East Africa

Oromo

Afaan Oromoo

The language of the Oromo people, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, and a working language of the Ethiopian federal state. Written in the Latin-based Qubee alphabet adopted in 1991.

Family: Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic)
Script: Latin (Qubee)
Speakers: ~37 million speakers — the largest Cushitic language
Spoken in: Ethiopia, Kenya

The course

Five units, one word at a time

0/5 mastered

Unit 1

Greetings

Oromo greetings ask after your health, your family and your cattle.

Akkam — Hello / how are you?
Nagaa — Peace (used as hello and goodbye)
Fayyaa — Well / healthy
Galatoomi — Thank you
Baga nagaan dhufte — Welcome
Nagaatti — Goodbye

Unit 2

People and family

Family words from a society organised by the gadaa age-grade system.

Nama — Person
Dubartii — Woman
Dhiira — Man
Haadha — Mother
Abbaa — Father
Hiriyaa — Friend

Unit 3

Numbers one to ten

Counting cattle, birr and days.

Tokko — One
Lama — Two
Sadii — Three
Afur — Four
Shan — Five
Kudhan — Ten

Unit 4

Food and the market

Coffee comes from Oromia — start there.

Buna — Coffee
Bishaan — Water
Nyaata — Food
Meeqa? — How much?
Gabaa — Market
Nan barbaada — I want

Unit 5

Getting around

Directions and the phrases that rescue a conversation.

Eessa? — Where?
Kottu — Come
Deemi — Go
Hin hubanne — I don't understand
Maaloo — Please
Suuta — Slowly

How to sound right

Double letters matter: they are held longer and change meaning (badaa 'bad' vs bada 'perish').
The 'dh' and 'ph' are single sounds, not d+h — dh is a soft d made with the tongue curled back.
Word order is subject–object–verb, so the verb lands at the end.

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.