Gedeʼuffa
Gedeo
Afro-Asiatic
Gedeo (Gedeʼuffa, "Gedeo speech") is a Highland East Cushitic language of southern Ethiopia, sister to Sidamo (sid), Hadiyya, and Kembata. The Gedeo people are agricultural farmers in the highlands south of Lake Awasa, with a renowned coffee-and-enset (false banana) cultivation system that has been UNESCO-listed (2023) as the Gedeo Cultural Landscape — a sustainable agroforestry practice. Linguistically, Gedeo has typical Highland East Cushitic features: gender-based subject-verb agreement, focus markers, and complex verb conjugation. The 2007 Ethiopian census recorded ~986,000 ethnic Gedeo, with most also bilingual in Amharic.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Gedeo
Water
woyye
/wojːe/
Fire
gira
/ɡiɾa/
Sun
ayyaʼne
/ajːaʔne/
Moon
agina
/aɡina/
Star
urje
/urdʒe/
Mother
aaki
/aːki/
Father
eke
/eke/
I
ani
/ani/
You
ati
/ati/
Name
su'ma
/suʔma/
Eye
ille
/ilːe/
Hand
anga
/aŋɡa/
Heart
wodana
/wodana/
Love
baxxa
/baxːa/
Tree
haqqa
/haqːa/
House
mine
/mine/
Dog
kaneessa
/kaneːsːa/
Cat
adurre
/aduɾːe/
Eat
ittu
/itːu/
Drink
agittu
/aɡitːu/
One
mitto
/mitːo/
Two
lame
/lame/
Hello
mooye
/moːje/
Thank you
galaata
/ɡalaːta/
Good
danee
/daneː/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic languages
| Meaning | Gedeo | Sidamo | Oromo | Wolaytta | Konso | Saho | Slovenian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | woyye /wojːe/ | waayyo /waːjːo/ | bishaan /biʃaːn/ | haatta /haːtːa/ | pishaa /piʃaː/ | lee /leː/ | voda /ˈʋɔːda/ |
| Fire | gira /ɡiɾa/ | giiraa /ɡiːraː/ | ibidda /ibidːa/ | tama /tama/ | apitta /apitːa/ | gira /ɡira/ | ogenj /oːɡənj/ |
| Sun | ayyaʼne /ajːaʔne/ | arrishshe /arːiʃːe/ | aduu /aduː/ | awa /awa/ | piirtuta /piːrtuta/ | ayro /ajɾo/ | sonce /soːntsɛ/ |
| Moon | agina /aɡina/ | agana /aɡana/ | jiʼa /dʒiʔa/ | aginaa /aɡinaː/ | leya /leja/ | alsa /alsa/ | luna /luːna/ |
| Star | urje /urdʒe/ | beeddakko /beːdːakko/ | urjii /urdʒiː/ | xoolinttee /tʼoːlintːeː/ | hikkitta /hikːitːa/ | cutuk /ħutuk/ | zvezda /ˈzʋeːzda/ |
| Mother | aaki /aːki/ | ama /ama/ | haadha /haːɗa/ | aaya /aːja/ | aayyaa /aːjːaː/ | ina /ina/ | mati /maːti/ |
| Father | eke /eke/ | anna /anːa/ | abbaa /abːaː/ | aawa /aːwa/ | aappaa /aːpːaː/ | abba /abba/ | oče /oːtʃɛ/ |
| I | ani /ani/ | ani /ani/ | ani /ani/ | taani /taːni/ | anti /anti/ | anu /ʔanu/ | jaz /jaːs/ |
| You | ati /ati/ | ati /ati/ | ati /ati/ | neeni /neːni/ | atti /atti/ | atu /ʔatu/ | ti /tiː/ |
| Name | su'ma /suʔma/ | suʼma /suʔma/ | maqaa /makʼaː/ | sunttaa /suntːaː/ | maχχa /maχːa/ | migaq /miɡaːʕ/ | ime /iˈmeː/ |
| Eye | ille /ilːe/ | ille /ilːe/ | ija /idʒa/ | ayfee /ajfeː/ | ilta /ilta/ | inti /inti/ | oko /ɔˈkoː/ |
| Hand | anga /aŋɡa/ | anga /anɡa/ | harka /haɾka/ | kushiyaa /kuʃijaː/ | harka /harka/ | gaba /ɡaba/ | roka /ɾɔːka/ |
| Heart | wodana /wodana/ | wodanaa /wodanaː/ | onnee /onːeː/ | wozanaa /wozanaː/ | sataʔta /sataʔta/ | qalbe /qalbe/ | srce /sərtsɛ/ |
| Love | baxxa /baxːa/ | baxa /batʼa/ | jaalala /dʒaːlala/ | siiqaa /siːqaː/ | ʄaalaɗiyaa /ʄaːlaɗijaː/ | kaxano /kaħano/ | ljubezen /ljubeːzɛn/ |
| Tree | haqqa /haqːa/ | haqqe /haqːe/ | muka /muka/ | mittaa /mitːaː/ | ʛoyra /ʛojra/ | caar /ħaːr/ | drevo /dɾeːʋo/ |
| House | mine /mine/ | mine /mine/ | mana /mana/ | keettaa /keːtːaː/ | tika /tika/ | kalo /kalo/ | hiša /xiːʃa/ |
| Dog | kaneessa /kaneːsːa/ | minceeti /mintʃeːti/ | saree /saɾeː/ | kanaa /kanaː/ | kuta /kuta/ | kare /kaɾe/ | pes /pɛːs/ |
| Cat | adurre /aduɾːe/ | adurree /adurːeː/ | adurree /aduɾːeː/ | gaaduwaa /ɡaːduwaː/ | aturraata /aturːaːta/ | dummu /dummu/ | mačka /maːtʃka/ |
| Eat | ittu /itːu/ | itaa /itaː/ | nyaachuu /ɲaːtʃuː/ | miya /miːja/ | ɗamiyaa /ɗamijaː/ | niitan /niːtan/ | jesti /jɛːsti/ |
| Drink | agittu /aɡitːu/ | aguraa /aɡuraː/ | dhuguu /ɗuɡuː/ | ushiya /uʃija/ | ikiyaa /ikijaː/ | yaaqab /jaːʕab/ | piti /piːti/ |
| One | mitto /mitːo/ | mitto /mitːo/ | tokko /tokːo/ | issino /isːino/ | takka /takːa/ | inki /inki/ | eden /ɛːdən/ |
| Two | lame /lame/ | lame /lame/ | lama /lama/ | naaʼʼa /naːʔːa/ | lakki /lakːi/ | lammá /lamˈma/ | dva /dʋaː/ |
| Hello | mooye /moːje/ | nagaa yi'ne /naɡaː jiʔne/ | akkam /akːam/ | saro /saro/ | nakaytaa /nakajtaː/ | malaal /malaːl/ | živjo /ʒiːʋjo/ |
| Thank you | galaata /ɡalaːta/ | gali'ne /ɡaliʔne/ | galatoomi /ɡalatoːmi/ | galatay /ɡalataj/ | — /—/ | galatto /ɡalatto/ | hvala /xʋaːla/ |
| Good | danee /daneː/ | danchu /dantʃu/ | gaarii /ɡaːriː/ | lo'o /loʔo/ | paʛaari /paʛaːri/ | meqe /meʕe/ | dober /doːbər/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.