Food is the Somali topic children ask for by name. Every family has a canjeero morning and a bariis-and-hilib lunch, and every child has an opinion about xalwo. Because the words are heard daily at the table, they stick faster than almost any other vocabulary.
Tap a card for the meaning, examples and a native recording.
| Somali | English | Say it | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quraac | Breakfast | qu-RAA' (ends with the throat sound c) | |
| Canjeero | Flatbread | 'an-JEE-ro (starts with the throat sound c) | |
| Malawax | Sweet crêpe | ma-LA-wah (ends with the breathy x) | |
| Shaah | Tea | SHAAH (long aa, ends with h) | |
| Muufo | Corn flatbread | MUU-fo | |
| Qado | Lunch | QA-do | |
| Bariis | Rice | ba-RIIS | |
| Baasto | Pasta | BAAS-to | |
| Hilib | Meat | HI-lib | |
| Casho | Dinner | 'A-sho (starts with the throat sound c) | |
| Suqaar | Meat stew | su-QAAR | |
| Cabitaan | Drinks | 'a-bi-TAAN (starts with the throat sound c) | |
| Caano | Milk | 'AA-no (starts with the throat sound c) | |
| Biyo | Water | BI-yo |
This lesson is organised around the day: quraac (breakfast) with canjeero, malawax, muufo and shaah; qado (lunch) with bariis, baasto and hilib; casho (dinner) with suqaar; and cabitaan (drinks) with caano and biyo. Several of these dishes have no English equivalent, which is exactly why a Somali-specific app matters: nobody learns the word canjeero from a generic language course.
Every food word has a real photograph or illustration and audio from a Somali speaker.
14 entries in the Food topic, each with a picture, native-speaker audio and a quiz in the app.
Yes. Every entry on this page plays a recording by a Somali speaker; nothing is synthesized.
Tap each word to hear it, say it back together, then take the Food quiz in the Luuqad app and play Baadiyo Journey.
Quraac, Canjeero, Malawax, Shaah, Muufo, Qado and more. Then take the quiz in the app.
