Wolof overview

Free Wolof starter kit — 25 phrases you can print

A one-page Wolof cheat sheet for absolute beginners. Every phrase shows the Wolof spelling, what it means, and a respelling with the stressed syllable in capitals so you can say it out loud today. Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritaniaaround 12 million including second-language speakers.

First words

Greet someone and be polite

  • Salaam aleekumHello/sa-LAAM a-LEH-koom/
  • JërejëfThank you/jeh-reh-JEHF/
  • Dalal ak jamWelcome/da-LAL ak JAM/
  • Ba beneen yoonGoodbye/ba beh-NEHN YOHN/
  • WaawYes/WAAW/
  • DéedéetNo/deh-eh-DEHT/
  • Su la neexeePlease/soo la nay-EH-kheh/
  • Baal maSorry/BAAL ma/

Free starter kit

Get all 25 Wolof phrases

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Is Wolof hard to learn?

  • Verb conjugation is unusually light; sentence particles do much of the work.
  • Long consonants and long vowels both distinguish words.
  • Everyday speech borrows freely from French and Arabic.