West Africa · Sahel

Fula (Fulfulde/Pulaar)

Fulfulde / Pulaar

The language of the Fulani, spread from Senegal to Sudan by centuries of cattle herding, trade and scholarship. Its greetings are built around the word jam — peace.

Family: Niger–Congo (Senegambian)
Script: Latin, Ajami (Arabic script)
Speakers: ~40 million speakers across some twenty countries
Spoken in: Senegal, Guinea, Nigeria, Mali, Cameroon, Niger

The course

Five units, one word at a time

0/5 mastered

Unit 1

Greetings

Peace-based greetings that carry across the Sahel.

Jam tan — Peace only / I'm fine
No ngoolu daa — Hello / greetings
Jam waali? — Did you sleep in peace?
A jaraama — Thank you
Bismillah — Welcome
Haa jaŋngo — Until tomorrow

Unit 2

People and family

Herders, families and clans.

Neɗɗo — Person
Yimɓe — People
Neene — Mother
Baaba — Father
Sehil — Friend
Ɓiɗɗo — Child

Unit 3

Numbers one to ten

Counting cattle, the old Fulani measure of wealth.

Go'o — One
Ɗiɗi — Two
Tati — Three
Nayi — Four
Jowi — Five
Sappo — Ten

Unit 4

Food and the market

Milk, water and the market question.

Ndiyam — Water
Kosam — Milk
Ñaamdu — Food
Jelu? — How much?
Luumo — Market
Mi yiɗi — I want

Unit 5

Getting around

Travel words for a language built by travellers.

Toy? — Where?
Mi faamaani — I don't understand
Njaafodaa — Please
Eey — Yes
Alaa — No
Njehen — Let's go

How to sound right

Nearly every greeting contains 'jam' (peace); the answer usually repeats it.
Implosive consonants ɓ, ɗ, ƴ are made by pulling air in — they sound 'swallowed'.
Pulaar (west) and Fulfulde (east) are the same language with regional accents.

The audio button in lessons uses your device's speech engine, which rarely has a native African voice. Treat it as a rough guide and trust the written pronunciation hints and the coach instead.