Online English Waali Dictionary

Online English-Waali dictionary


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Briefest possible sketch of the language: Waali is an isolating SVO language, with optional OSV possible. There are three level tones which are highly meaningful. Syllables are generally CV or CVC. Waali is very similar to the southern vareities of Dagaare.

NOTE: The spellings used here are just approximations. I used "kp" to indicate strongly aspirated /p/, "gb" to indicate strongly aspirated /b/.

Pronouns have two forms - weak and strong. The strong form is used to give emphasis to the pronoun over other parts of the sentence.
Pronoun Weak Strong Pronoun Weak Strong
I N or M Mang We Te Teng
You E Eng You (plural) Ye Yeng
He, She, It O Ong They Ba Bang


The object and subject forms are the same except that the object form of "I" is "mo"

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A
a (indefinite article) - kanga (for a single item), mine (for partitive) Both are suffixes
(to be) able - tong
and - aneng (for connecting nouns)
angry - suri
ant - nsehe
apatashie - pataase. < Ashanti
arm - nu
Ashanti people - Komba < from Kumasi + ba person plural marker?
aunt - mabile
B
baby - bibilli
banana - kodu, (pl) kodi. < Ashanti
basket - peo
bat - gyingyanga
bee - sebie
behave foolishly - jolieng
big - kpong, bera
bread - paanoo
breathe - vuu
brother - yao
younger brother - yaobile
boy - bidau

C
car - loori, (pl) loorihene. < Eng. lorry
cat - kokole
caterpillar - dondoli
chair - kogo, (pl) kogri
chicken - noo
chicken pox - sangurama
chief - na
child - bie, (pl) biihi
cockroach - yila
cow - naahuu, (pl) nii. Possibly from Hausa or Fulani
crazy - gyingyaha
D
dance - seore
day - daare
drizzle - saabile
dog - baa

E
ear - tobo, (pl) tori
eat - di
egg - gyela

F
father - ba
(to) fear - gyaora
finger, fingernail - nubie (An empty boast about future grand schemes that never come to fruition is called a 'nubie yom' i.e. finger farm, since the only work ever done is the finger pointing at where the farm will be planted.)
five - anu
forty - lejarayi (lierally twenty by two - Waali uses a base twenty system)
four - anaare
friend - dau
frog - pontere
frying pan - silba. < Eng. silver ?

G
girl - bipoga
go - gaa
(to be) good - somang
greet - puoho
grandfather - nabali
grandmother - nna
groundnut - gyenii
guinea fowl - kpanoo

H
hat - gyipelu
Hausa people- gyamba hear - wono
honey - siiri
horse - yobo, wi
husband - sera, (pl) seraba

I
I (personal pronoun) N (M before words beginning with b or p)
issue (as in concern, problem) - yela

J
jobsite - tumajie

K
keys - safi
knife - sua
know - bang

L
latrine - salenga
leaf - vara
learn - daahe
lemon - lumbiimuhung (Lit. sour orange)
lie down - gyaeng
lightning - sa
liver - sikiri
lizard - banga, (pl) banha
long - yogre
look at - kara
love - boara

M
man - dau, (pl) daba
market - daa
meat - nene
medicine - ting
mind - yeng
mosquito - dunga, (pl) donhe
money - libie
mother - ma

N
never - bela
nine - awae
not - ba. e.g. M ba bora mui/I don't like rice.

O
one - bonyeni
onion - alabasa < Hausa?
orange (fruit) - lumbie, pl lumbiri
owner - daana

P
pawpaw - mokangiri
pillow - kapiri
pito - daang
place - jie, (pl) jihi
pot (cooking) - dogala
python - juho

R
rain - saa It is raining - saa waana
rice - mui
rice balls - sao mui

S
sandal - nagatehe (formal sandal), wawa (bathroom slippers)
satisfied (to be) - tegeyan
Saturday - asibi
scorpion - na'a
see - nye
sewing machine - tila
sing - yiene
sister - yaopoga
small - bile
snake - waho
soup - gyeeri
spider - badare, (pl) badahe
stick - dau
Sunday - alahadi
swim - duu

T
thing - bon, (pl) bonhe
this thing - bonnga, used as a space filler this - nga (suffix)
the - a
twenty - lejare, kpongpie (lejare is more standard)
top - ju
tee zed - sao

U
uncle - babile
under - muni
unless - se

V
vulture - jugiri

W
want - bora
water - kwan
weave - wu
weird - siele
wife, woman - poga, (pl) pogaba

X
xylophone - gyela

Y
yam - waare
year - youm
young - sera

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