'Dhac' is a conj. 1 verb. It means 'to fall'. For example,

Wuu dhacay - He fell
Roob baa dhacay shaley - Rain fell yesterday

So when you say 'Maxaa dhacay' it literally means 'What fell?'. But what it really means is 'What happened?' You use this phrase when you are shocked or surprised by something. For example if you hear a loud bang, or something smashes, then you might say 'Maxaa dhacay?!'.

Waa la... - passive form

In Somali, to say ‘It’s been eaten/taken/washed’ etc. you use the phrase ‘Waa la….’ And add the past tense of the verb. For example,

Waa la + cunay – It was eaten/It’s been eaten

Waa la + cabbay - It was drunk
Waa la + xadey - It was stolen
Waa la + qaadey - It was taken
Waa la + dhisey - It was built
Waa la + baa'biiyey - It was destroyed
Waa la + sameeyey - It was made

Person A:Keegayga waa xaggee?! – Where’s my cake?

Person B:Waa la cunay – It was eaten.

Person A:Yaa cunay?!  - Who ate it?!

Person B: Waxa weeye… - Well, you know…

We can combine this phrase with the present habitual form that we covered recently,

Waa la + cunaa – It is eaten
Waa la + cabbaa - It is drunk
Waa la + sameeyaa - It is made
Waa la + kariyaa - It is cooked

Kaluun ma lagu cunaa dalka Japan - Is fish eaten in Japan? 

 Haa, waa lagu cunaa - Yes it is eaten there.

Why did we use put 'gu' next to 'la'? 'Gu' is actually 'ku'; it  means 'in'. But when you put it next to 'la', the sound changes to 'gu'.

To say the opposite, ‘it is not eaten’ is ‘Lama cuno’

Mey, kaluun laguma cuno dalka Japan

- No, fish is not eaten in Japan.

Hayye/Kow - 'Really/Go on'

When someone talks to you in Somali, culturally it's natural not to remain silent but to interject the conversation with certain phrases as you're listening. This tells the speaker that you are listening and paying attention. One of these phrases is 'Hayye'. I don't think there is a direct translation in English for this word, but it roughly means both 'Really?' and 'Go on' at the same time. 'Kow' is another phrase. It literally means 'one'. In this context however, it means the same as 'hayye'.Using these phrases will make your Somali feel more natural.


Person A: Saaka waxaan arkay wiil gaajeysan oo jiifaa waddada.
             - This morning, I saw a hungry boy lying in the street.
Person B: Hayye
             - Really?/Go on  
Person A: Marka, waxaan u geeyey maraq iyo roodhi.
              - So I gave him some soup and bread
Person B: Kow
              - Ok/Go on
Person A: Markaasuu ii yidhi ' Waad mahadsantahay'
              - So he said to me 'Thank you very much'
Person B: Kow
               - Go on

Present Habitual: Negative

Kaluun ma cuno - I don't eat fish
Bariis ma kariso - I don't cook rice
Af Soomaali kuma hadlo - I don't speak Somali
Dugsi ma tago - I don't go to school
Khamri ma cabbo - I don't drink alcohol
Dadka Soomaaliyeed fardaha ma cunaan - Somali people don't eat horses
Reerkaas masaajidka ma tagaan - Those people don't go to the mosque

This is how you use the negative form of the present habitual.
Generally, if you want to say 'I don't ...' you take the imperative form of the verb (cun, cab, tag,etc) and add 'o' to it. Use this with 'Ma' which means 'I/He/She/We/You/They don't' .Therefore

Ma + cun(o) - I don't eat
Ma + cabb(o) - I don't drink
Ma + tag(o) - I don't go

For Conj.2 verbs, add 'yo' instead

Ma + kari(yo) - I don't cook
Ma + sameeyo - I don't do/make  

Conj.3 verbs are a bit trickier. For 3a verbs, remove 'o' and add 'ado' instead

Ma + joogs(ado) - I don't stop

For 3b verbs, remove 'o' and add 'to'

Ma + dhegeys(to) - I don't listen
Ma + seex(do) - I don't sleep

This is a bit tricky, write a comment if you have any questions.

	conj.1	conj.2		conj.3
		2a	2b	3a	3b
Ma	cuno	kariyo	sameeyo	joogsado	dhegeysto
Ma	cuntid	karisid	sameesid	joogsatid	dhegeysatid
Ma	cuno	kariyo	sameeyo	joogsado	dhegeysto
Ma	cuntid	kariso	sameeso	joogsato	dhegeysato
Ma	cunno	karinno	sameeno	joogsanno	dhegeysanno
Ma	cunno	karinno	sameeno	joogsanno	dhegeysanno
Ma	cuntaan	karisaan	sameesaan	joogsataan	dhegeysataan
Ma	cunaan	kariyaan	sameeyaan	joogsadaan	dhegeystaan

