Iftiin Learns

Without knowledge there is no light

Category: Language Learning

  • A Day in My Life: Somali Language Learning

    Salam! It’s been such a long time since I’ve posted anything, so I thought I would do something a little different. As a beginner, I want to help other learners so I thought I would share this paragraph of an imaginary day of my life to help others learn some…

  • Fun ways to learn Somali

    When it comes to learning a new language, there comes a point where you can feel stuck, especially if you having been learning the language for a while, or in my case, several years. You’re not exactly a ‘beginner’ so resources like textbooks feel boring and uninspiring but native level…

  • How to Start Learning Somali in 2026

    Hambalyo sanadka cusub! Are you interested in learning AfSoomaali this year, but don’t know where to start? Or are you like me, someone who has learnt on and off for several years, still dreaming of mastery one day? In this post, I want to reflect on my experience and my…

  • Essential Somali Vocab: Days of the Week in Somali

    Soo dhawow to another post in the series Essential Somali Vocab helping you learn more Somali along with me! In this post, I hope to help learners like me learn the days of the week. Before we get started, let’s recap the words day, today,yesterday, tomorrow, week, month and year…

  • Level Up Your Somali: Birthday Edition 🎂

    Want to know how to talk about birthdays in Somali? Here’s my handy list of new words to help you get started! dhalashadayda – my birthday hadiyado – presents macmacaan – sweets/desserts munaasabad – occasion dhalasho – birth maalin farxad leh – a happy day Maanta waxaan ahay shan iyo…

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

    If you are interested in learning Somali, here are some helpful conversational phrases you can learn to get started! Assalamu calaykum – Most Somalis are Muslim, so it makes perfect sense that this beautiful Arabic phrase (the literal meaning is ‘peace be upon you’) is used to greet someone. The…

  • Top 20 Common Somali Verbs to Master

    Looking to learn Somali? If you are a beginner, you can learn some of the basic and commonly used verbs here! To go – tag To eat – cun To drink – cab To sleep – hurud To think – fikir To talk – hadlo To read – aqri To…

  • Words you can find in Somali music

    As any language learner knows, listening to music is a fun way to enage with the dhaqan (culture) of the language! Somali music is very much based on a rich tradition of poetry and storytelling but learners may find older music more difficult to understand due to the complexity of…

  • What type of language learner are you?

    In this post, I’ll be decoding different motivations for learning a new language and why someone might decide to take it up as a hobby. Understanding your motivation is crucial if you want to have success in your studies and become fluent long term. Of course, people can have many…