Poster text: ESSENTIAL WOLOF PHRASES; Salam alaykum! Peace be upon you; Maalikum salaam, And upon you peace; Noo tudd? What is your name? Maa ngi tudd... My name is...; Na nga def? How are you? Maa ngi fi rekk, I am here only/fine; Naka sa yaram? How is your health?; Jërëjëf. Amul solo, You're welcome; Ñaata la? How much is it? Teemeer la, It's 100; Waaw, Yes; Déedéet, No; Ba beneen yoon. Until next time / Goodbye.

“Expressions Ouolof Essentielles”

Na nga def. – Hello. (singular)
Na ngeen def. – Hello everybody. (plural)
Jaam nga fanane. – Good morning.
Jamm nga yendoo. – Good afternoon.
Fanaanal jaam. – Goodnight.
Ba beneen. – Goodbye.
Su la nexee. – Please.
Jai-rruh-jef. – Thank you.
Agsil. – You’re welcome. (singular)
Agsileen ak jaam. – You’re all welcome. (plural)
Baal ma. – Sorry./Pardon.
Wau. – Yes.
Deh-det. – No.
Jaam nga am? – Have you peace? (How are you?)
Jaam rek. – Peace only. (I’m fine.)
Yow nag? – And you?
Naka-nga sant? – What’s your first name?
Maa ngi tudd … . – My name is … .
Fan nga dahk? – Where do you live?
Fan nga joghe? – Where are you from? (singular)
Fan ngeen joghe? – Where are you all from? (plural)
Maa ngi joghe les USA. – I’m from the USA.
Deg nga Angale? – Do you speak English?
Deg nga Faranse? – Do you speak French?
Angale rekk laa degg. – I speak only English.
Degg naa tuuti Faranse. – I speak a little French.
Mahn deggumah Wolof. – I don’t speak Wolof.
Mahn deggumah Faranse. – I don’t speak French.
Degguma. – I don’t understand.
Dama bahggoon … . – I’d like … .
Fahn la … ? – Where is … ?
Soreh na? – Is it far?
Cha kanam. – Straight ahead.
Chammoon. – Left.
Ndeyjoor. – right.
Dugghal waay! – Get in!
Lii naata? – How much is this?
Seer na torob. – It’s too much.
May ma jaam! – Leave me alone!

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174 responses to “Some Essential Wolof Phrases”

  1.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    legui legui means ‘see you later’

    Like

  2. tom Avatar
    tom

    I visited senegal for about 4 months a few years ago.

    Im still very interested and facinated with the language and country it self . Now I’ve been trying to brouse the web to find a phrase that i used pretty often yet i cant find a proper transulation for it , the phrase was légé légé ” dont start flaming me plse im a native speaker im from belgium i know the spelling may be off by miles 🙂

    From the phrases that i can remember ( like said above plse dont flame me for typos 🙂 ) – i was 19 when i made this trip so its been a while.

    nellow nah boebah? : did u sleepwell?
    defal danke : chill out
    Ghamna gelbi rafet : do you know any pretty ladys
    ki ke le wi : whos there , hello

    dama sono : im tired
    dama rew : im hungry
    dama dof : im stupid
    dama mara naam : im thursty

    samagol : lady of my hearth
    danga rafet : ure beautiful
    de mal a dofsi yow : im crazy about you

    ana wa kurge? : how are things at home?
    nakka a fairbie? : what you up too?
    foj dem? : where you going?
    nejdem : we are going
    boebah : good
    boebaha very good
    boemak : big
    boemak a mak : bigger
    boendow : small
    boendow a dow : smaller
    jogma : give it too me
    amoel challies : i got no money
    tutu rek : just a little
    bahné : its ok
    ko kan la? : who is there?

    thats is about the most i can remember at the moment , hope this helps a little

    Like

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      I’m Senegalese , so just trying to help (:
      Dama rew means I’m rude , not hungry .
      Dama khif means I’m hungry .

      Like

      1. Tamires Avatar
        Tamires

        Can you teach me Wolof ?

