Learn Fula

Where it's spoken

Across the Sahel from Senegal to Sudan

Speakers

around 35 million

Writing system

Latin alphabet (Adlam and Arabic script also in use)

Fula stretches across more countries than almost any other African language, which makes it uniquely useful across West and Central Africa.

What makes Fula different

• More than twenty noun classes, which is a lot even for the region.
• Consonants at the start of words shift depending on the class.
• Regional varieties differ enough that learners usually pick one.

Your first Fula phrases

Each phrase is written the way it's spelled, then respelled for English speakers with the stressed syllable in capitals.

• Jam waaliHello/jam WAH-lee/
• A jaaraamaThank you/a jaa-RAH-ma/
• JaɓɓaamaWelcome/ja-BAH-ma/
• En jaaraamaGoodbye/en jaa-RAH-ma/
• EeyYes/EH-ay/
• AlaaNo/a-LAH/
• NjaafoPlease/n-JAA-foh/
• Yaafo miSorry/YAA-foh mee/

Want the full list? Read the free Fula phrasebook with pronunciation, grab the free printable Fula starter kit, or compare SemaSoma with other African language apps.