Learn Somali Language Podcast

Useful phrases:

Beri waa isniin

Tomorrow is Monday

Shalay waxay aheyd Axad

Yesterday was Sunday

Beri iskuul baan tagayaa or tagi doonaa insha Allah

I’m going to school tomorrow God-willing

Maxaad samayn rabtaa?

What are you going to do?

Waxaan cuni rabaa cunto or just cuno 

I’m going to eat food

Fadlan aamus, waan seexan rabaa

Please be quiet, I’m going to sleep

Fadlan albaabka xidh or xir 

Please close the door

Thank you for listening, till next time, take care!!

In this podcast episode, we cover key Somali phrases and examine the variety of Somali accents. We also discussed the differences in accents between the north's Somaliland and Puntland and the south's Mogadishu and Kismayo.
Maxaad qabanaysaa or maxaad samaynaysaa, which means "what are you doing?"
Suuli and Musqul refer to bathrooms.
Meeday and Away refer to the location of something or someone. Stay tuned more episodes on the way and thank you for listening!

Singer: Magool

Written by Hadraawi Has love been blood-written?
(Jacayl Dhiig ma lagu Qoray)

Has love been blood-written
has marrow yet
been poured for it
a person peeled
the skin from their back or ribs
has expression of this
been offered in flesh
cut from the cheeks
has blood been extracted
its colour still red
uncoagulated
been scooped from the arteries
poured into a milk vessel
have two people offered it
one to the other
as they would fresh milk
have they shared it happily
time-separated in spirit
in body as by a thorn fence
sworn to each other
one morning have two
after first soaking rain
the damp mist dense
in an unpeopled place
where apart from the trees
nothing stirred
become aware
of each other's rustle
did that true meeting
seem a vision to them
brought by love's plight
or its mirage
from time to time
as if suddenly waking
out of a dream
did their speech
desiring utterance
pass from a mouth
if just a howl
did words elude them
was the situation soured by this
did spots of ceaseless rain
emotion's tears
spill from their eyes
did it soak their clothes
did they sweat compassion
disoriented with but
a stutter of movement
they were stuck
each time a word
no link with others
lacking substance
limped out alone
was it ten days later
their tongue and palate
found strength for it

It's a short yet an interesting episode today. I teach you how to say I don't know in Somali in various ways. It's the way people from different parts of Somalia say it, enabling you to say it with confidence wherever you're without fearing if they will understand you or not.

Use these phrases to say I don't know in Somali

1. Magaranayo
2. Ma aqaan/ Ma aqaano
3. Ma kasayo
4. Ma ogi
5. Mooji/Mooyi

Once again, thank you for listening. Till next time, take care!

We (Somalis) are well recognized for our love for poetry, as you surely already know. And this poem is a typical example of how poetry are turned into songs. Hadraawi, a well-known figure among Somalis, is credited with writing this song. This song is about a woman who wants to convince a man she loves but is told she can't. Songs and poetry are so written to raise awareness of this situation and to encourage people to spend their time with those they love or admire rather than having their feelings rejected or ignored. I also want to point out that when you translate songs or poems from one language to another, the original meaning and sweetness are lost.

We all know that there are a lot of individuals who are constantly asking for favors, and sometimes you can't accommodate everyone.

In today's episode , I'm going to teach you several polite ways to politely tell people you can't fulfill their favors in Somali.

1): Waan ka xumahay (Humahay): I'm sorry

2): Hadda ma hayo (wax): I don't have (something) (lacag "la'ag" = money)

3): Wakhti uma hayo: I don't have time for that

I  hope you're enjoying the podcast. Stay Tuned: There will be more soon. Thank you for listening, and until then,  take care!

Since the poet uses words that are highly appropriate and hardly ever utilized by everyday people, it would be difficult to interpret word for word. Thus, translating the stanzas: lines of the poem as a whole rather than word by word would be simple.

