Face & Body · Wajiga & Jidhka

Ilko

Teeth

IL-ko · Short vowels, with the stress on il.
Ilko (Teeth): illustration from the Luuqad Face & Body lesson

Meaning

Ilko means teeth. It is already plural: a single tooth is ilig, and the teeth is ilkaha. Every Somali child hears ilkaha cadee, brush your teeth, at bedtime; cadee literally means make white.

Tip: Cadee, brush, comes from cad, white, so brushing your teeth in Somali is whitening them.

Example sentences

Ilkahaaga cadee.Brush your teeth.
Ilkaheedu waa cad yihiin.Her teeth are white.

Using Ilko at home

Point at the real thing and say "Ilko" 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, Ilko is taught with a picture, tested in the Face & Body quiz and practised in Drag & Learn.

Learn all 15 Face & Body words with real voices

Madax, Waji, Il, Dhag, San, Af and more. Then take the quiz.

Open in Luuqad