Soo dhowow - Welcome

To say 'welcome' in Somali, use 'Soo dhowow'. It literally means 'Come closer'. If you want to say 'Welcome to ...' , say 'Ku soo dhowow ...'


Ku soo dhowow Ingriiska - Welcome to Britain
Ku soo dhowow Baariis - Welcome to Paris


If you are welcoming more than one person, you should use the plural form 'Soo dhowaada',


Ku soo dhowaada dalkayga - Welcome to my country

bigger than, better than, taller than

London Baariis wey ka weyntahay - London is bigger than Paris
Isagu iyada wuu ka dheeryahay - He is taller than her
Anigu Axmed waan ka wanaagsanahay - I am better than Ahmed


Ka + adjective = more (adjective) than


The subject comes first, then put the thing you are comparing it with , then put 'ka + adjective + ahay'.

Iyadu Faadumo wey ka dhuubantahay - She's slimmer than Faadumo
Dadku Japanese innaga wey ka gaabanyihiin - The Japanese are shorter than us
Cuntadaas cuntadan wey ka macaantahay - That food is tastier than this one

Practice questions
1. This man is bigger than that man.
2. He is taller than her.
3. This book is better than that book.
4. Maxamed is stronger than Saadiya (hint: 'xoogweyn' is the adj.)
5. New York is more dangerous than Tokyo ('khatarsan')

Wareysi (Interview)

Magacaa? - What is your name?
Magacaygu waa Yusuf - My name is Yusuf
Sidee baa loo qoraa? - How is it written?
Y-U-S-U-F  - Y-U-S-U-F
Xaggee baad degentahay? - Where do you live?
Baariis baan degenahay? - I live in Paris
Ma ardey baad tahay? - Are you a student?
Mey, waan shaqeeyaa - No, I work
Xaggee baad ka shaqeeysaa? - Where do you work?
Bangi baan u shaqeeyaa - I work for a bank
Maxaad u qabataa? - What do you do (for them)?
Karraani baan ahay - I am a clerk
Mahadsanid  - Thank you

More about 'Si...u...'

Sidee baad u seexataa? - How do you sleep?
Dhinaca baan u seexdaa - I sleep on my side
Dabarka baan u seexdaa - I sleep on my back

Sidee baad u lugeeysaa? - How do you walk?
Si aayar baan u lugeeyaa - I walk slowly


Shaah xawaash leh sidee baa loo sameeya? - How is spicy tea made?


IMPORTANT POINT:
The 'u' part of 'Si...u...' is a preposition. It roughly corresponds to the English preposition 'for' or 'to'. Do you remember 'la'? It is another preposition that we use to make a passive sentence.


Waa la cunaa - It is eaten


When 'la' and 'u' come next to each other in a sentence, it becomes 'loo'. 


Sidee baa loo sameeyaa? - How is it made?
Sidee baa loo cabbaa? - How is it drunk?
Sidee baa loo kariyaa? - How is it cooked?
Sidee baa loo dhisaa? - How is it built?
Sidee baa loo shaqeeyaa? - How does it work?


For the verb, as in English we use the present habitual form of the verb. I will go into detail about prepositions at a later date.

Si...u... construction

Si quruxsan bey u luqeeysey - She was walking beautifully
Si xun buu u cunayey - He was eating in a horrible way
Si wanaagsan buu u hadlay - He spoke well
Si fudud buu u sameeyey - He did it easily


Si + adjective + focus marker + u + verb


The adjective becomes an adverb, i.e. 'quruxsan' means 'beautiful', but when used with 'Si...u...' it becomes 'beautifully'. So, if you want to describe how someone did a certain action, you can use this piece of grammar.



The expression 'Si...u...'  can also mean 'in order to'. For example,


Si aan u hadli karo af Soomaali, Soomaaliya baan deganahay - I'm living in Somalia so that I can learn Somali


Mareykan si aad u tagto, waa inaad lacag haysato - You need money in order to go to America

'Sida' is 'si' with a definite article. It roughly means 'the way'.


Waa sida - That's right/You're right (lit: 'That's the way')


This is a very useful phrase when having a conversation.



Remember that with nouns like 'ninka'(the man) and 'buugga'(the book), we added the suffix 'ee' to say 'Which...?'


Ninkee? - Which man?
Buuggee? - Which book?


In the same way, we can add 'ee' to 'sida'. It becomes 'Sidee?' ('In which way/How?')


Sidee buu u sameeyey - How did he do it? (lit:'In which way did he do it?')

The word 'sidee' is also used to ask people how they are,


Sidey tahay? - How is she? ('sidey' is a fusion of 'sidee' and 'ay'(she) )
Siduu yahay? - How is he?
Sideed tahay? - How are you?
(lit: 'In what condition are you?') 

Sidee baan u ....? How should I ...?

This is a very useful expression.


Sidee baan u dhahaa? - How should I say it?
Sidee baan u sameeyaa? - How should I do it?
Sidee baan u jaraa? - How should I chop it up?
Sidee baan u fadhiisaa? - How should I sit?
Sidee baan ugu hadlaa? - How should I speak?
Sidee baan u cunaa? - How should I eat?
Sidee baan u tukaa? - How should I pray?


This comes from the grammatical construction 'Si...u...'. You will see this crop up again and again so it's useful to be aware of it.

Reported speech

Muxuu yiri? - What did he say?


Wuxuu yiri "Wax baan ku tusayaa". - He said, "I'm going to show you something".


"Dalka Japan aad baan u jeclahay" buu yiri - He said "I really like Japan"


"Bariis cad aad baan u necebahay' bey tiri - She said "I really hate white rice"


When we want to say 'He said/She said', usually we use 'yiri', 'tiri' etc.


Waxaan iri - I said
Waxaad tiri - You said
Wuxuu yiri - He said
Waxay tiri - She said
Waxaanu niri - We said
Waxeynu niri - We said
Waxaad tiraahdeen - You said (pl)
Waxay yiraahdeen - They said

Sidaas baan leeyahay

Remember, 'leeyahay' comes from 'leh' which can mean 'to own/possess' and also 'to say'. 


Yaa sidaas leh - Who said so? (lit: 'Who said it like that')

Anigaa sidaas leh - I said so


Sidaas baan leeyahay - I am saying so /That's what I'm saying

Do it like this

Sidan u samee - Do it like this
Sidaas u samee - Do it like that


Sidan u jar - Chop it up like this (as you're chopping it)
Sidaas u jar - Chop it up like that  (after you've finished)


Sidan u hadal - Talk like this
Sidaas u hadal - Talk like that