Qafaraf

Afar

Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic)

FamilyAfro-Asiatic (Cushitic) Speakers~2.6M ScriptLatin / Arabic CountriesEthiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti Official inDjibouti, Eritrea (recognized) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3aar

Afar (Qafaraf) is the language of the Afar people of the Horn of Africa. It is closely related to Somali (both are East Cushitic) and has a marked-nominative case system unusual among the world's languages.

Where it is spoken

20 core words in Afar

Water

lee

/leː/

Fire

gira

/ɡira/

Sun

ayró

/ajɾo/

Moon

alsá

/alsa/

Mother

inaá

/inaː/

Father

abbá

/abːa/

Eat

akmé

/akme/

Drink

kibé

/kibe/

Love

kicimá

/kiħima/

Heart

lubbí

/lubːi/

Tree

caxá

/ħaɖa/

House

qarí

/ʕari/

Dog

kuduú

/kuduː/

Cat

dummú

/dummu/

Hand

gabá

/ɡaba/

Eye

intí

/inti/

Hello

nagá

/naɡa/

Thank you

qungúsa

/ʕuŋɡusa/

One

enek

/enek/

Good

meqé

/meʕe/

Words compared

Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic) languages

Meaning AfarSahoPashaiCook Islands MāoriTetumMandaicKonso
Water lee /leː/ lee /leː/ واری /waːri/ vai /vai/ bee /beː/ ࡌࡉࡀ /mia/ inanta /inanta/
Fire gira /ɡira/ gira /ɡira/ انگاری /aŋɡaːri/ ahi /ahi/ ahi /ahi/ ࡍࡅࡓࡀ /nura/ iya /ija/
Sun ayró /ajɾo/ ayro /ajɾo/ سور /sur/ /raː/ loron /loɾon/ ࡔࡀࡌࡔࡀ /ʃamʃa/ kawa /kawa/
Moon alsá /alsa/ alsa /alsa/ مس /mas/ marama /marama/ fulan /fulan/ ࡎࡉࡓࡀ /sira/ ayeena /ajeːna/
Mother inaá /inaː/ ina /ina/ نا /naː/ māmā /maːmaː/ inan /inan/ ࡀࡌࡀ /ama/ eedda /eːdːa/
Father abbá /abːa/ abba /abba/ تاتا /taːtaː/ pāpā /paːpaː/ aman /aman/ ࡀࡁࡀ /aba/ abba /abːa/
Eat akmé /akme/ niitan /niːtan/ کخن- /kxn/ kai /kai/ han /han/ ࡀࡊࡀࡋ /akal/ ihaa /ihaː/
Drink kibé /kibe/ yaaqab /jaːʕab/ پی- /piː/ inu /inu/ hemu /hemu/ ࡔࡕࡀ /ʃta/ inakkaa /inakːaː/
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