Pronunciation
Wolof Alphabet
Wolof is written using the Latin alphabet with a few special characters. Pronunciation is generally phonetic—letters usually make the same sound every time.
Sounds like
a in father
am
to have
Sounds like
b in boy
baay
father
Sounds like
ch in chair
caabi
key
Sounds like
d in dog
daan
to fall
Sounds like
e in bet
enn
one
Sounds like
a in ago
bëgg
to want
Sounds like
f in fish
fanaanal
goodnight
Sounds like
g in go (always hard)
gorgui
the man
Sounds like
i in machine
init
hope
Sounds like
j in joy
jamm
peace
Sounds like
k in kite
kaay
come
Sounds like
l in love
leket
calabash
Sounds like
m in mom
man
me / I
Sounds like
n in no
naan
drink
Sounds like
ny in canyon
ñuul
black
Sounds like
ng in sing
ŋaay
to be stingy
Sounds like
o in so
oto
car
Sounds like
aw in law
wóór
sure / certain
Sounds like
p in pen
pare
ready
Sounds like
like k but deeper in throat
qol
heart (poetic)
Sounds like
rolled r
rafet
beautiful
Sounds like
s in sun
salaam
peace
Sounds like
t in top
tang
hot
Sounds like
u in rule
ubbi
to open
Sounds like
w in win
waaw
yes
Sounds like
ch in bach (gutteral)
xale
child
Sounds like
y in yes
yow
you