2012 E.

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LEARNING GUIDE
Shopping Conversation
Maamila: Makorooniin jiraa?
Abba suuqi: Jira. Kan akkamii barbaadda?
Maamila: Gosa isa guddaa. Kiiloo walakkaa kenni.
Abba suuqi: Tole. Waan biraa?
Maamila: Kibiriitiin jira?
Abba suuqi: Eeyee, meeqa barbaadda?
Maamila: Gatiin isaa meeqaa?
Abba suuqi: Darzana tokko qarshii shan.
Maamila: Mi'aa dha. Hin hir'atu?
Abba suuqi: Tole, qarshii afur danda'ama.
Maamila: Dimshaasha meeqa?
Abba suuqi: Afur fi torba saantima shantama qarshii kudha tokko saantima shantama dha.
Maamila: Kunoo. Galatoomi.
Abba suuqi: Atis galatoomi.

The Numbers in Oromo

Numbers come after the noun they modify, so that “two mangoes” is “mangoo lama”, just as “five
birr” is “qarshii shan” and 200 is dhibba lama. Ordinal numbers are formed by adding the suffix -
ffaa or -affaa to the number. Fractions can be expressed by saying the numerator as a cardinal
number and then the denominator as an ordinal number.

Numbers
0 — zeeroo, duwwaa 40 — afurtama
1 — tokko 50 — shantama
2 — lama 60 — jahaatama, ja'aatama
3 — sadii 70 — torbaatama
4 — afur 80 — saddeettama
5 — shan 90 — sagaltama
6 — jaha, ja'a 100 — dhibba (tokko)
7 — torba 101 — dhibba (tokko) fi tokko
8 — saddeet 102 — dhibba (tokko) fi lama
9 — sagal ...
10 — kudhan 200 — dhibba lama
11 — kudha tokko 201 — dhibba lama fi tokko

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12 — kudha lama ...
1000 — kumma (tokko)
20 — digdama 2000 — kuma lama
21 — digdamii tokko 2043 — kuma lamaa fi afurtamii sadii
22 — digdamii lama 5327 — kuma shan dhibba sadii fi digdamii torba
...
30 — soddoma
31 — soddomii tokko
...

Ordinals
1st — tokkoffaa
2nd — lamaffaa
3rd — sadaffaa
4th — arfaffaa, afraffa
5th — shanaffaa
6th — jahaffaa
7th — torbaffaa
8th — saddeetaffaa
9th — sagalaffaa
10th — kurnaffaa, kudhaffaa
11th — kudha tokoffaa
…

Fractions
1/2 — walakkaa (tokko lamaffaa)
1/3 — siisoo, nuusii (tokko sadaffa)
1/4 — kurmaana, ruubi (tokko arfaffaa)
7/8 — torba saddeetaffaa

Combining Numbers
When the same number is repeated, it applies to all items. Thus, “lama lama” means “everything is
two (birr)”. Two numbers said together indicate amount of birr for number of items, as in “lama sadii”
for “two (birr) for three (items)”.

Chapter Vocabulary
maamila customer

abba suuqi shop keeper

“___ jira?” “Do you have ___?” [lit. “Is ___ present?”]

meeqa how much/many

“Gatiin saa meeqaa?” “How much is its price?”

2
Barbaadda? “Do you want?”

barbaaduu to want

bituu to buy

“___ bituun barbaada” “I want to buy ___”

qarshii Ethiopian birr

saantima cent (100th of a birr)

deebii change [lit. “response”]

“Mi'aa dha” “It's expensive”

“Rakasa dha” “It's cheap”

gudda big

“Kan akkami?” “What kind?”

kilo tokko one kilo

“Meeqa barbaadda?” “How many do you want?”

“Meeqa si keenu?” “How many shall I give you?”

“Waan biraa?” “What else?”

“Hin hiratu?” “Is this your best price?”

“___ naa keeni” “Give me ___”

kunoo “Here you are”

fidi take it

danda'ama “It's possible”

tole O.K.

3
eeyee yes

lakkoofsa number

darzana dozen

dimshaasha total

fi and

tuqaa (decimal) point

kibiriitii matches

waan biraa something else

galatoomi thank you

4
Greeting Conversation
Girma: Tariku, akkam bulte?
Tariku: Akkam bulte? Fayyaa dha?
Girma: Fayyaa, galata Waaqaa. Akkam jirta?
Tariku: Nagaa, galata Waaqaa. Eessa deemta?
Girma: Amma gara mana barumsaan deema.
Tariku: Har'a galgala maal goota?
Girma: Edana qo'achuun qaba.
Tariku: Tole. Wal agarra.

Basic Sentence Structure

Afaan Oromo follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) format. But because it is a declined
language (nouns change depending on their role in the sentence), word order can be flexible, though
verbs always come after their subjects and objects. Typically, indirect objects follow direct objects.
Oromo has both prepositions and postpositions, though postpositions are more common.
Examples:
“I threw the ball to you” → “I ball to you threw” → “Ani kubbaa siif nan ha'e”
“She came from America” → “She America from came” → “Isheen Ameerikaa irraa dhufte”

Modifiers
Adjectives come after the nouns they modify. Adverbs that modify adjectives go before the adjective.
Adverbs that modify verbs, adverbial clauses, and relative clauses tend to go at the beginning of the
sentence before the subject.
Examples:
“your blue pen is in my room” → “pen blue your room my in is” → “biirii dooqee kee kutaa koo
keessa jira”
“I don't know where it is” → “Where that it is I don't know” → “Eessa akka ta'e ani hin beeku”
“How far is the post office” → “How post office is far?” → “Hagam manni postaa fagaata?”
“What are you doing tonight?” → “Tonight what will you do?” → “Edana maal gotta?”

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Chapter Vocabulary

“Akkam bulte?” / “Akkam bultani?” “Good morning” [lit. “How did you spend the night?”]

“Fayyaa dha?” “Are you well?”

“Galata Waaqa” “Thank God”

nagaa fine

“Akkam jirta?” / “Akkam jirtu?” “How are you?”

“Eessa deemta?” “Where are you going?”

amma now

godhuu to do, make

“Maal goochaa jirta?” “What are you doing?”

hojii work

hojjachuu to work

“Maal hojjatta?” “What are you working on?”

gara to, toward

mana barumsaa school

har'a today

har'a galgala, edana tonight

qo'achuu to study

“Qo'achuun qaba” “I have to study”

hojii manaa homework

“Wal agarra” “See you”

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Introductory Conversation
Girma: Maqaan kee eenyu?
Jim: Maqaan koo Jim. Ati hoo?
Girma: Girmaan jedhama. Eessaa dhufte?
Jim: Lammii Ameerikaati. Ati hoo?
Girma: Jimman jiraadha. Ani barataa yunivarsiitii dha. Hojiin kee maal?
Jim: Jaallee nagaatif hojjedha. Maal gosa barnootaa qu'atta?
Girma: Qorichan qo'adha. Fuute jirtaa?
Jim: Miti, hin fuune. Ati hoo?
Girma: Anis hin fuune.
Jim: Deemuun qaba. Baga wal agarre.
Girma: Anis baga wal agarre. Nagaatti.

Personal Pronouns
The personal pronouns as subjects and direct objects are listed below along with possessive
markers.

Subject Pronouns Direct Object Pronouns Possessive Pronouns

I ani me na my, mine koo
we nuti, nu'i us nu our, ours keenya
you ati you si your, yours kee
you (pl.) isin you (pl.) isini your, yours (pl.) keessan(i)
he, it inni him, it isa his, its (i)saa
she isheen her ishee her, hers ishee
they isaan them isaani their, theirs (i)saani

Like English, Oromo uses different forms of personal pronouns to indicate their role in the sentence.
While “he” and “him” may refer to the same person, English uses “he” for subjects and “him” for
objects. Oromo has several forms for all nouns, including pronouns, though for now we will only deal
with the subject (nominative) and direct object (accusative) forms.
Examples:
“She likes him” — “Isheen isa jaalatti”
“He likes her” — “Inni ishee jaalata”
“We buy it” — “Nuti isa binna”
“Do you hear me?” — “Ati na dhageessa?” or more commonly “Na dhageessaa?”

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Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns go after the nouns they modify. The word kan can optionally be used to show
possession.
Examples:
My shoes — kophee koo or kophee kan koo
Our country — biyyi keenya or biyyi kan keenya
Its price — gatii (i)saa or gatti kan isa

“And”, “Also”
To express “too, also”, Oromo uses the suffix -s for sentences and the word hoo for questions.
Examples:
“And you/ what about you?” — “Ati hoo?”
“And yours/ what about yours?” — “Kee hoo?” or “Kan kee hoo?'”
“Me, too” — “Anis”
“She, as well” — “Isheenis”
“And they are: …” — “Isaanis: …”

Polite Forms
Oromo uses plural pronouns (isin and isaan) also as the polite/formal pronouns. Mostly, one uses
the polite form when talking to/about older and respected members of the community. In many areas
of southern Oromia, ati is rarely used (and considered rude) and only the polite form of “you”, isin, is
used.

Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are used in questions, and come before the verb and either before or after
the subject. Often, if the verb is “is/are”, this verb is dropped when using an interrogative pronoun.
The main interrogative pronouns are:
What — Maal(i)
Why [lit. “for what”] — Maaliif(i)
How — Akkam(i)
When — Yoom
Where — Eessa
From where — Eessaa
Who — Eenyu
Whose — Kan eenyu
How much, many — Meeqa
Which — Kam(i)

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Vocabulary
maqaa name

“Maqaan kee eenyu?” “What is your name?”

“___ jedhama” “I am called ____”, “My name is ___”

umurii age

“Umuriin kee meeqa?” “How old are you”

“Eessaa dhufte?” “Where are you from?”

lammii citizen

“___ lammii Ameerikaati” “___ am/are/is American”

“___ lammii Itoophiyaati” “___ am/are/is Ethiopian”

biyyi country

“Biyyi kee eessa?” “Where is your country?”

lammummaa nationality

“Lammummaan kee maali?” “What is your nationality?”

“Ati eessa jiraata?” “Where do you live?”

jiraadha I live

barataa yunivarsiitii university student

hojii work, job

“Hojiin kee maal?” “What is your job?”

Jaallee nagaati Peace Corps

“Jaallee nagaatif hojjedha” “I work for the Peace Corps”

“Maaliif asi dhufte?” “Why did you come here?”

