West Africa · Sahel
Fula (Fulfulde/Pulaar)
Fulfulde / PulaarThe 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.
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