In this post, you will learn how to say ‘how are you?’ in Somali. You’ll also learn common responses so you can respond if you’re asked this question. This can be really useful if you’re speaking with someone from Somalia or Somaliland.
Somali is an Afroasiatic language spoken by the Somali people who are primarily based in Somalia and Somaliland. It is also a national language in Djibouti.
There are over 18 million speakers of Somali worldwide.
Table of Contents
How To Say ‘How Are You?’ In Somali
There are many different ways to ask ‘how are you?’. Here are the most common:
| How are you? | See tahay? |
| How are you? | Sidee tahay? |
| How are you? | Sideed tahay? |
| How are you? (lit. what’s the news?) | Is ka warran? |
| What’s up? (casual) | Maxaa cusub? |
| Are you fine? | Ma fican tahay? |
| How are you? (lit. is it peace?) | Ma nabad baa? |
| How are you? (lot. what are you saying?) | Maxaad sheegtay? |
Pronunciation note:
The ‘c’ in Somali is pronounced very differently to the English ‘c’. There is no English equivalent to this letter. If you’re familiar with Arabic, then it sounds like the Arabic letter ‘ain’.
Check out the below video to hear the pronunciation of these phrases:
How To Respond To ‘How Are You?’ In Somali
There are many different ways that you can reply to this question. Below are the most common responses to this question. I’ve also included how to say ‘thank you’ as it’s polite to thank someone if they ask how you are.
| Thank you | Mahadsanid |
| I’m fine/good | Waan wanaagsanahay |
| I’m fine/good | Waan fiicanahay |
| It is peace (response to ‘ma nabad baa?’) | Waa nabad |
| I’m sick | Waan jirranahay |
| I’m not good | Ma fiicni |
| I’m happy | Waan faraxsanahay |
| I’m sad | Waan murugaysanahay |
It’s also useful to know how to say ‘and you?’ or ‘what about you?’ to find out how someone else is if they ask you.
| And you? | Adiguna? |
Example Conversation:
Person 1: See tahay? (How are you?)
Person 2: Waan fiicanahay, mahadsanid. Adiguna? (I’m fine, thank you. And you?)
Person 1: Waan fiicanahay (I’m fine)
Thanks for reading this post.
You should now know how to say ‘how are you?’ in Somali and you should also be able to respond if you’re asked!
You can’t go wrong with these simple phrases.
Someone’s birthday coming up? Learn how to wish them a happy birthday in Somali.
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