Somali verbs are an essential part of learning the Somali language. They describe actions, events and states such as eating, going, coming, speaking, working and sleeping. Understanding how Somali verbs work will help you build sentences and communicate more naturally.
This guide explains the basics of Somali verbs, including common verb forms, tense, negation, questions and useful everyday examples.
What is a verb in Somali?
A verb is a word that expresses an action, occurrence or state.
Examples include:
- cunid — to eat
- cabid — to drink
- tagid — to go
- imaansho — to come
- akhrin — to read
- qorid — to write
- seexasho — to sleep
- shaqayn — to work
- barasho — to learn
- hadlid — to speak
The exact form of a Somali verb changes according to tense, person and grammatical context.
Common Somali verbs
| Somali | English |
|---|---|
| cunid | to eat |
| cabid | to drink |
| tagid | to go |
| imaatin | to come |
| seexasho | to sleep |
| kacid | to get up |
| socod | to walk |
| orod | to run |
| akhrin | to read |
| qorid | to write |
| barasho | to learn |
| dhagaysi | to listen |
| hadlid | to speak |
| shaqayn | to work |
| ciyaarid | to play |
| jeclaan | to like/love |
| doonid | to want |
| garan | to know |
| fahmid | to understand |
| caawin | to help |
Somali verb forms
Somali verbs can appear in different forms depending on their grammatical function.
A dictionary may give a verb in a form such as:
cunid — to eat
In a complete sentence, the verb takes a form appropriate to the subject, tense and context.
For example:
Wuu cunayaa.
He is eating.
Way cunaysaa.
She is eating.
Waxaan cunayaa.
I am eating.
Present and ongoing actions
Somali has forms used to describe actions happening now or around the present.
Examples:
Waxaan akhrinayaa.
I am reading.
Wuu shaqaynayaa.
He is working.
Way socotaa.
She is walking.
Carruurtu way ciyaarayaan.
The children are playing.
Past actions
Somali also uses verb forms to describe completed actions.
Examples:
Waan imid.
I came.
Wuu baxay.
He went out.
Way cuntay.
She ate.
Waxaan akhriyey buugga.
I read the book.
Future actions
Future meaning can be expressed using appropriate future constructions.
Examples:
Waan iman doonaa.
I will come.
Waan tagi doonaa.
I will go.
Waxaan baran doonaa Somali.
I will learn Somali.
Waxay shaqayn doonaan berri.
They will work tomorrow.
Negative verbs
Negation is important in Somali.
Examples:
Ma aqaan.
I do not know.
Ma fahmin.
I do not understand.
Ma tagayo.
I am not going.
Ma iman doono.
I will not come.
The precise negative form depends on the tense and construction being used.
Somali verbs in questions
Verbs can be used in questions to ask about actions.
Ma timid?
Did you come?
Ma shaqaynaysaa?
Are you working?
Xaggee u socotaa?
Where are you going?
Maxaad samaynaysaa?
What are you doing?
Useful Somali verb patterns
Learning verbs in complete sentences is often more useful than memorising isolated words.
Waxaan rabaa inaan barto Somali.
I want to learn Somali.
Waxaan jeclahay inaan akhriyo.
I like reading.
Wuxuu doonayaa inuu yimaado.
He wants to come.
Waxaan isku dayayaa inaan fahmo.
I am trying to understand.
Tips for learning Somali verbs
- Learn verbs in complete sentences.
- Learn common verbs before rare verbs.
- Practise present, past and future forms.
- Pay attention to the subject of the sentence.
- Learn negative forms separately.
- Practise asking questions using verbs.
- Compare similar verbs carefully.
- Review verbs regularly rather than memorising a long list once.