Dayax = Moon

Cadceed/ Qorax = Sun

Geed = tree  geedo = trees

Dab or Naar = Fire though “naar” is an arabic word, however, we still use it

Biyo = Water

Flower = Ubax ubaxyo = flowers

Dhagax = Stone Dhaxagaan/ Dhagaxyaal = Stones

Nin = a man  niman = men or rag = men

Hawenay = a woman Haween = women or Dumar = women xaawo ley.

Hebel = so and so (masculine)

Hebla = so and so (femenine)

Xaas = a wife   xaasas= wives aafo= xaas 

Gaadhi = car gaadhiyo = cars or gawaadhi

Dugsi = school when something is dugsi, it’s warm.Dugsiyaal = schools.

The term "Dugsi" 'school" is mostly used to describe locations where people go to learn the Holy Qur'an.

This song was also written by Hadraawi (may Allah have mercy on him). 

It's nicely put together, and mothers do deserve uncodnitional love and care.

FYI: The song is longer than this.

Hooyooy la'aantaa

Aduunyadu hubaashii

Habeen kama baxdeenoo

Iftin lama heleenoo

Without you, mommy certainly

the world would be in total darkness 

There will be no light 

Dadku uma hayaameen

Xiddig hawd ka lulatoo

Sida haad ma fuuleen

Dayax heego joogoo

Hubka laguma tureen

Hawo laguma gaadheen

Cirka hirar ka muuqdoo

People would have not gone 

Above the moon

Like birds they wouldn’t climb

The star lighting up in the sky

Wouldn’thave been accomplish by thought

Weapon would not be thrown 

At the sky waves,

Ruux aad hagaysiyo

usha mid aad u haysaa

hilin toosan weligii,

ka habaabi mayee

Hooyoy addoomuhu

Halkay maanta joogaan

Adigow horseedoo

Undoubtedly, one guided by your perfect devotion 

would never stray from the straight road.

Mommy, where the where is today, 

Surely have paved the path

The number of heroes  you have carried,

 held close to you, and fed them is uncountable and incalculable

When You give birth to a  warrior, 

Oh Mother, when your daring kid amazes and inspires others!

You are remembered

I'll be doing Somali Songs' vocals exclusively in the upcoming episodes. Understanding the song's composition is crucial. You may have noticed that one "letter" appeared repeatedly throughout the song, "DH," which functions like the letter "D." It's fascinating to observe how the song was written, in my opinion. Somali love songs have a strong presence in our literature.. Insha'Allah, I'll be doing poems, "vocals" for Somali songs, and other similar material shortly.

We're focusing on a poem by renowned Somali poet Hadraawi in today's episode. Recently, Hadraawi passed away. May Allah grant him mercy. He was essentially the Somali people's Shakespeare, as I mentioned in the episode

I am aware that poems can be challenging since poets must carefully select the words that best describe the situation they are describing. Therefore, don't worry if you stumble over a few words like I did.

Dhalashada afkaygiyo

Dhigashada fartaydaan

Kaga baxay dhibaatoon

Hawlihii ku dhaafee,

Iyadaa dhaqaalaha

Dhidibbada u aastoo

Dheelliga u diiddaye,

Dhulka wadajirkiisee

Iyadaa dhammeesee.

Through the fixing of its spelling

my language is delivered:

my difficulties done with,

I'm freed from every hindrance.

Settling the orthography’s

our economy's foundation;

it defends against all defects

in the oneness of our nation -

it underwrites and it defines.

Interested in hearing a Somali poem? Here is a Somali poem. The poet is essentially exhorting everyone to do their best effort.

Just Listen; don't worry about understanding everything. Insha'Allah (God willing), I will endeavor to locate and translate some excellent poems for you in the upcoming days.

Hello guys, welcome back to the Podcast!

