Learning Somali question words is essential for conversation. Whether you want to ask someone’s name, find a location, ask about time or understand a situation, question words allow you to obtain information.
Essential Somali question words
| Somali | English |
|---|---|
| yaa? | who? |
| maxay? | what? |
| maxaa? | what? |
| xaggee? | where? |
| goormee? | when? |
| goorma? | when? |
| sababtee? | why? |
| sidee? | how? |
| kee? | which? |
| imisa? | how many/how much? |
| intee? | how much/how many? |
Forms can vary according to the grammatical construction and sentence.
Yaa? — Who?
Yaa yimid?
Who came?
Yaa tahay?
Who are you?
Yaa kuu sheegay?
Who told you?
Maxaa? — What?
Maxaa dhacay?
What happened?
Maxaa rabtaa?
What do you want?
Maxaa samaynaysaa?
What are you doing?
Xaggee? — Where?
Xaggee baad joogtaa?
Where are you?
Xaggee u socotaa?
Where are you going?
Xaggee ayuu ku nool yahay?
Where does he live?
Goorma? — When?
Goorma ayaad imanaysaa?
When are you coming?
Goorma ayuu bilaabmay?
When did it start?
Sababtee? — Why?
Sababtee ayaad u timid?
Why did you come?
Other constructions can also be used to express the meaning of “why”.
Sidee? — How?
Sidee tahay?
How are you?
Sidee loo sameeyaa?
How is it made?
Sidee ayaad ku timid?
How did you come?
Kee? — Which?
Kee ayaad rabtaa?
Which one do you want?
Imisa? — How many/how much?
Imisa ayay tahay?
How much is it?
Imisa carruur ah ayaa jooga?
How many children are there?
Building Somali questions
Somali questions often involve more than simply replacing an English question word.
For example:
Xaggee baad aadaysaa?
Where are you going?
Maxaad akhrinaysaa?
What are you reading?
The question word and the rest of the grammatical construction work together.
Essential questions for beginners
Magacaa?
What is your name?
Xaggee baad ka timid?
Where are you from?
Xaggee baad ku nooshahay?
Where do you live?
Maxaad qabataa?
What do you do?
Imisa ayuu yahay?
How much is it?
Goorma ayaad imanaysaa?
When are you coming?
Sidee tahay?
How are you?