Aramado
Aari
Afro-Asiatic
Aari (Aramado) is an Omotic language of the Afro-Asiatic family, spoken by around 150,000 people in the South Omo Zone of southern Ethiopia, primarily in the Aari woreda. The Aari are one of the larger Omotic-speaking groups of Ethiopia's Cushitic-Omotic-rich southern lowlands. Linguistically, Aari is part of the Aroid sub-branch of Omotic alongside Hamer-Banna and Dime — Omotic itself is the most divergent branch of Afro-Asiatic, with significant debate among Africanists about whether Omotic should even be classified within Afro-Asiatic at all (Bender, Theil, and others propose Omotic as a separate language family). Aari preserves typically Omotic features including SOV word order, ejective consonants, and elaborate verb morphology with unusual person-marking patterns.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Aari
Water
waki
/waki/
Fire
mola
/mola/
Sun
saba
/saba/
Moon
ama
/ama/
Mother
inde
/inde/
Father
baba
/baba/
Eat
itte
/itːe/
Drink
ushe
/uʃe/
Love
gaya
/ɡaja/
Heart
lubba
/lubːa/
Tree
miza
/miza/
House
kara
/kara/
Dog
kana
/kana/
Cat
shanɡo
/ʃaŋɡo/
Hand
kushum
/kuʃum/
Eye
aafo
/aːfo/
Hello
saro
/saro/
Thank you
galatoma
/ɡalatoma/
One
kollo
/kolːo/
Good
goodi
/ɡoːdi/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic languages
| Meaning | Aari | Wolaytta | Konso | Zarma | Nyamwezi | Sukuma | Shambala |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | waki /waki/ | haatta /haːtːa/ | inanta /inanta/ | hari /hari/ | minzi /minzi/ | minzi /minzi/ | mazi /mazi/ |
| Fire | mola /mola/ | tama /tama/ | iya /ija/ | danji /dandʒi/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ | moto /moto/ |
| Sun | saba /saba/ | awa /awa/ | kawa /kawa/ | wayna /wajna/ | izuba /izuβa/ | ilyuva /iʎuβa/ | zuwa /zuwa/ |
| Moon | ama /ama/ | ageena /aɡeːna/ | ayeena /ajeːna/ | handu /handu/ | ng'wezi /ŋweːzi/ | ng'wezi /ŋweːzi/ | mwezi /mwezi/ |
| Mother | inde /inde/ | aaya /aːja/ | eedda /eːdːa/ | ñaa /ɲaː/ | mayu /majʊ/ | mayu /maju/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | aawa /aːwa/ | abba /abːa/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ |
| Eat | itte /itːe/ | miya /miːja/ | ihaa /ihaː/ | ŋwa /ŋwa/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | kulya /kuʎa/ | kuya /kuja/ |
| Drink | ushe /uʃe/ | ushiya /uʃija/ | inakkaa /inakːaː/ | hañu /haɲu/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kuhwa /kuhwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ |
| Love | gaya /ɡaja/ | siiqaa /siːqaː/ | jaalla /dʒaːlːa/ | baa /baː/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | kwenda /kwenda/ |
| Heart | lubba /lubːa/ | wozanaa /wozanaː/ | onna /onːa/ | bina /bina/ | mtima /mtima/ | ngholo /ŋɡoːlo/ | mwoyo /mwojo/ |
| Tree | miza /miza/ | mittaa /mitːaː/ | ergaa /erɡaː/ | tuuri /tuːri/ | mti /mti/ | mti /mti/ | mti /mti/ |
| House | kara /kara/ | keettaa /keːtːaː/ | mana /mana/ | fu /fu/ | kaya /kaja/ | kaya /kaja/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ |
| Dog | kana /kana/ | kanaa /kanaː/ | kareta /kaɾeta/ | hansi /hansi/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ | mbwa /mbwa/ |
| Cat | shanɡo /ʃaŋɡo/ | gaaduwaa /ɡaːduwaː/ | adurree /aduɾːeː/ | muusu /muːsu/ | paka /paka/ | kalulu /kalulu/ | paka /paka/ |
| Hand | kushum /kuʃum/ | kushiyaa /kuʃijaː/ | harka /haɾka/ | kambe /kambe/ | ikobo /ikoβo/ | nkhono /ŋkono/ | ukono /ukono/ |
| Eye | aafo /aːfo/ | ayfee /ajfeː/ | ila /ila/ | mo /mo/ | liso /liso/ | liso /liso/ | izo /izo/ |
| Hello | saro /saro/ | saro /saro/ | akkam /akːam/ | fofo /fofo/ | mwadita /mwadita/ | mwangaluka /mwaŋɡaluka/ | nashukuru /naʃukuɾu/ |
| Thank you | galatoma /ɡalatoma/ | galatay /ɡalataj/ | galta /ɡalta/ | fofo /fofo/ | twabakaba /twaβakaβa/ | nakulumba /nakulumba/ | asante /asante/ |
| One | kollo /kolːo/ | issino /isːino/ | takka /takːa/ | affo /afːo/ | imo /imo/ | imo /imo/ | imo /imo/ |
| Good | goodi /ɡoːdi/ | lo'o /loʔo/ | fayye /fajːe/ | boori /boːri/ | lihi /lihi/ | shihi /ʃihi/ | hedi /hedi/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.