In today's episode, I teach you two new Somali Proverbs

1) Ballan darro waa diin darro

To not fulfill a promise is the same as not believing in God

2): Ama talo keen ahow ama talo raac ahow

Either propose something or agree to what's proposed by others

That's all for today. Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day/night!

In the Somali language, there are two we (s). One for exclusivity and the latter for inclusivity.

By using these auxiliary verbs, you can both include and exclude someone from the discussion or gathering.

Waxaanu (wahaanu) for exclusivity or Waxaynu (Wahaynu) for inclusivity

Let's assume, for example, that you want to invite all of your friends to an event. You can say:

"Waxaynu akhrin buugan. We are all going to read this book, You can use the phrase "Waxaanu akhrin buugan" to keep some of them out. We'll read this book. Observe how the word "all" is absent from the second.

When someone is speaking to you, they would expect your full attention present. In today's episode, I teach you some of the phrases you can use to show your attentiveness.

1): Haye means "Okay", but it also serves the purpose of demonstrating your interest in hearing what the other person has to say rather than shutting them down.

Husband: I want to go to London.

Wife: Haye, what will you do in there? Enlengthen us

2): Waan gartay means "Got it, understood" or you can simply just say "gartay"

3): Ku soco means proceed, go head, keep it up

4): Waa arrin fiican means it's a good thing, decision, plan and so on

Quote of the day "Bar ama Barro" meaning "Either Teach or Learn"

Until next time, take care!

In today's episode, we've learned about 10 useful new phrases. As I have stated previously, learning new phrases is useful and can be become handy when in need. And most importantly you're learning new words within those phrases instead of learning them separately, which is a tremendous help because it would be hard to construct new phrases by just knowing random words. Where does the verb go? Where does the noun go? Do you get what I mean? however I'm not saying stop learning words, but just don't put a lot of your precious time into learning words alone. Like always, thanks for listening, until next time, take care!

Teachers are the community's backbone and students' second parents. However, they sometimes expect students to do things that they themselves are unable to do. As in the example above, the teacher was shocked and kicked out one of his students simply because he did not bring any of his books, even though the student did not specify whether he did so on purpose or not. Nonetheless, it was the student's responsibility to bring his book with him. but teachers must sometimes show mercy and overlook a student's flaw. There are always students who are not afraid, to tell the truth, such as Omar, who appears to be Ayub's friend. I'm not sure if he did it out of friendship or mercy.

Aaway, meeday all mean "where is," as in "Meeday hooyadaa?" "Where is your mom?" "Aaway aabahaa?" "Where is your dad?" However, xagee (Hagee) is simply Where without the "is." When you want to tell someone to shut up/be quiet, say "aamus." If they are numerous, simply add "a" at the end of the previous word. Aamus + a =  Aamusa = be quiet everyone/ shut up everyone. "Haye" means "OK" but  "Haa" means "Yes".  For instance, "Maad fahantay" Did you understand?  if If you understand then say "Haa" "Yes" if not say "maya" "NO".  Fasal = classroom like I said in the episode, It's an Arabic word, but we also use the English word class. So we sometimes steal words from other languages to improvise😂😂. Thank you for listening!

Muuse traveled to London to see one of his buddies. Muuse and his friend appear to be wonderful friends since they help and advise one another. "That is absolutely something to be thankful for," Muuse stated. Nowadays, making genuine and trustworthy friends is really difficult. 

Muuse's English name is "Moses" 

We don't really think much about our birthdays. In actuality, neither I nor the majority of Somalis are sure of our exact birthdate. We don't utilize the Gergorian calendar when calculating age, as I mentioned in the episode. We use seasons instead—weird, huh? We simply use season to season to have a whole year rather than waiting until May to May.

Four seasons: Gu' (spring) Xagaa (summer) jiilaal or diraac (diraa') (winter) dayr (fall or autumn) 

Spring is really a season of celebration for the nomads. However, people in the rural area don't really care about alternating weather conditions. They can have their celebration anytime they want. 