        Like

      2. neeneelove Avatar
        neeneelove

        how do u say no sex in wolof my boyfriend is from senegal and i told him i would find out how to say that because he wont teach me that lol

        Like

        1. Amadou Avatar

          Man déedéet tëdd ak. [maan dey-deyt tuhd ak]

          I’m not going to have sex with you.

          déedéet tëdd = no sex

          man = I; déedéet = no; tëdd ak = (to have) sex

          Like

  3. c Avatar
    c

    my husband is from Gambia and i’m very anxious to learn the language, can someone offer any other common phrases that will be helpful or tutorials?

    Like

    1. Jangalekat Wolof Avatar

      Start >HERE< scroll all the way to the bottom and work your way up!

      Like

  4. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    Hi people,
    I really want to know what is the meaning of this :

    Boul ma sene, boul ma guiss madi re nga fokni mane
    Khamouma li neka thi sama souf ak thi guinaw
    Beugouma kouma khol oaldine yaw li neka si yaw
    mo ne si man, li ne si mane moye dilene diapale

    Please if anyone can help he can contact me : ristovc@yahoo.com
    Thanx

    Like

    1. Jangalekat Wolof Avatar

      These are Youssos Ndour lyrics from 7 Seconds w/Neneh Cherry.

      This is what he is saying:

      Don’t see me from a distance
      Don’t look at my smile
      And think that I don’t know
      What’s under and behind me
      I don’t want you to look at me and think
      What’s in you is in me
      What’s in me is to help them

      Can anyone break down some of the individual Wolof words for us?

      Like

  5. Asiya Avatar
    Asiya

    Danny, you’re probably already done with that painting but I was going to say you might include, rather than words, items in the picture that were significant to your deceased friend.

    African cultures, like many others, have had a great portion of their culture and traditions preserved in song and glyphs.

    Its just a thought.

    Like

  6. Danny Avatar
    Danny

    I have a Senegalese friend who has just died…I am an artist and would like to include an appropriate farewell phrase in a picture I am painting is there someone who can tell me what I should say to my friend and his family to say goodbye?

    Like

  7. Jangalekat Wolof Avatar

    well why don’t you correct us then?

    Like

  8. angry person Avatar
    angry person

    you people are so dumb, you got half of it wrong! nefu len fele waay!!

    Like

    1. I agree Avatar
      I agree

      Belie deh touch nga fi! wahati ko lool.. SMH

      Like

    2. Amelia Avatar
      Amelia

      you don’t have to be rude to people who are here to learn:

      Like

    3.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      well then perhaps you could supply help rather than be so offensive is better to help than criticize yalna la yalla faye ak ramadan mubarak

      Like

  9. Jangalekat Wolof Avatar

    Amul solo (You’re welcome)

    Like

    1. Ronald Kasper Avatar
      Ronald Kasper

      Can ANYONE please translate the following? PLEASE

      dega dafa am num fa tarjo teh sa waji parei wuta understan

      Like

    2. ana Avatar
      ana

      hey there !!

      can anyone please translate this for me ? it’s wolof frm senegal.
      “beggue sokhena si amal jam ak salame ak weer ak kheweul diarama”
      i just found “happiness” for begue ..and i have no idea about the rest..though i heard diarama a lot..

      thanks a lot for your help

      Like

      1. diagne Avatar
        diagne

        i wish you happiness girl.May God shower you with peace healthy and wealthy

        Like

      2. molly Avatar
        molly

        can you tell me what khewuel means??

        Like

      3. ana Avatar

        this goes to diagne:

        jerejeff.
        thank you so much. na how would i say dat nah?
        cool, am here quite often but never saw your answer.

        so then “begue boy(?) si amul jamm” … wish you happiness boy? translated: happiness boy ….?

        would be happy if u still hang around and answer me 😉
        this language is so very beautiful and i am meeting many people talking it and would like to understand them better to help them better….

        thanks again…looking forward to read something

        Like

  10. Edith Flores Avatar

    I really want to learn wolof.

    Thank you for this help.

    Edith Flores

    Like

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      i can teach

      Like

      1.  Avatar
        Anonymous

        What’s your email? I need you to translate please. Thanks.

        Like

      2. Priska Avatar
        Priska

        I want to learn wolof please email me soon

        Like

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