Episodes
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...
Published 09/02/23
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...
Published 08/09/23
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. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/learnsomalilanguage/support
Published 07/17/23
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 =...
Published 07/11/23
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...
Published 07/07/23
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. --- Support this...
Published 06/29/23
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...
Published 06/19/23
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. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/learnsomalilanguage/support
Published 05/29/23
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! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/learnsomalilanguage/support
Published 04/24/23
In this episode, I give you some recommendations on learning Somali Language faster. I'm well aware of the limited resources that come with learning our language, but that shouldn't be an issue. Everything is accessible online because we live in a technological era now. Recommendations go as follows: 1) Start Listening More Before you try speaking any given language, you need to listen to that specific language quite often, enabling you to pronounce words native like. 2) Make use of what...
Published 04/03/23
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...
Published 03/26/23
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...
Published 03/06/23
In this episode, I respond to a recent query on whether to use the term "Somalians " or "Somalis" when referring to Somali people The correct term is simply Somalis because Somali is both our language and nationality. Although saying "Somalians" is grammatically incorrect, doing so wouldn't be harmful. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/learnsomalilanguage/support
Published 02/25/23
When asking questions, it's crucial to know the interrogative words like what, when, why, how, and where. Therefore, we'll go over those question words in today's episode while also utilizing them in complete sentences. (if it's easy for you to pronoun "h" instead of the "x" in Somali words, feel free to do so) Sidee = how  Maxay = what   why = sabab/maxaad who = kuma (for males) and tuma (for females) where = xagee (Hagee) When = goorma Siday ku dhacday = How did that happen?  Kumaa tahay or...
Published 02/11/23
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...
Published 12/09/22
Hooyo means mother, and within that word, we have "hoy" meaning home, a place of refuge. Without a " hoy" or "home", there is no life.  You just feel at home whenever you're with your mom since she's full of mercy and compassion.  Guur means two things simultaneously, marriage and move. Technically, you move when you get married.  if we take out the first letter in guur the "g" we're left with "uur" which means pregnancy. Typically, you would expect pregnancy after marriage. And let's even go...
Published 11/26/22
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...
Published 11/13/22
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"  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/learnsomalilanguage/support
Published 10/11/22
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. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast:...
Published 10/02/22
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!...
Published 09/12/22
Macagayu (maga'aygu) waa (insert your name) waxaan (wahaan) ku noolahay wadanka (insert the country you live in). Da'daydu waa (insert your age) waxaan (wahaan) waxbarshada ku bartaa jaamacada (insert you uni) Xaafadananu way  badan yihiin alx (an abbreviation of (alhamdulilaah) (praise be to God.  waxaan (wahaan) ka koobanahay (insert the number of your family memebrs) (insert number of kids) and of course hooyo (mom) and aabo (dad). Thanks for listening!.  --- This episode is sponsored...
Published 08/24/22
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! --- This episode is sponsored...
Published 08/15/22
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,...
Published 08/13/22
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...
Published 07/24/22
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! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast:...
Published 07/07/22