Iftiin Learns

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Salam everyone! Today, I want to go over how you would refer to family members in Somali. Somali has multi

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Here is a basic list of the most important family members that I refer to in my life quite frequently.

1. Family – Reer/Qoys. If I wanted to say my family was well, I would say reerkayga/qoyskayga fiicanyiihiin.
2. Children – Caruur/Ilmo
3. Baby – Cunug
4. Parents – Waaliid
5. Mum – Hooyo
6. Dad – Aabe/Aabo (Aabo if you are calling him)
7. Sister – Abaayo/Walaasha (Aabayo is what I learnt as a child, walasha is another word I’ve heard)
8. Brother – Aboowe/Walaal
9. Grandma – Ayeeyo
10. Grandad – Awoowe
11. Aunt – Habayar (maternal), Eedo (paternal)
12. Uncle – Abti (maternal), Adeer (paternal)
13. Female cousin: walaasha inadeer
14. Male cousin: walaal inadeer
15. Husband – Nin
16. Wife – Naag/Xaas

Here are some extra notes:

• To talk about my family, I would say ‘reerkayga’. For example, reerkayga fiicanyiihin, Alxamdulillah. My family are good, Alhamdulillah.
• My dad = aabahay
• My mum = hooyaday
• My brother = walaalkay
• My sister = walaashay
• So if someone asks me, ma reerkaaga fiicayiihin? – they’re asking if my family is well, and I can respond with Haa, fiicanyiihin Alxamdulillah.

The possessives in Somali can be quite complicated, so I won’t go into a full explanation here, but generally if words end in ‘ayga/tayda’ or ‘ay’ it refers to anything that’s mine, and anything ‘kaaga’/aaga is referring to something that’s yours.

Note on possessives:
Somali possessives can get quite complicated, so I won’t go into full explanation here. Generally, words ending with -kay / -tay / -gay / -day show that something is mine, and words ending with -kaaga / -taada / -gaaga / -daada show that something is yours.

The exact ending depends on the word itself depending on gender but you’ll start to notice patterns as you learn more.

If you want to learn other common basic words to help you with your first conversation, check out my post here!

10 Somali Phrases Beginners Need To Know To Have Their First Conversation In Somali

Mahadsanid for reading! I hope this helps and nabad gelyo!