A recap of Object pronouns

Just another reminder about pronouns.


What is the difference in English between 'I' and "me'?  


He hit me - 'The word 'me' is an object pronoun because it is the target of the verb. 'He' is a subject pronoun because it is the subject that is 'doing' the verb. Somali is the same.


Isaga/Wuu i dilay - He hit me 

The word 'i' here means the same as 'me' in English


Waxaan dooneyaa inaad i baratid Af Soomali - I want you to teach me Somali


Waan kuu sheegay - I told you

Object pronouns
me - i
you - ku
him - u
her - u
we (excl) - na
we(incl) - ina
you(pl) - idin
they - u

ayaa/baa - focus word

I might have mentioned this earlier but,


ayaa/baa are Focus Words.


Yaa jabay koobkayga? - Who broke my cup?


Axmed baa jabay - Ahmed broke it( not Yusuf, Abdi or anyone else).

Aniga baa cunay keegaada - I ate your cake (not your brother, or anyone else)

That's why it's called a focus word. Because it puts its focus on the subject as the doer of the action. 'Ayaa' in my experience works exactly the same way as 'baa', and is thus interchangable. I think 'ayaa' is more formal and tends to be used in written Somali and in the news.


From the obituary about the singer Faadumo Hilowle,

Faadumo Qaasim Hilowle ayaa xalay ku geeriyootay London.

This puts the focus on the fact that Faadumo Hilowle passed away, and not anyone else.

Yaa dhintay? - Who died?
Faadumo Hilowle baa/ayaa dhimatey - Faadumo Hilowle died
Ilaahey ha u naxaristo - God rest her soul 


When fused with subject pronouns, these become


ayaan/baan - I
ayaad/baad - You
ayuu/buu    - He
ayey/bey     - She
ayaanu/baannu - We
ayeynu/beynu  - We
ayedin/beydin - You
ayey/bey  - They

Another BBC article

Another article from the BBC website, this time about the death of Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs oo geeriyooday (Steve Jobs has passed away)

Aasaasihii iyo madaxii hore ee shirkadda Apple, Steve Jobs ayaa geeriyooday isaga oo 56 jir ah. Madaxweyne Obama ayaa sheegay in caalamku waayay nin aragti dheer lahaa.

 

 'Aasaasihii' means 'the founder'. 'Madaxii'= 'the head' (exactly as in English, 'madax' refers to the physical head and the head of an organisation), 'hore' ='before, former' . The first sentence translated is, 'The founder and former head of the company Apple, Steve Jobs has passed away at the age of 56'. 'Madaxweyne' literally means 'big head' but has come to mean 'president'. 'Caalam' = 'world', 'waayay' = 'to lose', 'aragti' = 'view/sight', 'dheer' = 'long'. 'Lahaa' is a verb which means 'to possess'. The second sentence reads, 'President Obama said that the world has lost a farsighted man(visionary)'.

Bogagga bulshada ee internetka ayaa waxa buuxiyay farriimo ku saabsan dhimashada Steve Jobs, oo dhawaan iska casilay jagadii uu hayay ee Madaxa shirkadda Apple.

 

'bog' = 'page', 'bogagga' = 'the pages' , 'bulshada' = 'community', 'buuxiyay' (verb) = 'to be full', 'farriimo' = 'messages', 'ku saabsan' = 'about', 'dhawaan' = 'recently', 'iska casilay' = 'to resign', 'jagada(dii)' = 'position', 'hay' = 'to hold'. The sentence reads, 'Pages of the internet community are full of messages about the death of Steve Jobs, who recently resigned his position he held as head of Apple'.

Steve waxa in muddo ah baa hayay cudurka Cancer. Waxa uu ku dhintay gobolka California ee dalka Mareykanka.

 

'in muddo ah' = 'for a certain period', 'cudur' = 'disease', 'gobol' = 'region/state', 'dal' = 'country'. The full sentence is, 'Steve had had cancer for a while. He died in the state of California in the United States'.

Here is the link for the original website, http://www.bbc.co.uk/somali/war/2011/10/111006_steve_jobs.shtml

BBC Obituary article

Dissecting a Somali obituary article on the BBC Somali website,


Ilaahay ha u naxariisto  Faadumo Qaasim (Faadumo Qaasim, God rest her soul)




Faadumo Qaasim Hilowle ayaa xalay ku geeriyootay London. Faadumo waa fannaanad caan ah oo Soomaaliyeed. Waxay ka tirsanaan jirtay Waaberi.


'ayaa' works exactly the same as 'baa'. It is a Focus Word. 'xalay' means last night. 'geeriyootay' means 'she passed away/died'. 'Ku' corresponds to the English preposition 'in'. Therefore, the sentence reads, 'Fadumo Qasim Hilowle passed away in London last night'. 'Fannaanad' means a female singer. 'caan' means 'fame/famous'. Therefore, 'fannaanad caan ah' means 'a famous singer. Remember, 'oo' joins together two or more adjectives. 'Faadumo waa fannaanad caan ah oo Soomaaliyeed' - 'Fadumo was a famous Somali (female)singer'. Strictly speaking there is no verb here, so it could read as 'Fadumo is a ...' but we know from the context that she died, so we use the past tense. 'ka tirsan' is a verb which means 'to be part of'.  The sentence in English means 'She was part of (the singing group) Waaberi'.




Waxaa dhalay Abwaankii caanka ahaa Hilowle Qaasim, oo ahaa abwaan qeyb weyn ka soo qaatay halgankii gobannimo doonka.

'Abwaan' means a 'wise, distinguished person' like a poet, author etc. 'qeyb weyn ka soo qaatay' means 'to play a big part in'. 'Halgan' means a 'struggle/movement'. 'Gobannimo doonka' means 'to want (your) dignity/independence'. Therefore, the sentence in English is, 'She was born to the famous distinguished scholar Hilowle Qaasim, who played a great role in the independence struggle'. 