The way we calculate someone's age is based on how many springs they've lived. weird, right? I will talk about this in another episode insha Allah (God-willing)

Keep learning, Keep having fun!  

The definite article in Somali is a not a separate word but a suffex (added at the end)

guri (house/ a house) guriGA (the house)    guri cad = a white a house       guriga cad = the white house

wiil (boy/ a boy) wiilKA (the boy)              wiil yar = a young boy        wiilka yar = the young boy

gabadh/ gabar (girl/ a girl) gabadha (the girl)   gabadh qurux badan = a beautiful girl     gabadha quruxda badan   = the beautiful girl

Thanks for listening!

Aroorta = in the early morning

saaka = this morning

galibta = this evening/afternoon

Maanta = today

shalayto = yesterday

halayto = last night

habeen hore = the night before last

shalay galab = yesterday evening

doraad or daraad = the day before yesterday

isho hore/ isho dhaweyd = the other day

berrito = tomorrow

berri aroortii = tomorrow morning

saa danbe = the day after tomorrow

saakuun (sakoon) = the day after the day after tomorrow

habeen danbe = tomorrow night

like I said, I will do another episode about the articles *the definite and in indefinite

Thankyou guys and remember to check out the discord I've created suggested by Zak (thanks Zak!) at https://discord.com/channels/996588793803067554/996588794998431807

thanks again!

In today's episode, I will teach you some great useful and handy phrases. 

1): Waxaan rabaa biyo.

* I want some water.

2): Biyo ii keen.

* Bring me some water.

I know some of you are like "but you didn't say Please in there" you're acting like you have some authority over  the person, I would like to say the word "Please" is understood and you don't have say it! (We've got you covered!) 

3): Maxaan (Mahaan) sameeya hadaba?

* What am I supposed to do then?

4): Waa kuma?

Who is it?  if you think the person who's knocking the door is female (obviously) if she talks and yells open the door. You might say "Waa tuma" just changing the first letter of the previous one. Kuma (for males) changes into Tuma (for females)

5): Waa Aabaha.

* It's your dad.

6): Hadda waxaad ii sheegaysaa inayna biyo oolin?

* Now you are telling me this isn't water.

7): Miyaan kuula ekahay qof kaftamaya?

* Do I really look like to you someone who's joking, kidding?

8): Allow hooyaday jannada meesha ugu sarraysa gali

or Allow hooyaday gali meesha ugu saraysa jannada 

(you can change the order of the words)

* O Allah, grant my mother the highest place in Paradise!

9): Allow waalidkay gali jannada meesha ugu sarraysa.

(Again you change the order)

* O Allah, grant my parents the highest place in Paradise.\

Amen (May Allah accept it)

and thanks for listening. Until next time take care!

Leeyahay and haystaa are synonyms and you're more than welcome to use them interchangeably. As I've mentioned in the episode the word leeyahay shows an absolute ownership whereas haystaa indicates a temporary ownership. But that's only if you want to take a look at the equation from one angle. Technically, they mean the same thing! Thanks for listening!

We do not pluralize when it comes to money. You know how in English you must add the "s" to satisfy the quantity of dollars you are talking about. For instance, you ought to say, "I have a dollar and I have two dollars and 10,000 dollars with the "s" if it's more than a dollar. Somali is quiet the different. It does not matter how much money you are talking about. You would still say dollar or pound or rupe. So don't be surprised when you hear one of us saying, "i have two dollar or I have 5 dollar instead of I have two dollars and I have five dollars. Thank you for listening. Make sure you support the podcast. And your support is appreciated. Thanks again and have a wonderful day, night whatever it maybe be for you!.

Generosity is something that every nation needs to have in order to help its people and it does indeed bring people together. 

Our generosity is kinda special though. You might see someone traveling throughout the country (Somalia) without comprehensive provision knowing  that strangers along the way are more than happy to support them throughout their journey.  

