Everything below is what a beginner actually needs first: greetings, polite words, numbers, family, food, time and getting around. Each entry shows the Wolof spelling, the English meaning, and a respelling with the stressed syllable in capitals so you can say it out loud without guessing.
Maa ngi tudd AmaraMy name is Amara/maa ngee TOOD a-MA-ra/
Naka la tudd?What is your name?/NA-ka la TOOD/
Na nga def?How are you?/na nga DEHF/
Maa ngi fi rekkI am fine/maa ngee fee REHK/
NdoxWater/n-DOHKS/
LekkFood/LEHK/
XaritFriend/kha-REET/
KërHouse/KEHR/
Counting
Numbers one to five and shopping at the market
BennOne/BEHN/
ÑaarTwo/NYAAR/
ÑettThree/NYEHT/
ÑeentFour/NYEHNT/
JuróomFive/joo-ROHM/
Ñaata la?How much is it?/NYAA-ta la/
MarseMarket/MAR-seh/
NdoxWater/n-DOHKS/
XaalisMoney/khaa-LEES/
Questions people ask about Wolof
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.
Where is Wolof spoken?
Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania — around 12 million including second-language speakers. Writing system: Latin alphabet, historically also Arabic script.
Can I learn Wolof for free?
Yes. This phrasebook is free to read, and SemaSoma gives you the first three units of the course plus 15 translations a day before anything is paid.