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“Gara Itoophiyaa maaliif dhufte?” “Why did you come to Ethiopia?”

gosa barnootaa school subject

qoricha medicine

“Fuute jirta” (m) / “Heerumte jirta?” (f) “Are you married?”

eeyyee yes

miti, lakki no

Fuudheera (m) / heerumeera (f) “I am married”

Hin fuunne (m) / hin heerumne (f) “I am not married”

“Deemuun qaba” “I have to go”

“Baga wal agarre” “It was nice to meet you”

Nagaatti “Take care”

10
Phone Conversation
Daniel: Haloo?
Etana: Eessa jirta?
Daniel: Manan jira. Maal barbaadde?
Etana: Kaameraa qabdaa?
Daniel: Eeyyeen qaba. Maaliif?
Etana: Naaf ergistaa? Mana barumsaatti footon kaafadha. Kaameraa hin qabnu.
Daniel: Tole. Siifan fida.
Etana: Kan biraa, galmee Ingliffaa qabdaa?
Daniel: Hin qabu. Amiin tokko qabdi.
Etana: Tole. Ishee nan gaafadha. Galatoomi.
Daniel: Rakkoon hin qabuu.

Verb Groups for Conjugation

Most Oromo dictionaries will list verbs in their infinitive (e.g., beekuu - “to know”), and all
infinitives end in -uu. The verb stem is this infinitive form with the final -uu dropped. The stem
of beekuu is therefore beek-, and the verb is conjugated by adding suffixes to this stem
(e.g., beekti - “She knows”). Oromo verbs fall into one of four groups based on their stem
ending.
Group 1: Regular Verbs
Most verbs in Oromo are “regular”, that is, they attach the regular person- and number-based
suffix to their stem without any changes to the stem or suffix. These are verbs with stems that do
not end in: a double consonant, ch, a vowel, y, or w. The present-future conjugations
for deemuu are shown below as an example with suffixes in bold.

Deemuu – 'to go'

ani deema nuti deemna

ati deemta isin deemtu

inni deema isaan deemu

isheen deemti

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Verbs that don't fall into one of the other three categories follow this pattern of conjugation.
Group 2: Double-consonant Ending Stems
If the verb stem ends in a double consonant, a slight modification of the regular verb conjugation
must be made because Oromo does not allow three consonants to occur in a row.
For nuti, ati, isin, and isheen forms, an i is added to the regular suffix. The example of arguu is
given below with suffixes in bold.

Arguu – 'to see'

ani arga nuti argina

ati argita isin argitu

inni arga isaan argu

isheen argiti

Other verbs that follow this pattern include: gadduu, rommuu, and gorsuu.
Group 3: -chuu Verbs
Many verb infinitives end with -chuu. For these verbs, the ch changes to dh in the ani form and
to t for all other forms. Then the standard suffixes are applied. The example of nyaachuu is
given below with stem changes and suffixes in bold.

Nyaachuu – 'to eat'

ani nyaadhaa nuti nyaanna

ati nyaatta isin nyaattu

inni nyaata isaan nyaatu

isheen nyaatti

Note that the t changes to n for the nuti form. This morphology is covered in the next section of
this chapter.
Other verbs in this group include: jirachuu, fudhachuu, argachuu, guddifachuu, barachuu,
and gubachuu.

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Group 4: Vowel-Ending Stems (Irregular Verbs)
Infinitives that end with -a'uu , -o'uu, -u'uu, -e'uu, and -i'uu behave as regular verbs
for ani, inni, and isaan froms. However, for the other forms, the stem and/or suffix will deviate
from regular conjugations. Irregular verbs are discussed in more depth in the grammar appendix.
Below are examples of the main patterns of irregular verb conjugation.

Du'uu – 'to die'

ani du'a nuti duuna

ati duuta isin duutu

inni du'a isaan du'u

isheen duuti

Haasa'uu – 'to talk'

ani haasa'a nuti haasoofna

ati haasoofta isin haasooftu

inni haasa'a isaan haasa'u

isheen haasoofti

Boo'uu – 'to cry'

ani boo'a nuti boonya

ati boosa isin boosu

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 inni boo'a isaan boo'u

isheen boosi

Danda'uu – 'to be able to'

ani danda'a nuti dandeenya

ati dandeesa isin dandeesu

inni danda'a isaan danda'u

isheen dandeesi

The verb “To be”

The verb for “am/are/is” in the present tense is expressed by dha, which does not conjugate.
Often, it is left off for simple sentences. One can say, for example, “nuti duwwattoota” or “nuti
duwwattoota dha” to mean “we are visitors”. Sentences and questions where the subject is left
off typically use dha, as in “fayyaa dha?” and “gaarii dha”. Questions using interrogative
pronouns do not typically include dha.
Examples:
“Maal inni?” — “What (is) it?”
“Maqaan kee eenyu?” — “What [lit. Who] (is) your name?”
“Gatiin saa meeqa?” — “How much (is) its price?”
“Akkam ati?” — “How (are) you?”

Morphology
Certain consonants will change when placed before or after other particular consonants. These
morphological changes are predictable and follow the table below. The most common changes
are: 1) an initial t in a suffix will change to d if the stem ends in b, g, d, and 2) an initial n in a
suffix will change to an r or l if the stem ends in r or l, respectively.

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 Morphology Table
original morphed
bt bd
gt gd
dt dd
xt xx
qt qx
tn/xn/dn/dhn nn
dht tt
st ft
sn fn
rn rr
ln ll

Examples:
verb stem suffix final verb English meaning
qab + ta → qabda 'you have'
bit + na → binna 'we (will) buy'
jir + na → jirra 'we are'
ilaal + na → ilaalla 'we see'
nyaat + na → nyaanna 'we eat'
fix + ti → fixxi 'she finishes'
baas + tu → baaftu 'you (pl.) remove'

Verbs in the Affirmative

For the first person singular (ani) form, the suffix -n (or -an to a consonant) must be added to the
word preceding the verb, or the preverb nan must be used to express the verb in the affirmative.
In speaking, the first method is the most common.
Examples:
“I live in Jimma” — “Jiman jiraadha” or “Jima nan jiraadha”
“I want to eat” — “Nyaachuun barbaada” or “Nyaachuu nan barbaada”
“Yes, I have” — “Eeyyeen qaba” or “Eeyyee, nan qaba”
For other forms, an optional preverb ni[1] may be used. Typically, if there is no object in the
sentence, the ni is mandatory.
Examples:
“Do you want a bijaj [motorcycle taxi]?” — “Baajajii ni barbaadda?” or “Baajajii
barbaadda?”
“He works” — “Inni ni hojjeta” (but not “Inni hojjeta”)
“It's enough” — “ni ga'a”

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Verbs in the Negative
To express “not/don't/doesn't” in Oromo the word hin is added before the verb (either as an
attached prefix or as a separate word), and the last vowel in the verb conjugated in the
affirmative changes as follows: a → u, i → u, u → an. Deemuu is given as an example below.

Deemuu – 'to go'

ani hin deemu nuti hin deemnu

ati hin deemtu isin hin deemtan

inni hin deemu isaan hin deeman

isheen hin deemtu

Examples:
Affirmative Negative

Ani nan beeka – “I know” Ani hin beeku – “I don't know”

Isaan ni deemu – “They go” Isaan hin deeman – “They don't go”

Isheen ni dandeessi – “She can” Isheen hin dandeessu – “She can't”

Isin ni haasoofta – “You (pl.) will talk” Isin hin haasooftu – “You (pl.) will not talk”

The exception to this is the negative form of dha, which is miti meaing “am not/are not/is not”.
Like dha, miti does not conjugate for person or number.

Examples:
Rakkoo miti — “It's not a problem”
Sun kitaaba koo miti — “That is not my book”
Ani lammii Itoophiyaa miti — “I am not Ethiopian”

16
Chapter Vocabulary
jiruu to be present

nyaachuu to eat

jirachuu to live

deemuu to go

dhufuu to come

barbaaduu to want

jaalachuu to like, love

qabuu to have

ergifachuu to borrow

ergisuu to lend

kaafachuu to take a picture

fiduu to bring

gaafachuu to ask, inquire

galmee jechoota dictionary

kan biraa also, in addition

rakkoo problem

“rakkoon hin jiru”, “rakkoo hin qabu”

17
Talking about Family
Daawit: Maatiin kee eessa jiratu?
Caalaa: Maatiin koo Amerika jiratu.
Daawit: Maatiin kee maal hojjetu?
Caalaa: Haatti fi abbaan koo barsiisoota dha.
Daawit: Obboleettiin kee hoo?
Caalaa: Isheen barreessituu dha. Maatiin kee eessa jiru?
Daawit: Maatiin koo Adaamaa jiratu. Obboleessii kiya Finfinnee jirata lama fi obboleettii tokko
hadama jirattun.
Caalaa: Maatiin kee maal hojjetu?
Daawit: Abbaan koo doktarii dha. Haatti koo haadha mana dha.
Caalaa: Obboleessi fi obboleettin kee hoo?
Daawit: Obboleessi koo angafaa abukaattoo fi obboleessi koo quxisuun maandisa dha.
Obboleettiin koo barattuu fi keessummeessitu dha.
Caalaa: Umuriin obboleettii kee meeqa?
Daawit: Waggaa kudha sagal.

Gender of Nouns
Nouns in Oromo are treated as either male of female, though there are typically no gender markers
in the words themselves. Gender can be shown through a demonstrative pronoun, a definite article,
a gender-specific adjective, or the verb form (if the noun is a subject). The notable exceptions are
those nouns derived from verbs, where the masculine noun adds an -aa suffix and the feminine
noun adds a -tuu suffix to the verb root.
Examples:
English Masculine Feminine verb

teacher barsiisaa barsiistuu barsiisuu – to teach

student barataa barattuu barachuu – to learn

actor/actress ta'aa taatuu ta'uu – to become

accountant herregaa herregduu herreguu – to calculate

writer barreessaa barreessituu barressuu – to write

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coach leenjisaa leenjistuu leenjisuu – to train, coach

For people, neutral nouns may be distinguished by dhiira for males and dubartii for females. For
example, daldalaa dhiira is “businessman” and daldalaa dubartii is “businesswoman”.
Animals may be distinguished by use of korma for males and dhaltuu for females. It is important not
to use korma or dhaltuu when referring to people.
Examples:
farda korma &mdash stallion farda dhaltuu — mare
leenca korma &mdash lion leenca dhaltuu — lioness
“Korma moo dhaltuu dha?” – “Is it (an animal) male or female?”