Somali naming usually goes like this. Your first name, your father's first name and your grandfather's first name. For instance, Khadar (my first name), Muktar (my father's first name) and Osman (my grandfather's first name). And this is why I was saying when you call out for a somali person, always call out their first name. They are more likely to respond to that. And I feel like last names are a way of identifying yourself. But in everyday life, FIRST NAMES are more important then last names. 

In today's episode, we'll take a look some phrases that would help you kick-off mini conversation with any Somali person. 

Always start with "ASALAAMU'ALAYKUM" Peace be upon you. It does not matter if they are a bunch of people or a single person. 

As I have mentioned in the eposide, that greating is timeless any precious. You can use it at any given moment. They would more likey respond with "WA"ALAYKUMASALAAM" "you too". I don't know if you know this but we (Somalis) actually like when non-somali person starts a conversation and we can talk to you all day long. When we start to talk, we go all the way. Not like Hi and Hi and then departing pretty soon. Use thses phrases and make new somali friends. 

See tahay or siddii tahay?  How are you? How are you doing?

Fiican = Good/ Great

Magacaa = What's your name?

Please don't ask too many questions. 

If you are lucky, you can even get their phone numbers and start an endless friendship.

Thank you and remember to support the podcast. Your support is appreciated.

In Today's eposide, we will take a closer look at when Somali langauge was written and why it took so long to put the language into a written form. 

When you have a written language, history will be preserved. Somali language was written in 1972 to 1973 by Said Barre's administration. Although it was a military government and run the government for 21 years. One of the most important thing they have done was "writting the Somali language fo the first time in history". Before our language was written, we used to use Arabic, English, and Italian when it comes to written communication. 

In today's episode, I answer two questions that I was recently asked by one of you guys. 

The difference between "Haystaa and Leeyahay". Well, there is no difference between these because they mean the same thing. 

Some people use "haystaa" instead of Leeyahay. They might say "Waxaan haystaa gaadhi" meaning "I have a car". Some people might prefer using "leeyahay" which literally means the same thing. "I have a car". I mean if someone says "I have a car" and another person says "I got a car" don't they mean the same thing. 

The second question was what is "waa and baa"

You know how English has words that are called "The helping verbs" like "is, are, was, am, were, was and so on" Somali has its own helping verbs too and they are these ones "waa, baa, way, waxay, wuxuu, waxay, and so on. 

Again, I'd like to thank you for asking those awesome questions. If you have any more questions, please let me know!. 

Thank you guys for listening!

In this episode, I teach you how you can give "verbal commands" in Somali.

Hopefully, after this new episode, you will be able to give commands in Somali or at least will know something about it.

In English, it's pretty easy because the base verb is the command already. What do I mean by that?

Look at this!.   Eat is the base verb at the same time isn't it a command when you tell someone "eat this or that" 

you don't do anything to the original verb to make verbal commands in English; however, in Somali, it goes through some changes.

Let's look at this!.  Cabid (Abid)  to drink would change into "cab" just three letters. " Qorid" writing turns into "qor" write! etc.

I hope you've learned something new. Insha Allah I will try to make new episodes in the coming days stay tune.!

HERE WE LEARN SOMALI IDIOMS.

Somali Idioms

1)*  “Niman shaqaysan shaah ma cabo”

Whosoever does not work, won’t even drink a cup of tea

It’s pretty similar to “No pain no gain”

Meaning if you don’t work, then my friend you can’t purchase anything.

A cup of tea isn’t expensive back in Somalia. I don’t know if you know this but we drink tea  pretty much all the time. Early morning, early afternoon, evening you name it. So, this idiom is an encouragement  for people to get to work. Being lazy isn’t gonna do anything. Be productive.

