Weather is the easiest small talk in any language, and in Somali it comes with a bonus: two words for sun. Qorrax is the sun itself, and qorrax leh ("having sun") means sunny. The same pattern gives roob leh (rainy, "having rain") and daruur leh (cloudy, "having clouds"), so children learn a piece of grammar without noticing.
Tap a card for the meaning, examples and a native recording.
| Somali | English | Say it | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qorrax Leh | Sunny | QOR-rah leh | |
| Daruur Leh | Cloudy | da-RUUR leh | |
| Roob Leh | Rainy | ROOB leh | |
| Ciiryaan | Fog | 'iir-YAAN | |
| Kuleel | Hot | ku-LEEL | |
| Qorrax | Sun | QOR-rah | |
| Dayax | Moon | DA-yah | |
| Dabeyl | Wind | da-BEYL | |
| Baraf | Snow | BA-raf | |
| Qabow | Cold | QA-bow |
Diaspora children also meet words their parents rarely needed at home: baraf (snow, also ice) and qabow (cold) get a lot of use in Minneapolis, Toronto and Oslo. This topic includes them alongside kuleel (hot) and dabeyl (wind).
Every word has audio from a native speaker and an illustration from the app.
10 entries in the Weather 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 Weather quiz in the Luuqad app and play Tap the Word.
Qorrax Leh, Daruur Leh, Roob Leh, Ciiryaan, Kuleel, Qorrax and more. Then take the quiz in the app.
