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!

Wolof Learner’s Dictionary

$3.00 minimum purchase. (Feel free to pay more if you feel it’s worth it).

What you will get is a unique PDF dictionary with 3,000+ entries color-coded for travel, grammar, synonyms and examples.

Once payment is received you can either read the dictionary here on this page, open it up in a new page, or download it to your computer or device.

Screenshot sample of Janga Wolof Learner's Dictionary available for purchase and download.
Above is a sample of what you will get.

Use the comments section to ask and share more Wolof words and phrases…

174 responses to “Some Essential Wolof Phrases”

  1.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Hi all

    Could anyone plz tell me wat “yow suma y nga” means…thnx

    Like

  2.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Hi all

    Could anyone plz tell me wat “yow suma u nga” means…thnx

    Like

  3. Julia Avatar
    Julia

    hello! could someone please help me how to say in Wolof – “I’m very sorry. please forgive me for everything”? thanks in advance!

    Like

  4. Johnd668 Avatar
    Johnd668

    Hey, thanks for the blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged. kakbaaeeefgc

    Like

  5.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    What es the muy: yalla na ma yalla may Diam ak were ak Nieppe. Please

    Like

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      A rough translation – God will repay you with peace, love and everything

      Like

  6.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    what does “nanala” mean if anything? I got this from a Senegalese male friend but can’t figure out if his spelling is off cause i can’t find a translation!

    Like

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      Hey may have just been shortening namenala which means I miss you or I have missed you…but not sure otherwise.

      Like

      1.  Avatar
        Anonymous

        I thought that but wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something or that maybe he misspelled nob nala, but I’m sure nob nala and nanala sound quite different! Thank you

        Like

  7. Lori Avatar

    my husband spent time in a wolof speaking area, one of the phrases he uses means for the good of us all….How in the work would that be spelled? (yok a boke) I don’t know THANKS.
    Lori

    Like

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      I think he was saying you are welcome, which also literally means ‘we share it.’ It is often written with an accent above the n – ñokobok – pronouced nyokobok.

      Like

  8. Brook Avatar

    What’s up, this weekend is nice designed for me, since this time i am reading this wonderful educational paragraph here at my house.

    Like

  9.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    verbi italiano

    Like

Leave a comment

Janga Wolof

Welcome to Janga Wolof…bear with us while we make some changes to the site…

Let’s connect