Gēy Sinan
Harari
Afro-Asiatic (Semitic)
Harari (Gēy Sinan, “language of the city”) is an Ethiosemitic language spoken by about 26,000 people, historically centered in the walled city of Harar and now also used by communities elsewhere in Ethiopia and abroad. It belongs to the South Ethiosemitic group and has been strongly shaped by long contact with Oromo, Somali, Arabic, and Amharic. Harari has a substantial Islamic literary tradition: Old Harari texts were written in an adapted Arabic script. The Harari regional government adopted an Ethiopic-based orthography in 1999, which is now used in education and publications, while Latin romanization appears in scholarship. Glottolog currently assesses Harari as not endangered, though its relatively small speaker population makes continued transmission important.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Harari
Water
miy
/miːj/
Fire
isat
/isɑt/
Sun
ir
/iːr/
Moon
wahri
/wɑhri/
Star
kokäb
/kokəb/
Mother
wallidda
/wɑlːidːɑ/
Father
aw
/ɑw/
I
ān
/aːn/
You
akhākh
/aχaːχ/
Name
sum
/sum/
Eye
ʿäyin
/ʕæjin/
Hand
händ
/hənd/
Heart
libbi
/libːi/
Love
ḥabb
/ħɑbː/
Tree
šäjar
/ʃəʒɑr/
House
gár
/gɑːr/
Dog
buchi
/butʃi/
Cat
aduru
/ɑduːru/
Eat
mäbla
/məblɑ/
Drink
šatäya
/ʃɑtəjɑ/
One
aḥad
/ɑħɑd/
Two
koʔot
/koʔot/
Hello
salam
/sɑlɑm/
Thank you
šukran
/ʃuːkrɑn/
Good
xaww
/χɑwː/
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Semitic) languages
| Meaning | Harari | Gulf Arabic | Tigre | Arabic (Yemeni) | Ge'ez | Libyan Arabic | Mishnaic Hebrew |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | miy /miːj/ | ماء /maːʔ/ | ማይ /maj/ | ماء /mɑːʔ/ | ማይ /maːj/ | مية /majja/ | מים /majim/ |
| Fire | isat /isɑt/ | نار /naːr/ | እሳት /ʔəssat/ | نار /naːr/ | እሳት /ʔəsaːt/ | نار /naːr/ | אש /ʔeʃ/ |
| Sun | ir /iːr/ | شمس /ʃɑms/ | ጸሓይ /tsʼəħaj/ | شمس /ʃɑms/ | ፀሐይ /sˤaħaj/ | شمس /ʃəmːɛs/ | חמה /ħamːa/ |
| Moon | wahri /wɑhri/ | قمر /gɑmɑr/ | ወርሕ /waɾəħ/ | قمر /ɡɑmɑr/ | ወርኅ /warχ/ | قمر /ɡəmɛr/ | לבנה /levɑnɑ/ |
| Star | kokäb /kokəb/ | نجمة /nɪjma/ | ኮከብ /kokəb/ | نجمة /ˈnadʒmah/ | ኮከብ /kokab/ | نجمة /nədʒma/ | כּוֹכָב /koˈxav/ |
| Mother | wallidda /wɑlːidːɑ/ | أم /ʔoːm/ | እሞ /ʔəmmo/ | أم /ʔɪmm/ | እም /ʔəmm/ | أم /ʔɛmm/ | אם /ʔem/ |