Plural Nouns
The plural forms are not used as often in Oromo as they are in English. Typically, the plural form is
used to specify that one is talking about more than one object where no other indicators are given.
For example, in conversation the plural is rarely used when the noun is modified by a number. One
would say “muka lama” for “two trees”, keeping muka in the singular, instead of “mukkeen lama”,
where mukkeen is the plural of muka. When a plural noun in modified by an adjective, only the
adjective shows plurality (discussed in next chapter). In written Oromo, plural forms tend to be more
common, and may occur with numbers, adjectives, and other indicators. Tilahun Gamta (2004)
explains:
Until the early 1970's, Afaan Oromo had remained mostly a spoken language. As such, it seems that
using the plural forms had not been common because in conversation, when people talk face to
face, there was no need for formality. In conversation, saying, "Maqaa ijollee isaa beektaa?" (Do
you know the name of his children?) is in fact more natural than saying, "Maqaalee ijoollee isaa
beektaa?" (Do you know the names of his children?). Of course, even in conversation, in some
situations a speaker has to use a plural form. After returning home late at night, a head of a family
who has two or more horses would not ask his son, "Farda galchiteettaa?" (Have you brought in a
horse?). In this context, he has to use the plural form and say, "Fardeen galchiteettaa?" (Have you
brought in the horses?). [bold added][1]
When the plural form is used, there are several forms it may take. Typically, the final vowel is
dropped and the correct suffix attached: -oota, -toota, -lee, -een, -yyii, -wwan, -ootii, or -olii.
Unfortunately, the correct suffix cannot be predicted from the noun, meaning plural forms must be
learned individually. Plural forms also vary across dialects, and multiple forms may be correct for
some words. The most common suffix is -oota.
Examples:
English Singular Plural

tooth ilka ilkaan

thing waanta waantoota

day guyyaa guyyawwan

mountain gaara gaarreen

river laga laggeen

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tree muka mukkeen

year waggaa waggottii

book kitaaba kitaabolii

For nouns that may take either a masculine or feminine form, the feminine form is used as the stem
to which the plural suffix is attached. For example, the plural of “student” is barattoota.
Many nouns have irregular plural forms (e.g., “another” is biraa while “others” is biro). For a list of
some common nouns and their plurals, see the grammar appendix.

Definiteness
Where English uses “the” to indicate definiteness (a specific something of shared knowledge),
Oromo drops the final vowel and uses the suffix -(t)icha for masculine nouns and -(t)ittii for feminine
nouns. Making a noun definite is less common in Oromo than in English, and is used only for objects
known to both the speaker and the listener. A noun can be either definite or pluralized, but not both.
A definite noun is therefore ambiguous in number, and context determines if it is singular or plural.
Definite nouns are not modified by demonstrative pronouns or possessive pronouns. If modified by
an adjective, the definite marker is attached to the adjective (discussed in the next chapter).
Examples:
Base noun (dictionary form) Definite noun

nama – man namicha – the man (men)

muzii – banana muzicha – the banana(s)

durba – girl durbittii – the girl(s)

Indefiniteness is marked in English by “a(n)” or “some”, while Oromo tends to use the noun alone
without modification. The word tokko (“one”) is used to indicate “a certain” something, and tokko-
tokko can be used to mean “some”.
Examples:
“Kitaaban barbaada” — “I want a book (any book)”
“Kitaaba tokkon barbaada” — “I want a (certain) book”
“Kitaaba tokko-tokkon barbaada” — “I want some books”

Nominative Case
Oromo is a declined language. That is, the form of a noun (declension) changes depending on its
role (case) in the sentence. The main cases are nominative (for subjects), accusative (direct
objects), genitive (“of” indirect objects), dative (“for”, “to”, “in order to” indirect objects), instrumental
(“with”, “by” indirect objects), locative (“at” indirect objects), and ablative (“from” indirect objects).
Nouns in Oromo are listed as direct objects (accusative case) in dictionaries.
To change a noun from the accusative (acc.) to the nominative (nom.), certain patterns are used.

1. Nouns in the acc. that end in a single consonant and short vowel will drop the final vowel and
add -ni as a suffix. So that the dictionary form of “person (acc.)” is nama, while “person
(nom.)” is namni.

20
 2. If the acc. form ends in a double consonant and short vowel, the vowel is replaced by -i. For
example, “honey (acc.)” is damma, while “honey (nom.)” is dammi. This applies to all
masculine definite nouns, where the -icha suffix in the acc. becomes -ichi in the nom.
3. If the acc. form ends in a long vowel, -n in is suffixed to form the nom. For example, “name
(acc.)” is maqaa and “name (nom.)” is maqaan.
4. Femine nouns that end in a short vowel will replace the short vowel with a -ti suffix. “Mother”
in the acc. is haadha and in the nom. is haatti, and “earth” is lafa (acc.) and lafti (nom.).
5. If the dictionary form ends in a consonant, the acc. and the nom. are the same. For example
“Jon eats” is simply “Jon ni nyaata”.
For multiple subjects, all are in the nominative form. “My brother and sister live in America” will then
be “Obboleessi fi obboleettiin koo Amerika jiratu”.
More examples:
English meaning Accusative (dictionary) form Nominative (subject) form

actress taatuu taatuun

air qilleensa qilleensi

boat jabala jaballi (note morphology)

language, tongue afaan afaan

soldiers loltoota loltoonni (note morphology)

the man namicha namichi

things waantoota waantooti

Chapter Vocabulary
maatii, warra family

hidda sanyii family tree

haadha, harmee mother

abbaa father

dhirsa husband

niitii wife

obboleettii sister

obboleessa brother

21
angafaa older

quxisuun younger

akaakayyuu grandfather

akkoo grandmother

akaakilee great grandparent

eessuma uncle (maternal)

wasiila uncle (paternal)

adaadaa aunt

dhala, mucaa, daa'ima child

ijoollee, daa'immaan children

ilma son

intala daughter

Dhala dhalaa grandchild

durbii cousin

sayyuu sister in-law

waarsaa brother in-law

amaatii mother in-law

abbiyyuu father in-law

haadhaddaa, haadha buddeenaa step-mother

abbaaddaa, abbaa buddeenaa step-father

mucaaddaa, mucaa buddeenaa step-child

22
barsiisaa, barsiistuu teacher

barataa, barattuu student

barreessituu, bareessaa secretary

abukaattoo lawyer

maandisa engineer

weelistuu, weellisaa singer

poolisii police officer

haadha mana housewife

qoteebulaa, qoteebultuu farmer

keessummeessisa, keessummeessitu waiter

ta'aa, taatuu actor

soorama kan ba'e/bate retired

saayintistii scientist

affeelaa cook

shufeera driver

hojjataa ijaarsa construction worker

makaanikii mechanic

daldalaa businessman/woman

23
Shopping Conversation
Gurguraa: Maal isin gargaaru adde?
Maamilaa: Jakkeettiin barbaade. Tokko kan naaf ta'u jira?
Gurguraa: Lakkoofsa meeqa barbaadda?
Maamilaa: Soddoma.
Gurguraa: Bifa akkamii jaalatta?
Maamilaa: Gurraachan jaalladha.
Gurguraa: Isa kana ilaali.
Maamilaa: Sirritti natti ta'e. Gaatiin saa meeqa?
Gurguraa: Inni qarshii dhibba lama fi shantama.
Maamilaa: Inni dooqeen kun hoo?
Gurguraa: Wal qixxee dha.
Maamilaa: Inni diimaan sun meeqa?
Gurguraa: Inni sun qarshi dhibba lama qofa dha. Inni garu baayee isinitti guddata.
Maamilaa: Tole, isa kanan fudhadha.

Gender of Adjectives
Oromo adjectives can be male, female, or neutral. Masculine adjectives are used with masculine
nouns, feminine adjectives modify feminine nouns, and neutral adjectives can be used with any
noun. All non-neutral adjectives can be made masculine or feminine by attaching the appropriate
suffix. Masculine suffixes for adjectives are: -aa, -aawaa, -acha, and -eessa. Feminine suffixes are:
-oo, -tuu, -ooftuu, and -eettii. Standard morphology rules apply when attaching suffixes.
Examples:

English meaning Masculine Feminine

adorable jaallatamaa jaallatamtuu

beautiful bareedaa bareedduu

fast si'aawaa si'ooftuu

sweet mi'aawaa mi'ooftuu

fat furdaa furdoo

small xinnaa, xiqqaa xinnoo, xiqqoo

24
messy boosacha booseettii

black gurraacha gurraattii

poor hiyyeessa hiyyeettii

skinny godeessa godeettii

Neutral adjectives (e.g., adii – “white”) use the same form for both masculine and feminine nouns.

Plural of Adjectives
When adjectives are used to modify a noun, typically the noun remains in the singular and number is
shown by the adjective only. Plural adjectives are formed by repeating the first syllable.
Examples:

English Singular Plural

white adii adaadii

beautiful bareedduu babareedduu

dry gogaa gogogaa

Some masculine adjectives will change their ending to -oo when pluralized. Some of these do not
repeat the first syllable as a plural marker.
Examples:

English Singular Plural

knowledgeable beekaa beekoo

strong cimaa ciccimmoo

large guddaa guguddoo

high olaanaa olaanoo

In written Oromo, the noun may be pluralized as well as the adjective, so that “nama sosoressa
lama” and “namoota sosoressa lama” are correct ways to say “two rich people”. In conversational
Oromo, the first method, keeping the noun in the singular, is more common.
The same method of repeating the first syllable is used in verbs for repeated actions. For
instance, ciruu is “to chop”, while cicciruu is “to chop finely”.

Adjectives with Pronouns

To express an adjective with a pronoun, as in “the black one”, one can simply use the correct
pronoun in front of the adjective, as in “isa gurraacha”. The pronoun used will depend on the its role
in the sentence, so that “The black one looks nice” would be “Inni gurraachi gaarii fakkaata”, while
“I want the black one” would be “Isa gurraacha nan barbaada”.

