The house is where most Somali is spoken in the diaspora, so household words give children the most chances to use what they learn. "Albaabka xir" (close the door), "sariirta jiif" (lie on the bed), "jikada tag" (go to the kitchen): these small commands, repeated daily, build real fluency.
Tap a card for the meaning, examples and a native recording.
| Somali | English | Say it | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guri | House | GU-ri | |
| Albaab | Door | al-BAAB | |
| Daaqad | Window | DAA-qad | |
| Sariir | Bed | sa-RIIR | |
| Kursi | Chair | KUR-si | |
| Miis | Table | MIIS | |
| Jiko | Kitchen | JI-ko | |
| Musqul | Bathroom | MUS-qul | |
| Suuliga | Toilet | SUU-li-ga | |
| Nal | Lamp | NAL | |
| Telefishin | TV | te-le-FI-shin | |
| Fadhi | Sofa | FA-dhi | |
| Talaagad | Refrigerator | ta-LAA-gad | |
| Burjiko | Stove | bur-JI-ko | |
| Saqaf | Roof | SA-qaf |
Somali house vocabulary mixes native words with loanwords that arrived with the objects themselves: kursi (chair) and miis (table) came through Arabic and Italian, telefishin is obviously borrowed, while guri, albaab and daaqad are old Somali words. Children do not need to know which is which, but it is fun to notice.
Luuqad practises these words in the House Builder game, where children build their own house room by room and complete quests inside each room.
15 entries in the House 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 House quiz in the Luuqad app and play Heritage Hunt.
Guri, Albaab, Daaqad, Sariir, Kursi, Miis and more. Then take the quiz in the app.
