Pronunciation

Click Wolof examples for audio pronunciation. An audio player will open in a new browser tab. (Pro tip: on a Mac tap trackpad with three fingers to preview link without leaving page).

VOWELS

VOWEL	ENGLISH EQUIVALENT	WOLOF EXAMPLES
a	absorb naan	sant last name
aa	far sore	laaj question
e	get jot	dem to go
ee	where ana	seet examine
é	say wax	bés day
ée	sane regle	wéer lean against
ë	bird picc	kër house
i	pit leeñ	fit courage
ii	meet daje	siis not wanting to share
o	moment saa	fomp wipe clean
ó	no déedéet	jóg get up
oo	door bunt	loos neck
óo	phone telefon	fóon to smell
u	cook togg	ubbi to open
uu	moon weer	juuyoo to miss each other

CONSONANTS

CONSONANT	ENGLISH EQUIVALENT	WOLOF EXAMPLES
b	boy bóoy	ban clay
c	chat werante	ceeb rice
d	dog xaj	dara nothing
f	fire safara	fas tie
g	good baax	agsi arrive
j	job liggéey	jox give
k	keep denc	kaani hot pepper
l	land suuf	lakk burn
m	mark màndarga	naam answer to name
n	nice rafet	àdduna life here below
ñ	genius xel	gaañ hurt
p	paint pentuur	puso sewing needle
r	rat janax	raxas cleanse
s	soup supp	kawas sock
t	take fab	tubaab westerner
w	wait nég	kéwél red-fronted gazelle
x	(see note) *	xaalis money
y	yes waaw	yaa to be wide

* There is no English equivalent for this sound, it is a slightly guttural sound that is between x and k. It may also be pronounced merely as h, especially among non-natives.

PRENASALIZED CONSONANTS

CONSONANT	WOLOF EXAMPLES
mb	mbaa otherwise
mp	dàmp massage
nd	ndey expression of pity
ng	ngan to be the guest of a host
nj	njaay sale

VELAR NASAL

ŋ	masoŋ builder

Attribution for audio files: Mamadou Sy [CC BY 2.0 fr], via Wikimedia Commons

Basic layout for pronunciation guide adopted from the Peace Corps Wolof English dictionary.