25
Demonstrative pronouns are used to express “this”, “that”, “these”, and “those”, and are shown in the
table below. Some dialects use feminine demonstrative pronouns for feminine nouns. The Wellega
dialect uses the masculine form only for demonstrative pronouns.

Demonstrative Pronouns

This That These Those

Nominative kun(i) [f. tun(i)] sun(i) kunniin [f. tunniin] sunniin

Accusative kana [f. tana] sana kanneen [f. tanneen] sanneen

Demonstrative pronouns can be combined with pronouns and adjectives to express ideas such as
“this one” or “that big one”.
Accusative (direct object) Nominative (subject)

the red one isa diimaa inni diimaan

the red ones isaani diimaa isaan diimaan

the (many) red ones isaani didiimaa isaan didiimaan

this one isa kana inni kun(i)

this red one isa diimaa kana inni diimaan kun(i)

these ones isaani kanneen isaan kunniin

these red ones isaani diimaa kanneen isaan diimaan kunniin

that one isa sana inni sun(i)

that red one isa diimaa sana inni diimaan sun(i)

those ones isaani sanneen isaan sunniin

those red ones isaani diimaa sanneen isaan diimaan sunniin

26
Case and Definiteness Expressed by Adjectives
Adjectives show the same case as the noun they modify. Adjectives modifying a subject noun will
undergo the same suffix patterns as described in Chapter 5.
Examples:
“How much is that red one” — “Inni diimaan sun meeqa?”
“The 2nd horse went” — “Fardichi lamaffaan deeme” or “Fardi lamaffichi deeme”
For definite nouns, either the noun or the adjective may take the definite suffix, but not both (as in
the example above). This suffix will also show case.
Examples:
“The rich man came” — “Namni sooressichi dhufe” or “Namachi sooressi dhufe”
“The rich man's brother came” — “Obboleessi kan nama sooressicha dhufe” or “Obboleessi kan
namicha sooressa dhufe”
A noun modified by more than one adjective will have only the first adjective showing case and
definiteness. The other adjectives will appear in their dictionary (accusative) form.
Example:
“The big black spear is missing” — “Eeboon guddichi gurraacha bade.”

Participles
Participles, as known as verbal adjectives, modify nouns based on actions. In English, examples
include “the sleeping lion” (sleeping being a present participle), and “the fallen leaves” (fallen being a
past participle).

Present Participles
Oromo has no direct equivalent to the English present participle. “The sleeping lion lay under a tree”
would be more literally translated from Oromo as “The lion lay under a tree while sleeping” or
“Sleeping, the lion lay under a tree”. This construction is formed by adding an -aa suffix to the root of
the dependent verb while the main verb is in its natural tense. The present participle is used like an
adjective and comes after the noun it modifies, but it does not show case, gender, or number. The
given example would thus be translated as “Leenci rafaa muka jala ciise” (“The lion, sleeping, lay
under a tree”). In the Wellega dialect, present participles of -chuu verbs end in -chaa, while eastern
dialects use -taa.
More examples:
“Inni nyaachaa (nyaataa) deema” — “He goes while eating” or “Eating, he goes”
“Dubbachuun makiinaa oofaa gaarii miti” — “Talking while driving a car is not good”

Past Participles
The past participle can be constructed in Oromo by using kan plus the simple past verb form (simple
past discussed in Chapter 7). Thus, “the married couple went to Asela” would be “namoonni lamni
kan fudhani gara Assella deemani”. For related actions (e.g., “the couple, having married, went to
Asela”), see Chapter 15 for use of the gerundive. The past participle can be used to form adjectives
from verbs. For example, “to be angry” is aaruu, while “angry (adj.)” is expressed by kan aare (see
Chapter 12 for more on using verbs to express emotion).

27
More examples:

Verb Adjective (past participle)

baratuu – to learn kan barate – educated, learned

fuudhuu – to marry kan fudhe – married

wal'aanuu – to treat kan wal'aane – treated

ta'uu – to become kan ta'e – existing

leenji'uu – to train, develop kan leenji'e – trained, developed, civilized

galma'uu – to register kan galma'e – registered

To express past participles in the negative, the verb is in the simple past negative (e.g.,
“uneducated” is kan hin baranne).

Chapter Vocabulary
obbo Mr., sir

adde Ms., ma'am

lakkoofsa size, number

bifa appearance, style

gargaaruu to help

ilaaluu to see

yaaluu to try

safaruu to weigh, measure

safarachuu to try on

fudhachuu to take, receive

naaf for me

natti on me

wal qixxee equal, same amount

28
qofa only

asi, addana here

achi there

tokkollee any, none

hunda, cufa, cufti, mara all, every

tokko tokko some

tokkoon tokkoon each

lachuu, lamaanuu both

biraa other, another

guddaa, guddoo big

xiqqaa, xiqqoo, xinnaa, xinnoo small

bal'aa wide

dhiphaa, dhiphoo narrow, tight

dheera long

gabaabaa, gabaabduu short

gurraacha, gurraattii black

adii white

dooqee blue

diimaa red

booraa, keelloo yellow

magariisa green

29
dhiilgee purple

birtukaanii orange

daammii brown

gaarii good

gadhee bad

bareedaa, bareedduu, miidhagaa, miidhagduu beautiful

fokkisaa, fokkistuu ugly

barbaachisaa necessary

baay'ee very

hedduu, baay'ee a lot

muraasa, maddee, bicuu a little, few

30
Narrative
An Oromo History (Seenaa Oromoo)
[Adapted from Ali and Zaborski (1990)]
Bara dheeraaf sabni Oromoo nagayaan aadaa, diinagdee fi polotikaa isaa oofuu ture. Yeroo kana
keessatti diinagdeen biyya Oromoo akka gaariitti guddatte. Akkasumattiis aadaa fi sirni of
bulchiinsaa bal'ate.
Haa ta'u malee, toora jaarraa 15 irratti duulli Habashaa fi Mootummaa Islaamaa o'aa deeme. Kuni
saba Oromoo yaada keessa seensise. Sabni Oromoo diina jajjabaa kana ofirraa dhorkuuf suuta-
suutaan humna lolaa guddisuu jalqabe. Duulaaf sabni Oromoo hin jarjarre. Obsa wajjin duula
Habashaa fi Mootummaa Islaamaa akeekatani eegan. Habashaa fi Mootummaan Islaamaa lafa
Oromoo irratti wal lolan.
Imaam Ahmed biyya Habashaa akka hamaatti cabse. Magaalota Habashaa tokko-tokkoon gube
nama hedduus fixe. Akkuma ta'eti, duultuun Portugaal bara 1543 dhufani Habashaa gargaaran.
Imaam Ahmed lola Portugaal wajjin godhame irratti kufe.
Kana booda Amir Nur 1559, duultuu fi meeshaa duulaa fudhate Habashaa rukute. Amir Nur mootii
Habashaa Galaawdiyos kan jedhamu ajjeese nama hedduus fixe. Amir Nuriif waan hafte biyya
Habashaa of jala bulchuu. Kanaaf biyya isaatti deebi'e namaa fi meeshaa barbaachis qopheessuuf
karaa galaana deemuu ture.
Akka olitti jenne, sabni Oromoo duula Habashaa fi Mootummaa Islaamaa eegaa ture. Hoggaa Amir
Nur Hasaloo ga'u duultuun Oromoo duultuu isaa rukutte. Hasalootti duultuun Mootummaa Islaamaa
hedduu dhume. Amir Nur lubbu isaa baafate nama xiqqoo wajjin. Adaree-biyyoo gale. Hasaloo
booda sabni Oromoo lafa isaa Habashaa, Mootummaa Islaamaa fi saba biraarraa suuta-suutaan
haga jaarraa 18 harka isaa seensifate.

Verbs in the Affirmative

To express actions completed in the past, verbs are conjugated in the simple past tense. Verb
groups described in Chapter 4 remain the same independent of verb tense. That is, if one knows the
present-future conjugation pattern for a verb, one can accurately conjugate that verb in the simple
past (or any other tense, for that matter). Compared to the present-future affirmative conjugation,
only the final vowel changes to form the simple past. The table below shows how to change a verb
conjugated in the present-future to the present negative and simple past affirmative.[1]
final vowel in ending in ending in past
the present aff present neg aff

a u e

i u e

u an an(i)

So that “you learn” is baratta, “you don't learn” is hin barattu, and “you learned” is baratte.

31
The exceptions to this rule are the “to be” verbs: dha and jiruu. These verbs are only used in the
present-future tense, and in the past tense are replaced by the verb turuu, which in the present
tense means “to stay/wait”. To say “it is present” is jira, but “it was present” is ture. This verb is
regular, as shown in the conjugation table below.

“To be” in the Simple Past

ani nan ture nuti ni turre

ati ni turte isin ni turtani

inni ni ture isaan ni turani

isheen ni turte

The preverbs nan (or -n suffix) and ni are used in the past tense just as they are in the present-
future tense (see Chapter 4 for use of nan and ni).

Verbs in the Negative

Verbs in the simple past negative use the hin preverb (as in the present-future tense negative) and
the simple past form from the 2nd person plural. The simple past negative is therefore the same for
all persons. Context or a pronoun are required to clarify the person to whom the verb is referring. To
say “I didn't know” is “ani hin beekne”, “you didn't know” is “ati hin beekne”, “they didn't know” is
“isaan hin beekne”, etc.
Like dha, miti is only used in the present-future tense. In the past tense, it is replaced by hin turre,
meaning “was/were not”.
Verbs from the main conjugation groups are shown below for present affirmative, present negative,
past affirmative, and past negative.