2) * “Quruxi yayna ku hodin”

Don’t judge from appearance

3) “Barasho horteed ha i nicin”

Get to know me, before you reject me

( don’t hate and stereotype something or someone before you get to know)

4)  Waari mayside war hakaa hadho ~You

won’t last so leave a legacy

5). Guri ann hooyo lahayni waa lama degaan

~A home without a mother is like a desert

(mother makes home trustworthy, happier

and lovable; without her, it’s dark, fearful

and very horrible to live in)

Waiter: Welcome to Safari Restaurant” take  a seat please.

Waiter: Ku soo dhawaada Maqaaxida Safaari. Fadhista/fadhiiso fadlan.

Customer: Where is the bathroom?

Customer: Aaway/ musqushii/suuligii?

Waiter: Right behind you sir.

Waiter: gadaashaada mudane

Waiter: Are you with him?

Waiter: Maad la socotaa?

Customer: Yes, he is my husband.

Customer: Haa, waa ninkaygii/saygayii/sawjkaygii

Waiter: Great/wonderful/awesome/

Waiter: si fiican

Waiter: What can I get you?

Waiter: Maxaan kuu keenaa?

Customer: Nothing, I’ll wait

Customer: Waxba waan sugayaa

Customer: Okey

Waiter: haye

(husband comes back)

Customer2: Where is the waiter?

Customer: Aaway/meeyay mudalabkii?

Waiter: Here I am. What I can for you ?

Waiter: waa ika. Maxaan kuu keena?

Customer: Maxaad haysaa/haysaa?

Waiter: Rice, spagheti, and meat

Waiter, Bariis, baasto, iyo hilib

Customer: Noo keen bariis hilib leh

Customer: Bring rice with meat.

Customer1: Wait, wait, you just gonna order without asking me?

Customer: sug, /ukaadi/ miyaad iska dalban adoon i waydiinin.

Husband: Sorry about that honey:

husbandr2: waan ka xumahay qali

Waiter: What can I get you ma’am/madam?

Waiter: Maxaan kuu keena marwo?

Wife: Bring me exactly what my husband ordered?

Wife : IIkeen wuxuu dalbaday ninkaygu?

Husband: Honey, what is wrong  with you?

Husband: Maxaa kaa khaldan/qaldan?

Wife: Nothing, I just wanted talk.

Wife: Waxba, waxaan rabay un in aan hadlo

Waiter: Man, you have the best wife?

Waiter. Ninyahow, waxaad haysataa xaas fiican

Husband: Just bring the food!

Husband: cuntaa un keen.

Waiter: I’ll be right back sir!

Waiter: waan soo noqon mudan!.

Question: If you are waiting for the waiter, aren't you the waiter?

:

Here I have translated it  in a very basic translation. 

Bari baa waxaa is guursaday nin iyo naag duqomo ah

Once upon a time there was   a young man and a young woman who were unintelligent and got married.

Maalin maamaha ka mid ah ayaa ay ri qasheen oo hilbaheedii qaar cuneen  qaarna ku gurteen haan oo ay ku keydsadeen.

One day they slaughtered a goat and ate some of its meat and they put the rest in a big container and stored so they could eat later.

Maalin maalmaha ka mid ah ayaa ay israaceen ninkii iyo afadiisii oo ay xaabo u doonteen keynta si ay wax ugu karsadaan.

One day, they went out together in the forest  to gather firewood to cook the meat.

Iyaga oo keyntii ku sii socda ayaa nin socdaal ahi ka hor yimid oo su’aal weydiiyey oo yiri:

As they were on their journey to forest, there comes a traveller and asked them.

“ Waxa aad ii tilmaantaan cid meelahan deggen haddii aad garanaysaan?”

Can you please tell me if there is anyone living here, if you know?

Way ugu jawaabeen,

“They said, “Take this road, it shall take you to our home

“tubtaa raac aqalkayagii bay ku geynaysaaye;

“Take this road, it shall take you to our home

aqalka ha gelin,

Do not enter the home.

haddaad gasahana haanta ku xiran ha furin.

If you enter, do not open the container