Verbs: Present continuous form

So far, we have to learned how to say,


I ate a cake          - Keeg baan cunay
I eat cakes           - Keeg baan cunaa
Eat cakes!            - Keeg cun!
I didn't eat a cake - Keeg maan cunin


How do you say 'I am eating a cake'? In English, this is called the present continuous form of the verb. It's the form you use when you're talking about things that are happening right now, as you are speaking.


Person A: Maxaad sameynaysaa? - What are you doing?
Person B: Keeg baan cunayaa.      - I'm eating a cake.


Person A: Xaggee tegaysaa? - Where are you going?
Person B: Guriga baan aadeyaa - I'm heading home.

	conj.1	conj.2		conj,3
		2a	2b	3a	3b
Waan	cunayaa	karinayaa	sameenayaa	joogsanayaa	dhegeysanayaa
Waad	cunaysaa	karinaysaa	sameenaysaa	joogsanaysaa	dhegeysanaysaa
Wuu	cunayaa	karinayaa	sameenayaa	joogsanayaa	dhegeysanayaa
Wey	cunaysaa	karinaysaa	sameenaysaa	joogsanaysaa	dhegeysanaysaa
Waannu	cunaynaa	karinaynaa	sameenaynaa	joogsanaynaa	dhegeysanaynaa
Weynu	cunaynaa	karinaynaa	sameenaynaa	joogsanaynaa	dhegeysanaynaa
Waad	cunaysaan	karinaysaan	sameenaysaan	joogsanaysaan	dhegeysanaysaan
Wey	cunayaan	karinayaan	sameenayaan	joogsanayaan	dhegeysanayaan

Maxaad karinaysaa? - What are you cooking?
Hilib iyo bariis. - Meat and rice.

In addition to discussing what is happening now, you can use the present continuous form in some cases to talk about the future.

Yaa tegeyaa? - Who will go?(lit: who's going?)
Anigu baa tegayaa - I will go (lit: 'I'm going')

Noun + Meeyey/Meedey? - Where is the...?

We have learnt that the Somali word for 'where' is 'xaggee'. For example,


Naagtii xaggee bey joogtaa? - Where is the woman?


A more common expression(especially when talking about people) is to use 'meeyey/meedey',


Naagtii meedey? - Where is the woman?
Qalinkii meeyey? - Where is the pen?


You just add meeyey/meedey to the noun and that's it. For masculine nouns, use meeyey. For feminine nouns, use meedey. Qalin is a masculine noun (remember 'ka' & 'ta) so it takes 'meeyey', whereas 'naag' is a feminine noun so it takes 'meedey'. Because the listener is likely to know the noun you're referring to, you generally use the 'kii' 'tii' definite article.


Doqonkii meeyey? - Where is the fool?
Bisaddii meedey?   - Where is the cat?
Gabartii meedey?   - Where is the girl?


You can also use it with people's names,


Maxamed meeyey? - Where's Mohammed?
Hinda meedey?       - Where's Hinda?

(Noun) Miyaa?

We have learnt that to ask about things we use the following phrase, 'Ma (noun) baa?' 'Is it a (noun)?'. For example,


Ma buug baa? - Is it a book?
Ma bisad baa? - Is it a cat?


There is another phrase pattern that is often used. (Noun) miyaa? It means exactly the same thing.


Buug miyaa? - Is it a book?
Bisad miyaa? - Is it a cat?

Ma nabad qabtaa? - How're you doing?

 'Qabo' means 'to have' or 'to hold'. 'Ma nabad qabtaa' means 'How are you/How's things'. Notice the ending 'qabtaa'. This is the present habitual that we covered before. So it literally means 'Are you having/holding peace?'. 


So there are several ways of asking how someone is in Somali. 


Ma ladantahay?
Ma nabad qabtaa?
Sideed tahay? (or just 'Seetahay?')
Ma fiicantahay?

All these phrases roughly mean 'Are you OK/How things?'. When you talk to a Somali, often they will start with one phrase, then move to the next and the next. (It can get a little tedious:)

Another phrase used with 'qabtaa' is,

Su'aal ma qabtaa? - Do you have a question?

If you want to say you have a question, then you say,

Su'aal baan qabaa - I have a question