Deemuu — 'to go' (regular verb)

Present Past

Affirmative Negative Affirmative Negative

ani nan deema hin deemu nan deeme hin deemne

nuti deemna hin deemnu deemne hin deemne

ati deemta hin deemtu deemte hin deemne

isin deemtu hin deemtan deemtani hin deemne

32
inni deema hin deemu deeme hin deemne

isheen deemti hin deemtu deemte hin deemne

isaan deemu hin deeman deemani hin deemne

Nyaachuu — 'to eat' (-chuu verb)

Present Past

Affirmative Negative Affirmative Negative

ani nan nyaadha hin nyaadhu nan nyaadhe hin nyaanne

nuti nyaanna hin nyaannu nyaanne hin nyaanne

ati nyaatta hin nyaattu nyaatte hin nyaanne

isin nyaattu hin nyaattan nyaattani hin nyaanne

inni nyaata hin nyaatu nyaate hin nyaanne

isheen nyaatti hin nyaattu nyaatte hin nyaanne

isaan nyaatu hin nyaatan nyaatani hin nyaanne

Haasa'uu — 'to talk' (-oof- verb)

Present Past

Affirmative Negative Affirmative Negative

ani nan haasa'a hin haasa'u nan haasa'e hin haasoofne

nuti haasoofna hin haasoofnu haasoofne hin haasoofne

ati haasoofta hin haasooftu haasoofte hin haasoofne

isin haasooftu hin haasooftan haasooftani hin haasoofne

inni haasa'a hin haasa'u haasa'e hin haasoofne

isheen haasoofti hin haasooftu haasoofte hin haasoofne

isaan haasa'u hin haasa'an haasa'ani hin haasoofne

Danda'uu — 'to be able' (-ees- verb)

Present Past

Affirmative Negative Affirmative Negative

33
ani nan danda'a hin danda'u nan danda'e hin dandeenye

nuti dandeenya hin dandeenyu dandeenye hin dandeenye

ati dandeesa hin dandeesu dandeese hin dandeenye

isin dandeesu hin dandeesan dandeesani hin dandeenye

inni danda'a hin danda'u danda'e hin dandeenye

isheen dandeesi hin dandeesu dandeese hin dandeenye

isaan danda'u hin danda'an danda'ani hin dandeenye

Vocabulary from the Narrative

aadaa culture, tradition

ajjeesuu to kill

akeekachuu to observe

akka like, as

akkasumatti in this way

akkuma just as, just like

akkuma ta'eti somehow

baafachuu to escape, flee

bal'achuu to widen

bara time period, era

bara dheeraaf “for a long time”

biyya country

cabsuu to break

34
deebi'uu to come back, return

dheera tong

dhorkuu to forbid, prevent

dhumuu to be finished, completed

diina enemy

diinagdee economy

duula battle, campaign

duultuu soldiers

eeguu to wait

fixuu to finish, exterminate

fudhachuu to take, receive

ga'uu to reach, be enough

gargaaruu to aid, assist

gubuu to burn

guddachuu to grow, develop

guddisuu to increase

haa ta'u malee but, however

Habashaa Habasha, Abyssinian (from Amhara)

hafuu to remain

hamaa mean, vicious, evil

hamaatti viciously

35
hoggaa, yoom when (relative pronoun)

humna power, force

humna lolaa army [lit. “fighting force”]

jaarraa century

jabaa strong

jala under

jalqabuu to begin

jarjaruu to be in a hurry

kana booda after this

karaa galaana by sea

kufuu to fall, die in battle

lafa land

lola fight

loluu to fight

lubbu life

magaalaa town, city

meeshaa goods, materials

meeshaa duulaa Weapons [lit. “fighting materials”]

mootii king

mootummaa kingdom

o'aa hot

36
obsa patience

obsa wajjin patiently [lit. “with patience”]

of bulchiinsaa self-governance

of jala bulchuu to control

polotikaa political system

qopheessuu to prepare, make ready

rukutuu to hit, strike

saba people, nation

seensisuu to cause to enter

seenuu to enter

sirni system

tokko-tokkoon one by one

wal loluu to fight each other

yaada thought, idea

yeroo time

yeroo kana keessatti “at this time”

37
Bus Station Conversation
Imalaa: Sa'aatiin meeqa?
Gargaaraa: Sa'aatii lama fi walakaa.
Imalaa: Sa'aatii meeqatti otobisii gara Jimma deema?
Gargaaraa: Sa'aatii afuritti deema.
Imalaa: Amma otobisiichi asi jira?
Gargaaraa: Lakki. Amma asi hin deemu. Ganama asitti argama.
Imalaa: Hammam dheerata Jimma ga'uf?
Gargaaraa: Asirra sa'atti sadii fudhata.
Imalaa: Kan biraa isaa dura kan deemu jira?
Gargaaraa: Kan dursu amma hin jiru. Baasiin Jimma sa'atti kudha lama, sa'atti afur, fi sa'atti
saddeetitti.
Imalaa: Tole. Galatomi.
Gargaaraa: Homaa miti

Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of manner can be formed from a verb, by putting the modifying verb in the simple past, or
from an adjective or noun, by using the locative or instrumental declension.

Using the Simple Past as an Adverb

An adverbial phrase may be constructed using two verbs together, with the adverbial verb coming
first and in the simple past form.
Examples:
“Inni jabeesse hojjate” — “He worked hard” [lit. “He made strong worked”]
“Isheen laaffifte dubbatte” — “She spoke softly” [lit. “She made soft spoke”]
“Ani daafe nan deema” — “I will hurriedly go” [lit. “I hurried will go”]

Using the Instrumental Case as an Adverb

Nouns have several cases they can take, including the subject (nominative) and direct object
(accusative) mentioned in Chapter 5. The instrumental case is one of the many kinds of indirect
object forms a noun can take and demonstratives that the noun is a means, analogous to the
English “with” or “by”. There are three ways to form the instrumental case:

1. For nouns that end in a consonant, -iin is suffixed. For example, bishaan is water,
and bishaaniin is “with/by water”.

38
 2. For nouns that end in a short vowel, the final vowel will be lengthened and either a -n or -
tiin suffixed.
3. For nouns that end in a long vowel, -n, -tiin, or -dhaan may be suffixed. For
example, abshaalummaa is “cleverness”, so
that abshaalummaan/abshaalummaatiin/ abshaalummaadhaan means “with cleverness”
or “cleverly”.
Using the Locative Case as an Adverb
Another indirect object form a noun can take is the locative case which is used like the English “at”
or “in”. This is formed with the -(i)tti suffix. For example, guutuumaa is “fullness” or “completeness”,
and guutuumaatti is “in full” or “absolutely”.

3 Kinds of “How”
In English, we may ask “how?” to mean 1) “in what state?”, as in “how are you?”, 2) “in what way?”,
as in “how do you bake a cake?”, or 3) “to what extent?”, as in “how far did you run?”.

1. To ask about the state of something, akkam(i) is typically used, as in “akkam jirta?” or
“akkami ganama kana?”. “Akkam” or “akkami” are also common ways to say a simple “hi”.
2. To describe the method of something, akkamitti is most often used. Akkamitti most literally
means “in what way”.
3. To inquire about quantity, meeqa means “how much/many”. For other kinds of
extent, hammam (hagam may be more common in some dialects) can be put in front of
adjectives. For instance “how far?” is “hammam fagoo?”, but “how many kilometers?” is
“kiiloomeetirii meeqa?”.

Time Adverbs
Telling Time
The Ethiopian clock, like the Ethiopian calendar, is different than what we use in America and
Europe, what Ethiopians call ferenji time (FT). The sun rises at 1:00 Ethiopian time (ET, also called
Habasha time), which is equivalent to 7:00am FT. Noon is thus 6:00 ET, and ET can be calculated
by adding or subtracting 6 hours from FT. Instead of AM and PM, there are four periods of the day,
identified in Oromo by ganama (morning), waaree booda (afternoon), galgala (evening),
and halkan (night).
Examples:
Ferenji
Ethiopian time Oromo
time
8:00am 2:00 in the morning ganama (keessa) sa'atii lama
8:00 in the waaree booda (keessa) sa'atii saddeet, or guyya
2:00pm
afternoon (keessa) sa'atii saddeet
9:00pm 3:00 in the evening galgala (keessa) sa'atii sadii
4:00am 10:00 at night halkan (keessa) sa'atii kudhan
For expressing minutes before or after the hour, fi (“and”) is used for after the hour, and hanquu/
hir'uu (“incomplete”) is used for before.
Ethiopian time Oromo
2:05 sa'atii lama fi (daqiiqaa) shan [lit. “2 o'clock and 5 (minutes)”]
2:10 sa'atii lama fi (daqiiqaa) kudhan

39
2:15 sa'atii lama fi ruubi [lit. “2 and a 4th”]
2:30 sa'atii lama fi walakkaa [lit. “2 and ½”]
2:35 sa'atii sadii jechu/ta'u (daqiiqaa) digdamii shan hanquu/hir'uu
2:45 sa'ati sadii jechu/ta'u ruubi hanquu/hir'uu
2:55 sa'ati sadii jechu/ta'u (daqiiqaa) shan hanquu/hir'uu

Temporal Modifications of a Verb

To indicate that an action occurs at intervals, the time period can be repeated, as in “guyyaa
guyyaa” to mean “everyday”. The -uu suffix is also sometimes used, so that guyyuu also means
“everyday”
Examples:
weekly, every week — torban torban
monthly, every month — ji'a ji'a
yearly, every year — bara bara or waggaa waggaa
always, everytime — yeroo hunda, hooggayyuu, or yoomuu
The locative suffix -tti is used for specifying an action taking place in or during a certain time.
Examples:
at night — halkanitti
at once — amma ammatti
meanwhile — gidduutti or hangasitii
To signify “in” to mean “after”, as in “in one week” or “after one week”, one may
use keessaatti, booda, or dhufu.
Examples:
“We will start work next week.” — “Nuti torban dhufu hojii jalqabna.”
“I will leave for Adama in 4 days.” — “Ani gara Adaamaa guyyaa afur keessaattin deema.”
“She will return next month.” — “Isheen ji'a booda deebiiti.”
To express duration, as in “for 3 days”, one may use the -f suffix. “Until” can be expressed
by hamma or hanga.
Examples:
until now, yet — hanga ammaatti
“I will be in Adama for 3 days” — “Guyyaa sadiif Adaamaarran jira.”
“Don't start until I return” — “Hamma nan deebi'a hin jalqabin.”
More constructions for time clauses are discussed in Chapter 15.

Place Adverbs
To express “at” or “to”, most often the locative suffix -tti is applied. To express “from”, either irraa or
a -rraa suffix can be used.
Examples:
here — as(i)
to here, in here — asitti
from here — asirra
there — achi
to there, in there — achitti
from there — achirra
“I'd like to invite you to my house.” — “Mana kootti si affeeruun barbaade.”
“In what month do you return from Jima?” — “Ja'i kamitti Jimmarraa deebiita?”

