Wolof phrasebook

Wolof is the main language of Senegal, and is also spoken in Gambia and Mauritania.

Pronunciation guide
Note: Wolof is primarily an oral not written language, so written spellings may vary considerably.

Consonants
hyrA


 * C-: is always pronounced "Ch" Words borrowed from French should use "S" instead of C but might not always be written that way.
 * R-: Should be rolled.
 * After a double consonant,:: repeat the vowel preceding vowel sound slightly. For example, Tudd (to call oneself) sounds almost like "tuddu" and jamm (peace) sounds like "Jamma" with a very soft a / e muet (if you speak French, for reference) at the end.
 * Ng -: Difficult for a non-speaker to replicate. Focus on the "g" sound and if possible add the n to the end of the preceding word. For example, Fan nga joge? (Where to you come from) sounds more like Fann ga joge?

Common diphthongs
goeses

Basics

 * Hello. :  Salamalekum (This is Arabic) / Response: Malekum Salaam.
 * Hello. (informal) : . (Ça va)French
 * How are you? : Na'nga def? ( ?)
 * Fine, thank you. : Mangi fi rekk. ( jama rek or I'm in peace)
 * Alhumdililay. : Thanks be to God. (From Arabic.) May be used after 'jama rek' to express thanks.
 * What is your name? : Nanga tudd?
 * My name is... : Mangi tudd...
 * Nice to meet you. : . ( )
 * Please : (S'il vous plait )
 * Thank you. : Jere jef. ( )
 * You're welcome. : ñoku boku. ( )
 * Yes. : . (waaw )
 * No. : . (de det )
 * Excuse me. (getting attention) : . (pardon )
 * Excuse me. (begging pardon) : . (baal ma )
 * I'm sorry. : . (maasa )
 * Goodbye : Be benen yoon. ( Means see you next time, or a la prochaine in French )
 * See you very soon : Leegi leegi.
 * See you later : Ba ci kanam.
 * I'm going (informal) : . (maangi dem)
 * I can't speak Wolof [well]. : [ ]. ( [Man degguma ?????? ])
 * Do you speak English? : ? ( Degg nga anglais?)
 * I speak some english : ? (Degg naa tutti tutti anglais)
 * Help! : ! ( dembalema)
 * Look out! : ! ( me hole)
 * How is the morning? : Naka suba si?
 * How is the evening? : Naka si ngom si?
 * Good night. : Fanaanal ak jamm. Plural: Fanaaleen ak jamm. (NB: Slight "a" sound follows the double consonant.)
 * Good night (to sleep) : . (bon nuit )French
 * I don't understand. : . (je ne comprend pas )French (Degguma)
 * Where is... ? : ? ( Ana ...?)
 * Where are you from? : ( Fooy degga? ) or Fan nga joge?

Small talk

 * How is your work? : Naka liggeye bi? ( )
 * How is your family? : Naka wa kerr gi? ( ) or Ana wa ker ga?
 * My house (family) is fine (here). : Nyung fi rekk.
 * How did you sleep? : Nanga fananay?
 * White person : Toubab ( )

Numbers

 * 0=dara/nayn (DA-ra/nayn)
 * 1=benn (ben)
 * 2=naar (nyaar)
 * 3=nett (nyet)
 * 4=nent (nyent)
 * 5=juroom (JOO-room)
 * 6=juroom benn (JOO-room ben)
 * 7=juroom naar (JOO-room nyaar)
 * 8=juroom nett (JOO-room nyet)
 * 9=juroom nent (JOO-room nyent)
 * 10=fukk (fook)

Time

 * foor duckion

Duration

 * Monday
 * Altine


 * Tuesday
 * Taalata


 * Wednesday
 * Alarba


 * Thursday
 * Alxames


 * Friday
 * Ajjuma


 * Saturday
 * Gaaw


 * Sunday
 * Dibeer

Money

 * How much is it? : Ñaata la? ( )
 * What does it cost? : Nyata? ( )

Eating

 * Breakfast : ( Ndekki )
 * Lunch : ( An )
 * Dinner : ( Reer )

Shopping

 * (Ci) Marse bi : (at) the market
 * Ñaata la? : How much is it?
 * ____ francs : ____ CFA (NB: Numbers used for prices will usually be in French and in thousands with inflation.)
 * Waxale : to bargain
 * Maangi waxale : I bargain
 * Cher na (torop) : It's (very) expensive (Used to try to haggle the price down)