Animals · Xayawaanka · Wild Animals

Shabeel

Tiger

sha-BEEL · The ee is a long e, close to ay in day but without the glide at the end.
Shabeel (Tiger): illustration from the Luuqad Animals lesson

Meaning

Shabeel is the word the app uses for the tiger. Tigers do not live in Africa, so Somali has no separate old word for them, and shabeel, which many speakers also use for the leopard, is the name you will hear for a tiger in books and on television. The tiger is shabeelka.

Tip: If a grandparent calls a leopard shabeel, they are not wrong: in many regions shabeel is the leopard and haramcad is the cheetah.

Example sentences

Kani waa shabeel.This is a tiger.
Shabeelku waa xayawaan duurjoog ah.The tiger is a wild animal.

Using Shabeel at home

Point at the real thing and say "Shabeel" whenever it comes up, then let your child hear the native recording and say it back. One word used ten times in a day beats ten words drilled once. In the Luuqad app, Shabeel is taught with a picture, tested in the Animals quiz and practised in Baadiyo Journey and Animal Trails.

Learn all 20 Animals words with real voices

Libaax, Maroodi, Shabeel, Haramcad, Dawaco, Daanyeer and more. Then take the quiz.

Open in Luuqad