40
Other locational relations are described using prepositions and postpositions as discussed
in Chapter 10.

Adverbs of Degree
Both baay'ee and hedduu mean “many, much, a lot”. Baay'ee is also used where English would
use “very”. For “small” or “few”, xinnaa, xinnoo, xiqqaa, and xiqqaa are most common, where the -
oo ending is for the feminine (xinnoo is less than xinnaa). Bicuu and maddee also mean “little,
few”.
Examples:
baay'ee gaarii dha — “it's very good”
biyyaa Oromoo keessa laga hedduu jira — “There are many rivers in Oromia”
Afaan Oromoo xinnoon beeka — “I know a little Oromo”
For repeated actions si'a or hoggaa can be used like the English “times”. “Twice” is therefore si'a
lama [lit. “two times”], for example.
Hamma, used early for time adverbs, more generally means “as much as”. For example, “lend me
as much as you can” would be “hamma dandeessu naaf liqeessi”.

Vocabulary: Time Words

yeroo time

erga since

irra deebi'i again

duruu, dursee already

guyyaa day

ganama morning

barraaqa, obboroo early morning

saafaa noon

waaree mid-day

waaree booda afternoon

galgala evening

halkan night

41
ganamatti in the morning

galgalatti in the evening

halkanitti at night

har'a today

kaleessa yesterday

bor, boru tomorrow

edana, har'a galgala tonight

eda last night

iftaan the day after tomorrow

torban week

torban kana this week

torban dhufu next week

torban darbe last week

ji'a, baatii month

waggaa, bara year

barana this year

waggaa/bara darbe last year

waggaa/bara dhufu next year

abadan never

yeroo hundumaa, hooggayyuu, yoomuu always

yeroo tokko tokko sometimes

42
yeroo baay'ee/hedduu Usually, often

guyyuu, guyyaa-guyyaatti everyday

sekoondii second

daqiiqaa minute

sa'aatii hour

Vocabulary: Degree and Manner Words

suuta slowly

dafee, battaluma fast, quickly

laafaatti softly

jabaatti, cimaatti hard

akkana like this

akkasi like that

wal fakkaataa similar

iddoo isaa instead

gaarii, dansaa, bayeessa well

badaa badly

wajjin with

43
walitti, walii-wajjin together

malee without, except

-s, akkasumas also

sirriitti, guutuutti exactly

qofaa, kophaa only

tarii perhaps, maybe

kanaaf(u) therefore

baay'ee very

44
Narrative
Better Health Begins with You!(Fayyaan gaariin si irraa jalqaba!)

1. Guyyuma guyyaatti daabboo waan dhadhaa hedddu hin qabne; akayi, ruzza yookin paasta
dhiheessaa jaha hanga kudha tokko nyaadhu. Fakkeenyaaf, ganama matajaboo, guyya
sandwich galgala immoo ruzza duwwa nyaadhu.
2. Ija mukkatti fi kuduraa dhiheessaa shan nyaadhu. Fakkenyaaf, cuunfaa birtukaanii dhugi,
salaaxaa nyaadhu, galgala immoo dinnichaa affeelama fi ija wayinii nyaadhu.
3. Guyyaatti yoo xinnaate bishaan burcuqqo saddeet dhuuggi.
4. Foon diimaa kan baay'ee cooma hin qabne isaa akaa hanqaaqoo yookiin qurxummii
nyaadhu.
5. Waan sa'a kan dhadhaa yartuu qabu kan akka aanaan raafamaa fi itittuu filadhu.
6. Nyaata waan mi'aawaa fi dhugaatii alkoolii hin baay'isiin.
7. Guyyaa hunda sosocho'a godhi. Dirree keessa adeemi, yookiin sirba bu'i, taphadhu.
8. Nyaata kolestrol hin qabne fi, zayitii waan sa'a fi kan cooma horii irra hojjatamu mana zayitii
kuduraa filadhu.

The Imperative
The 2nd person jussive, better known as the imperative, is used for issuing commands. In Oromo,
there are two forms for the imperative, the singular (ati) and the plural/polite (isin). For all verbs
except -chuu verbs, the pattern for forming imperatives is as follows:

Formation of Imperatives
Affirmative Negative
suffix prefix suffix
ati -i hin -in
isin -a hin -ina

For -chuu verbs, where the verb stem is the infinitive minus the -chuu ending, the imperatives are
formed as follows:

Imperatives for -chuu verbs

Affirmative Negative
suffix prefix suffix
ati -dhu hin -tin
isin -dha hin -tina
Example
English Ati Isin
sit taa'i taa'a
don't sit hin taa'in hin taa'ina
eat nyaadhu nyaadha
don't eat hin nyaatin hin nyaatina

45
go deemi deema
don't go hin deemin hin deemina
give kenni kenna
don't give hin kennin hin kennina

Exceptions
The main exception is “come” (“to come” – dhufuu) which is koottu, kootta (not dhufi, dhufa) in the
affirmative. The negative imperative (“don't come”) follows the standard pattern, hin dhufin, hin
dhufina. The imperative “go” can also be beenu, beena in addition to the regular
forms deemi, deema.

“Please”
The standard word for “please” is maaloo, though in conversation this is used mostly for making
requests and as a response, as in “yes, please”. Adaraa (“in the name of”) is also sometimes used
as “please” in this context. For imperatives and other jussive forms, mee is most commonly used.
Examples:
“Koottu mee” — “come here, please”
“Mee waa'ee obbolaawwan kee natti himi” — “Please tell me about your brothers”
“Mee nama sun gaafadhu” — “Please ask that person”
“Mee suuta dubbadhu” — “Please speak slowly/slower”
“Mee irra naa deebi'i” — “Please repeat for me”
“Mee guddisii dubbadhu” — “Please speak loudly/louder”

More Indirect Objects: The Dative

The dative case is used to indicated recipients and benefactors, where in English we would use “to”
or “for”. The dative may be formed by one of the following methods:

1. For nouns that end in a short vowel (in their dictionary form), the vowel will be lengthened
and, optionally, an -f suffix added. “Give it to the boy” can thus be expressed as “isa ilmaa
kenni” or “isa ilmaaf kenni”.
2. For nouns ending in a long vowel, either -f or -dhaa(f) suffixes may be attached. “It's good for
eating” can be expressed as “nyaachuuf gaarii dha”, “nyaachuudhaa gaarii dha”, or
“nyaachuudhaaf gaarii dha”
3. For nouns ending in a consonant, the suffix -iif will be attached. For example, “give it to Jim”
would be “isa Jimiif kenni”.
The dative forms for the personal pronouns are given below.

Subject Pronouns Dative Pronouns

I ani to/for me naa, naaf
we nuti to/for us nuu, nuuf
you ati to/for you sii, siif
you (pl.) isin to/for you (pl.) isinii, isiniif
he, it inni to/for him, it isaa, isaaf
she isheen to/for her ishee, isheef
they isaan to/for them isaanii, isaaniif

The locative -tti suffix can sometimes be used in a dative-like manner. For instance, “tell him” would
be “isatti jedhi” [lit. “say at him”] rather than “isaaf jedhi” [lit. “say for him”].

46
Double Imperatives
Where English would use an adverb to modify an imperative, Oromo most often uses two
imperatives in a row, with the first modifying the second. The first imperative is given a long final
vowel.
Examples:
“Speak loadly/loader” — “Guddisii dubbadhu” (sg.) or “Guddisaa dubbadha” (plu./pol.)
“Run faster” — “Baay'isii fiigi” (sg.) or “Baay'isaa fiiga” (plu./pol.)
“Work harder” — “Cimsii hojjadhu” (sg.) or “Cimsaa hojjadha” (plu./pol.)
The adverbal imperatives are almost always causatives (discussed in Chapter 16). Guddisuu is “to
make big”, baay'isuu is “to make many/much”, and cimsuu is “to make strong”.
To express a sequence of commands, imperatives are simply put together. For example, “go (and)
eat” is deemi nyaadhu (no elongation of the final vowel on the first imperative).

The Jussive Forms

The 1st and 3rd person jussive forms express suggestions, translated roughly as the English “let”.
The jussive forms would thus be “let me”, “let us”, “let him”, etc. The jussive forms use the
preverb haa and attach a suffix to the verb stem.

Formation of the Jussive

Prefix Suffix Suffix (for -chuu verbs)
ani haa -u -dhu
nuti haa -nu -nnu
inni haa -u -tu
isheen haa -tu -ttu
isaan haa -anu/ani/an -tanu/tani/tan

Examples:
haa ta'u — okay [lit. “let it be”]
haa nyaannu — “let's eat”
inni haa deemu — “let him go”
si haa gargaaru — “Let me help you”
For irregular verbs, the verb stem changes just as it does in the present and past tenses. The
example of taa'uu (“to sit”) is given below.
Oromo English
ani haa taa'u let me sit
inni haa taa'u let him sit
(nuti) haa teenyu let us sit
(isheen) haa teessu let her sit
(isaan) haa taa'anu let them sit
Note that only the regular stem is used in imperatives, even for irregular verbs (e.g., the imperative
“sit” is taa'i/taa'a, not teessi/teessa which mean “she sits”/“you sit” as declaratives).
The 1st person jussive, while understood, is not common, especially in the singular. It is more
common to use the present-future tense, as in “ofi koon of barsiisa” (“I will introduce myself”) rather
than “ofi koon haa of barsiisu” (“let me introduce myself”), or “achitti wal agarra” (“we will meet
there”) rather than “achitti wal haa agarru” (“let's meet there”).

47
In a question, the jussive works like the English “shall”, as in “haa deemnu?” for “shall we go?”.

Other Forms of Requests

Other than using imperative or jussive forms, it is often polite to use the infinitive with danda'uu (“to
be able, possible”). Forms using the subordinate tense and if-then clauses (“could you…”, “would
you…”, “I would appreciate it if…”) are discussed in Chapter 17.
Examples:
“Can you lend it to me, please” — “Isa naa ergisuu dandeessa, maaloo?”
“Can you (pl.) please help me?” — “Maaloo, naa gargaaruu dandeessu?”
“Can I open a window?” — “Foddaa banuu danda'a?”

Responding to Commands and Suggestions

The receiver of a command or suggestion has a variety of ways to accept or refuse.