| Father | aw /ɑw/ | أب /ʔɑb/ | አቦ /ʔabbo/ | أب /ʔɑb/ | አብ /ʔab/ | أب /ʔab/ | אב /ʔɑv/ |
| I | ān /aːn/ | أنا /aːna/ | አነ /ʔana/ | انا /ʔana/ | አነ /ʔana/ | أنا /aːna/ | אֲנִי /ʔaˈni/ |
| You | akhākh /aχaːχ/ | إنت /inta/ | አንታ /ʔɨnta/ | انت /ˈʔant/ | አንተ /ʔanta/ | إنت /ənta/ | אַתָּה /ʔaˈta/ |
| Name | sum /sum/ | اسم /isim/ | ስም /sɨm/ | اسم /ism/ | ስም /səm/ | اسم /ɪsəm/ | שֵׁם /ʃem/ |
| Eye | ʿäyin /ʕæjin/ | عين /ʕajn/ | ዐይን /ʕajn/ | عين /ʕajn/ | ዐይን /ʕajn/ | عين /ʕeːn/ | עין /ʕajin/ |
| Hand | händ /hənd/ | يد /jɑd/ | እድ /ʔəd/ | يد /jɑd/ | እድ /ʔəd/ | إيد /iːd/ | יד /jɑd/ |
| Heart | libbi /libːi/ | قلب /qɑlb/ | ልቢ /ləbbi/ | قلب /ɡɑlb/ | ልብ /ləbb/ | قلب /ɡalb/ | לב /lev/ |
| Love | ḥabb /ħɑbː/ | حب /ħɑb/ | ፍቅሪ /fəqʼri/ | حب /ħɪbb/ | አፍቀረ /ʔafqara/ | حب /ħɛb/ | אהבה /ʔɑhɑvɑ/ |
| Tree | šäjar /ʃəʒɑr/ | شجرة /ʃɑʒɑra/ | ዕጨይ /ʕətʃʼaj/ | شجرة /ʃɑdʒɑrɑ/ | ዕፅ /ʕasˤ/ | شجرة /ʃæɡːərɑ/ | אילן /ʔilɑn/ |
| House | gár /gɑːr/ | بيت /bejt/ | ቤት /beːt/ | بيت /bajt/ | ቤት /beːt/ | دار /daːr/ | בית /bajit/ |
| Dog | buchi /butʃi/ | كلب /kalb/ | ከልብ /kalb/ | كلب /kalb/ | ከልብ /kalb/ | كلب /kalb/ | כלב /kelev/ |
| Cat | aduru /ɑduːru/ | قطة /gɪtːa/ | ድሙ /dəmmu/ | ديمة /dɪmːa/ | ድሙ /dəmmu/ | قطوس /ɡatˤːuːs/ | חתול /ħɑtul/ |
| Eat | mäbla /məblɑ/ | أكل /ʔɑkɑl/ | በልዐ /balʕa/ | أكل /ʔɪkɪl/ | በልዐ /balʕa/ | أكل /ʔakɛl/ | אוכל /ʔoχel/ |
| Drink | šatäya /ʃɑtəjɑ/ | شرب /ʃɑrɑb/ | ሰትየ /satja/ | شرب /ʃɪrɪb/ | ሰትየ /satja/ | شرب /ʃɛrɛb/ | שותה /ʃote/ |
| One | aḥad /ɑħɑd/ | واحد /wɑːħɪd/ | ሓዲ /ħadi/ | واحد /wɑːħɪd/ | አሐዱ /ʔaħadu/ | واحد /wɑːħɛd/ | אחד /ʔeħɑd/ |
| Two | koʔot /koʔot/ | اثنين /θneːn/ | ክልኦት /kɨlʔot/ | اثنين /iθˈneːn/ | ክልኤ /kəlʔeː/ | اثنين /tneːn/ | שְׁנַיִם /ʃəˈnajim/ |
| Hello | salam /sɑlɑm/ | السلام عليكم /assalaːmu ʕaleːkum/ | ሰላም /salaːm/ | مرحبا /mɑrħɑbɑ/ | ሰላም /salaːm/ | أهلا /ʔəhlæ/ | שלום /ʃɑlom/ |
| Thank you | šukran /ʃuːkrɑn/ | شكراً /ʃʊkrɑn/ | የቀንየለይ /jəqanjəlej/ | شكرا /ʃɪkrɑ/ | ምስጋና /məsɡaːnaː/ | شكرا /ʃʊkrɑ/ | תודה /todɑ/ |
| Good | xaww /χɑwː/ | حسن /ħɑsan/ | ጽቡቕ /tsʼəbbuqʼ/ | جيد /dʒɑjjɪd/ | ሠናይ /sanaːj/ | زين /zeːn/ | טוב /tov/ |
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