Faadumo waxay iyaduna ka mid ahayd fannaaniinta ugu waaweyn ee Soomaaliya, codkeedana si aad ah ayaa loo jeclaa.

'Iyaduna' = 'and she' , Waxay ka mid ahayd = 'she was one of', 'ugu waaweyn' = ' the biggest', 'codkeeda' = 'her voice', 'si aad ah ayaa loo jeclaa' = 'was much loved'. Sentence = 'Fadumo herself was one of the biggest singers in Somalia, and her voice was much loved'.


Waxay ahayd, marwo iyo hooyo.


'Waxay ahayd'(she was) is the past tense of 'waxay tahay'(she is). 'Marwo' means a dignified, honourable lady. 'Hooyo' you should know. The sentence therefore is, 'She was a honourable lady and mother'.


Waxay dhashay Fadumo carruur iyaguna ah xiddigo fanka xag music garaacid iyo xag heesba la jecel yahay.


'Waxay dhashay...carruur' literally means 'She gave birth to children'. 'Xiddigo' ='stars', 'xag....iyo xag....' means 'both ... and ....'. 'La jecel yahay' = 'popular'

Fadumo had children who were stars in the entertainment world, both in percussion music and singing, who were popular. 

Faadumo Qaasim waxa lagu aasayaa London maalinta Sabtida.

'aasay' means 'to bury'. 'la' means the phrase passive. 'gu' is the preposition 'ku' (in), which changes to 'gu' because it is attached to 'la'. 'lagu aasayaa' = 'will be buried in'.

'Fadumo Qaasim will be buried in London on Saturday'. 


Here is the original article,  http://www.bbc.co.uk/somali/maqal_iyo_muuqaal/2011/10/111006_faadumo.shtml.

Dhib ma leh - No problem

'Dhib ma leh'  means 'No problem'. A very useful phrase. 'Dhib' means 'problem'. The plural is 'dhibaato'. 'leh' means 'to own/possess'. Literally it means 'I've got no problem (with that)'.

bislee vs kari

There are at least two verbs for 'cook' in Somali, 'kari' and 'bislee'. 'Kari' has the general meaning of cooking,


Maxaad karinaysaa? - What are you cooking?
Bariis iyo hilib baan karinayaa - I'm cooking rice and meat


'Bislee' also means 'to cook' but it can also mean 'to ripen'. Therefore, 'cook' in this sense means making something ready to eat(i.e. 'cooked' as opposed to 'raw'). In English, we use the same word 'cook' to describe both these meanings. For example,


I cooked this meal. Have some - Cuntada baan kariyey. Cun.

Person A tastes the food, spits it out and says,

It's not cooked! - Ma bisli!


So the verb 'bislee' can maybe be translated to 'to cook well' and 'to be ripe' for fruits. 

Si wacan baad u bisleesey - You cooked it well. (lit:'You cooked it in a good way')

Whereas 'kari' is a more general term for cooking. Note that we use 'kari' for making tea,


Muxuu sameeynayaa? - What's he doing?
Shaah buu karinayaa - He's making tea.

'Kari' can also mean 'to boil'.


'to fry' is 'shiil',


Maxaad shiilaysaa? - What are you frying?
Ukun iyo basal baan shiilayaa - I'm frying eggs and onions

Immisa - How many?

To say 'how many' in Somali, usually we use 'Immisa'. For example,




Immisa tufaax baad cuntay? - How many apples did you eat?
Immisa shandadood baad sidataa? - How many suitcases do you have?
Immisa walaalo baad leedahay ? - How many siblings do you have?
Immisa jir baad tahay? - How old are you? (lit:'How many years are you?)

Talo - I wonder

'Talo' is a phrase that corresponds to 'I wonder' in English. Not really necessary, but it makes your Somali sound more natural. It usually comes at the end of the sentence.


Xaggee buu tegay, talo? - I wonder where he went?
Muxuu ninka u dilay, talo? - I wonder why he hit the man?

Maxaad ka fekereysaa? - What are you thinking about?

Maxaad ka fekereysaa? - What are you thinking about?
Naagtaas baan ka fekereyaa - I'm thinking about that woman
Japan baan ka fekereyaa - I'm thinking about Japan
Markaan ku noqdo Ingriiska wixii aan sameeyo baan ka fekereyaa - I'm thinking about what to do when I go back to Britain


Muxuu ka fekereyaa ? - What is he thinking about?
Cunto buu ka fekereyaa? He's thinking about food


Maxay ka fekereysaa? - What's she thinking about?
Ninkeeda bey ka fekereysaa - She's thinking about her husband (lit: 'her man')


Maxay ka fekereyaan? - What are they thinking about?
Dalkooda bey ka fekereyaan - They are thinking about their homeland

ii reeb - Save some

Qaar ii reeb - Save me some


Useful if you want someone to save you some food for example. 'Qaar' means 'some/ a part'.


'iga reeb' on the other hand means 'Get him/her/it off me'. If a child is hanging onto your leg, you might say this to the parent to get him off.

furihii baan illaawey - I forgot my key

The verb for 'to forget' in Somali is 'illow'. 


Maxaa dhacay? - What's wrong?
Furihii baan illaawey - I've forgotten my key


In English, you're more likely to say 'my key', but in Somali it's more natural to say 'the key' (furihii).


Waan illawey - I forgot
Waad illowdey - You forgot 
Wuu  illawey - He forgot
Wey illowdey - She forgot
Waannu/Weynu illownney - We forgot
Waad illowdeen - You forgot
Wey illaaween - They forgot


Maxaad illowdey? - What did you forget?

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