Some Common Responses

Okay tole, haa ta'u
Sure sirritti, dhuguma
Of course dhugaadhuma
All right, fine bayeessa
Sorry dhiifama, nan gadda
Sorry, I can't dhiifama hin danda'u
It's possible danda'ama
It's not possible hin danda'amu
I don't have time yeroo hin qabu
“I can't, I have to go” “Hin danda'u, deemuun qaba”
“Another time. Now I must go” “Yeroo biraa. Amma deemuutu narra jira.”
“No, I need to go” “Lakki, deemuun barbaada”

Expressing Needs
The last three examples above show excuses by expressing needs. There are a number of ways of
doing this. The four main ways are:
Method 1: <infinative> + <present tense qabuu>, as in “xumuruu qabti” for “she has to finish”.
Method 2: <infinative> + <present tense barbaaduu>, as in “nyaachuu barbaanna” for “we need to
eat” (also means “we want to eat”)
Method 3: <acc. pers. pronoun> + barbaachisa, as in “birciqqoo isa barbaachisa”, which literally
means “a glass is necessary for him”. For plural needs, barbaachisu is used to mean “are
needed/necessary”, as in “birciqqooleen isaani barbaachisu” (“glasses are necessary for them”).
Method 4: <infinative>+tu + <acc. pers. pronoun>+rra + jira. This construction works like the English
“must” or “should”, as is “barachuutu sirra jira” for “you should/must learn” [lit. “it's on you to learn”].

48
Chapter Vocabulary
jedhi/jedha bye (informal) [lit. “speak”]

of eeggadhu/eeggadha be careful

daabboo bread

dhadhaa butter

waan dhadhaa hedddu hin qabne low-fat

akayi cereal

ruzza rice

dhiheessaa serving

fakkeenyaaf “for example”

matajaboo oatmeal

duwwaa blank, empty, plain

ija mukka, fuduraa fruit

kuduraa vegetable

cuunfaa juice

birtukaanii Orange (color and fruit)

dhuguu to drink

dhugaatii drink, beverage

salaaxaa salad

dinnichaa potato

affeelama boiled

ija wayinii grape

49
yoo xinnaate “at least”

burcuqqo glass, cup

foon meat

cooma fat

isaa akaa “such as”

hanqaaqoo chicken

qurxummii fish

sa'a cow

yartuu few, small amount

aanaan milk

aanaan raafamaa skim milk

itittuu yogurt

filachuu to choose

mi'aawaa sweet

baay'isuu to make many

socho'uu moving, active

godhuu to do

dirree field

adeemuu to walk

sirba bu'uu to dance

taphachuu to play

50
zayitii oil

cooma horii animal fat

51
Giving Directions (Karaa Agarsiisuu)
[Adapted from Geetaachoo (2011), pg. 52-53]
Meetii: Akkami Kadir?
Kadir: Fayyaa dha. Akkam jirta?
Meetii: Homaa hin jedhu. Bor waaree booda hojii qabda?
Kadir: Lakki, maaliif?
Meetii: Gaarii dha. Laaqana mana kootti si affeeruun barbaade.
Kadir: Dhufuuf baay'een gammada, garuu iddoo mana kee isa haaraa hin beeku.
Meetii: Buufata konkolaataa kan cinaa mana bilbilaatti beekta?
Kadir: Eeyyee, nan beeka.
Meetii: Taaksii Lagahaaritti qabadhu fi bakka buufata konkolaalaatti bu'i.
Kadir: Tole.
Meetii: Sana booda, gara mirga gori hanga qaxxaamura karaa geessutti karumarra deemi.
Kadir: Naaf gale.
Meetii: Gara fuuldura qaxxaamura karaatti hanga daqiiqaa shaniif deemi. Messalemiyaan karaa
mirgaa jira.
Kadir: Gara mirgaa jette?
Meetii: Eeyyee. Sirrii dha. Achitti sa'aatii kudha tokko fi walakkaatti wal agarra.
Kadir: Tole. Kun gaarii dha. Wal agarra. Nagaatti.
Meetii: Nagaatti.

Prepositions and Postpositions

A preposition links a noun to an action (e.g., “go from there”) or to another noun (“the pen on the
table”). For the purpose of clarity, this chapter will divide Oromo prepositions into two categories:
true prepositions and postpositions, with true prepositions coming before the noun and postpositions
coming after the noun they relate to.
Some Common Prepositions and Postpositions:
Postpositions Prepositions

ala — out, outside gara — towards

bira — beside, with, around eega, erga — since, from, after

booda — after haga, hanga — until

52
cinaa — beside, near, next to hamma — up to, as much as

dur, dura — before akka — like, as

duuba — behind, back of waa'ee — about, in regard to

irra — on

irraa — from

itti — to, at, in

jala — under, beneath

jidduu — middle, between

keessa — in, inside

malee — without, except

wajjin — with, together

gubbaa — on, above

fuuldura — in front of

gad(i) — down, below

ol(i) — up, above

Examples:
boqonnaarra [boqonnaa irra] – “on vacation”
mana keessa – “in the house”
waaree booda – “afternoon”
irra deebi'i – “repeat” [lit. “return on it”]
Yuunivarsitii Haroomayaatti barsiissaa – “teacher at Haromaya University”
mana nyaataa kanatti – “at this restaurant”
“waa'ee fiilmii sun natti himi” – “tell me about that film”
“Chaaltuun akka Hawwiituu baratuu dha.” – “Chaltu is a student like Hawitu.”
hanga torban dhufu – “until next week”
gammachuu wajjin – “with pleasure”
shaayee annan malee – “tea without milk”
“Ani meetirii lama gadi.” – “I am below [shorter than] 2 meters.”
“Keeniyaan Itoophiyaarraa (gara) kibbatti argamti” – “Kenya is located (to the) south of Ethiopia”

53
From the examples above, you may notice that the postpositions itti, irra, and irraa most often
occur as suffixes, -tti, -rra, and -rraa, on the nouns they relate to.

Often with place names, no preposition or postposition is used to be mean “in”. Therefore, one can
say “Finfinnee jiratta” for “you live in Finfinnee [Addis Ababa]”, or “hospitaalan ture” for “I was in
the hospital”, using no preposition.
Personal pronouns are not used with prepositions. Instead, possessive pronouns are used as
personal pronouns.
Examples:
“toward me” — gara koo(tti) [not gara na]
“like us” — akka keenya
“according to him” — akka isaatti
“about you” — waa'ee kee

Postpositions, on the other hand, take the accusative form of personal pronouns.
Examples:
“at you” — sitti
“from me” — narraa
“under him” — isa jala

When an adjective modifies a noun, the postposition follows the adjective, as in “nama guddarraa”
(“from the big man”).

Conjunctions
Whereas prepositions link nouns to other parts of the sentence, conjunctions usually link more
complete thoughts together.
Some Common Conjunctions:
and fi [also -f suffix]

but garuu, immoo

or yookin (for declaratives), moo (for questions)

however haa ta'u malee

though ta'us

so, therefore kanaaf, kanaafu

because sababiin isaa, sababiinsa [lit. “its reason”]

so that, in order to akka

Conjunctions come between the two clauses they connect, though garuu and immoo (“but”) can
also come after the first noun or nounal phrase in the second clause.

54
Examples:
“Inni shee jaalata ta'us amanamaa miti.” – “Though he loves her, he is unfaithful.”
“Daadhii moo biiraa dhuguu barbaadda?” – “Do you want tej [alcoholic honey drink] or beer?”
“Ani kochee nyaadhe kanaafu gara kasan qaba.” – “I ate kitfo [raw meat] so I got diarrhea.”
“Nyaatan barbaada sababiinsa nan beela'e.” – “I want food because I am hungry.”
“Ani nan deema akka inni dhufuuf.” – “I will go so that he will come.”
“Ittoo shiroon jaaladha garuu ittoo misira caalaa jaaladha.” or “Ittoo shiroon jaaladha ittoo
misira garuu caalaa jaaladha.” – “I like shiro watt, but I like lentil watt more.”
“Innis gara biyya isaa dhufe, sabni isaa garuu isa hin simanne.” – “And he came to his country,
but his people did not accept him [John 1:11].”

Vocabulary: Directions
kaaba north

kibba south

baha east

lixa west

mirga right

bitaa left

goruu to turn

gara bitaatti/mirgatti gori turn left/right

karaa kami? which way

bitaa/mirgaa jira it's on the left/right

argachuu to find

argamuu to be found

eessatti argama? where is it found?

kuunnoo there it is

55
ce'uu to cross

riqqicha ce'i cross the bridge

laga river

bira, cinaa, dhiyoo near

fagoo far

aanuu to be next to

naannoo surroundings

as(i) here

achi there

karaa road, path, way

karaa muummee main road

addababa'ii round-about

walakkaa magaalaatti town center, downtown

ammas again

ibsaa tiraafikii traffic light

qabachuu to take (a bus or taxi)

seenuu to get on (a vehicle)

bu'uu to get off (a vehicle)

“Iddon jira?” “Is there a seat?”

ka'uu to depart

ga'uu [-eess- verb] to arrive

56
affeeruu to invite

buufata konkolaataa bus station

mana bilbilaa telephone office

bakka place, area, site

qaxxaamura karaa cross-roads, intersection

geessutti karumarra along the road

gara fuuldura straight

57
Sports Conversation (haasaa waa'ee ispoortii)
Guutaa: Kubbaa kaachoo moo kubbaa miillaa ilaaluu caalaa siif wayya?
Boonaa: Kubbaa miillaa caalaa kubbaa kaachoo nan jaaladha. Kam sii wayya?
Guutaa: Anis kubbaa miillaa caalaan jaaladha. Cheelsii moo Maanchister caalaa jaalatta?
Boonaa: Ani akka Maanchister Cheelsii irra caalaa taphaatun yaada. Ati maal yaadda?
Guutaa: Akka yaada kootti Cheelsiin akkuma Maanchister gaarii dha. Lamaanuun jaaladha.
Boonaa: Haa ta'u malee, Bilaakbarn hunda irra dansaa fakkaata
Guutaa: Ati ni qoosta.
Boonaa: Eeyyee dhugaadhaa. Bilaakbarn baay'ee gadhee dha.

Comparatives
There is no direct translation of the English -er in Oromo. Most often, when distinguishing between
two objects, as in “the longer one”, the Oromo phrase would simply be “the long one” (“isa dheera”)
or “the very long one” (“isa baay'ee dheera”). Baay'ee, in addition to meaning “very”, can also
convey the sense of “more” when used with an adjective.
The adjective caalaa can be used to mean “better” or “more”, though most often it functions as an
adverb and comes immediately before the verb, as in “Isheen caalaa bareeddi” (“She is more
beautiful”). Caalaa comes from the verb caaluu meaning “to be better”. “Inni caala” thus means “it's
better”. Some dialects may use daran instead of caalaa as a comparative adjective/adverb.
The preposition irra, meaning “on”, can signify a comparison in a way that more literally means
“relative to”. For example, “Inni ishee irra gabaabaa dha” means “He is shorter than she” [lit. “He,
relative to her, is short”]. In many cases, caalaa can be added to irra for optional emphasis, as in
“Finfinneen Maqalee irra (caalaa) bareeddi?” (“Is Finfinnee more beautiful than Mekele?”). Note
that cities are treated as feminine.
For “worse”, gadhee (“bad”) is most often used, as in “sun kanarra gadhee dha” (“that is worse
than this”).
For equating two things, as in “as good as” or “as <any adj.> as”, akkuma can be used. “Chelsii
akkuma Manchester gaarii dha” thus means “Chelsea is as good as Manchester”. Akka can also
be used to mean “like” or “similar to”, as in “Chaaltuun akka Hawwiittuu barattuu dha” (“Chaltu is a
student like Hawitu”). Additionally, hanga(haga in some dialects) means “as much as”, as in
“Bilisaan hanga Argaayaa beeka” (“Bilisa knows as much as Argaya”).
More examples:
“Finfinneen jireenyaf Adaamaa caalti.” — “Finfinnee is better for living than Adama.”
“Eenyutu irra (caalaa) bareeda?” — “Who is more beautiful?”
“Eenyutu irra (caalaa) cimaa dha?” — “Who is more intelligent?”
“Shamiziin kun sanarra mi'aa dha.” — “This shirt is more expensive than that one.”
“Inni nu caalaa sirritti dubbisa.” — “He can read better than we can.”
“Isheen akkuma isaa sirritti haasoofti.” — “She speaks as fluently as he.”

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Note that akka and akkuma come between the nouns being compared. When two things being
compared are both objects (e.g., “He likes this more than that”), irra comes after the first object.
When one item is the subject and the other an object (e.g., “This is better than that”), irra comes
after object (second item being compared). Caalaa can come between or after the nouns.
Examples:
Manni kee koorra guddaa dha. — “Your house is bigger than mine.”
Itto handaaqqoo caalaa kochee nyachuun jaaladha.
or Itto handaaqqoorra kochee caalaa nyachuun jaaladha.
or Itto handaaqqoorra kochee nyachuu caalaan jaaladha. — “I like to eat doro watt more than
kitfo”
The descriptors “older” and “younger” are somewhat special cases. Hangafuu is a verb meaning “to
be older”, while quxusuu is an adjective meaing “younger”. They are used as in the examples
below:
“My sister is two years older than me.” — “obboleettiin koo waggaa lama na hangafti.”
“My sister is two years younger than me.” — “obboleettiin koo waggaa lama quxusuu kooti.”
To speak of things being the same, one may use tokkuma (“same”), gosa tokkicha (“the same
kind”), or wal fakkaataa (“similar”). Something that is different is adda, and things that are different
from each other are adda-adda.
Examples:
“these two things are the same” — waantoota lama kunniin tokkuma
“these two things are similar” — waantoota lama kunniin wal fakkaataa
“these two things are different” — waantoota lama kunniin adda-adda
“this one is different” — inni kun adda
The adverbs ol(i) (“up, above”) and gad(i) (“down, below”) may be used to compare things as
“higher” or “lower”, as in:
“he is shorter than 1.8 meters.” — “Inni meetira 1.8 (tokko tuqaa saddeet) gadi dha.”
“he is taller than 1.8 meters.” — “Inni meetira 1.8 oli dha.”

Preferences
The verbs barbaaduu (“to want”), jaalachuu (“to like, love”), and filachuu (“to choose [for oneself]”)
have been covered in previous chapters. These are often used in expressing preferences. The
verb wayyuu (“to be better than, preferable”) is also common, though it is typically only used in the
3rd person with an indirect object. Thus, to say “it is better” is “inni caala”, but “it is better for me” is
“inni naa(f) wayya”. Caalaa can also be used with barbaaduu, jaalachuu, and wayya to indicate
preference of one thing over another.
Examples:
“Maal filatta?” — “What do you choose?”
“___ naa wayya” — “I prefer ___”
“___ moo ___ caalaa siif wayya?” — “Is ___ or ___ preferable for you?”
“___ caalaa ___ nan jaaladha” — “I'd rather ___ than ___”
“___ caalaan jaaladha” — “I like ___ better”

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Superlative
To say “it is the best ___” or “it is the most ___”, the Oromo phrase would directly translate as “out of
everything, it is ___”. The most common words in Oromo for “all” are hunda and cufa. Showing
superlatives in Oromo is, therefore, a simple comparison between one thing and everything else.
Examples:
“hunda irra/hundumarra caala” — “it is the best” [lit. “it is better than everything”]
“Inni hunda irra caalaa cimaa dha” — “He is the smartest of everyone”
“itto handaaqqoo nyaata hundumaarra caalaan jaaladha” — “My favorite food is doro watt”

Vocabulary: Opinions
gaarii, dansaa good, well, fine

kuphaa kaachoo basketball

kuphaa miillaa foot ball

ilaaluu to watch, see

yaaduu to think

maal yaadda? what do you think?

waa'ee ___ maal yaadda what do you think about ___?

waa'ee ___ yaada maali qabda? “what is you opinion on ___?

akka yaada kootti … in my opinion …

yoo na gaafatta ta'e... if you ask me...

ani siin wali galeera I agree with you.

___ akkamitti gammadde? how did you enjoy ___?

akkan amanutti … I believe …

fakkaachuu to seem, to appear to be

… natti fakkaataa It seems to me that …

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 Alphabet and Pronunciation

Letter Sound Example

Qubee Sagalee Fakkeenya
Aa short ah sound as in again or what abalu
Bb unstressed b as in body, about boba'uu
Cc hard, glottalized tch sound ciccitaa
Dd stressed d sound as in dad dadaa
Ee e sound as in pen or empty eger
Ff unstressed f as in five or after faarfannaa
Gg unstressed g as in game or ago goggogaa
Hh unstressed h as in hammer hahaaraa
Ii short i as in hit or in isin
Jj unstressed j as in jump or agency jejjuu
Kk unstressed k as in coco kookii
Ll unstressed l as in little laallee
Mm unstressed m as in member mimmixa
Nn unstressed n as in no>b>ne naannoo
Oo O sound as in sore or open obboleessa
Pp unstressed p sound as in paper paappaayyaa
Qq hard, glottalized k qaqqabuu
Rr slightly rolling, soft r as in sparrow roorroo
Ss unstressed s sound as in Susan seenessa
Tt unstressed t as in tape tattaa'ii
Uu oo sound as in who or Spanish uno udumuu
Vv unstressed v as in avenue or very viizaa
Ww unstressed, soft w sound as in now or wind wawwaachuu
Xx hard, glottalized t xaaxee
Yy unstressed y as in year or bayou yayii
Zz unstressed z as in zigzag zeeroo
Ch ch slightly stressed ch as in chase cheenchii
Dh dh glottalized d produced with the tongue curled back dhadhaa
Ph ph glottalized p as in pope (said without breathing) phaaphaasii
Sh sh unstressed sh sound as in should shaashii
Ny ny like the Spanish ñ, like onion or cognac nyanyee

Diphthongs and Long Vowels

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aa — as in father, water, army
aw — as in cow or ouch
ay — as in aisle or pie
ee — as in eight or gray
ii — as in evil or teepee
oo — long o as in oboe or sober
oy — as in boy
uu — long oo as in fool or spoon.

Glottalized Consonants
The glottalized consonants are c, q, x, and ph. These can be described as explosive ch, k, t,
and p sounds, respectively. Leslau (1969) describes the pronunciation of of glottalized consonants
as follows:
In pronouncing the glottalized consonants, the stream of air coming from the lungs is shut off by
closure of the glottis. The air about it is then forced out through a stricture somewhere along the
vocal organ. This stricture is a the lips for [ph], at the teeth for [x], at the palate for [c], and at the
velum for q.[1]

Double Letters
Vowels and consonants may be repeated to make the sound long. For example, to say the Oromo
word annan (“milk”) one must hold the first n sound slightly longer than the second, as in the English
word “pen-knife”. A doubled vowel makes the vowel long and can often change the meaning of the
word, as in lafa (“ground”) and laafaa (“soft”). Dh, ch, ph, sh, and ny count as single consonants
though they are written as two letters.

Spelling Rules
Traditionally, Oromo was written using Ge'ez script as used by Amharic. In 1991, the Oromo
Peoples' Democratic Organization formally adopted a modified Latin alphabet (qubee) as shown at
the beginning of this chapter. This qubee replaced the various other transliteration schemes of
Oromo to Latin script and helped to standardize spelling of Oromo words. Spelling differences still
occur, however, due to personal preferences and dialectal differences. Regardless, certain spelling
rules can be observed that match speech patterns.
A word in Oromo cannot begin or end with a double consonant. The word for “sport” is converted
to isporti.
Three consonants cannot occur in a row in a word. For this reason, certain suffixes may add an i to
prevent this, as in arg (“see”) + na (1st per. plu. suffix) → argina (“we see”).
Vowels cannot change without a break, either a consonant or apostrophe, between them. What
breaks are used can differ with spelling preferences and dialects. For example, “very” can
be baa'ee, baayee, baa'yee, or baay'ee, and “to hear” can be dhaga'uu or dhagahuu. The
apostrophe indicates that the vowels are produced independently and not as a diphthong.

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Pronunciation Practice
bobaa — “lap” bobbaa — “excrement” boba'aa — “fuel” bobba'a — “he will get
out” boba'a — “it's burning”

birraa — “Spring” bira — “near” biiraa — “beer”

dhugaa — “truth” dhuuga — “yogurt” duggaa — “hymn book” duuga — “he

whittles”

dhaala — “inheritance” dhaalaa — “heir” dhala — “child” dhalaa —

“female” dallaa — “fence”

coora — “feeling” cora — “gathering” coraa — “remnant”

jaallataa — “lover” jaallatta — “you love” jallataa — “bent, curved”

haaraa — “new” aara — “smoke” har'a — “today” haraa — “trash”

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