Sidaamu Afoo
Sidamo
Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic, Highland East)
Sidamo (Sidaama) is the largest Highland East Cushitic language, spoken by ~3M in Ethiopia's newly formed Sidama Region (split from SNNPR in 2020). Closely related to Hadiyya, Kambaata, and Gedeo. Features ejective consonants, glottalised stops, complex case marking, and SOV word order. The Sidama people are renowned coffee cultivators of southern Ethiopia. Uses Latin orthography developed in the 1990s for primary education and the regional Sidaamu Afoo broadcasting system.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Sidamo
Water
waayyo
/waːjːo/
Fire
giiraa
/ɡiːraː/
Sun
arrishshe
/arːiʃːe/
Moon
agana
/aɡana/
Star
beeddakko
/beːdːakko/
Mother
ama
/ama/
Father
anna
/anːa/
I
ani
/ani/
You
ati
/ati/
Name
suʼma
/suʔma/
Eye
ille
/ilːe/
Hand
anga
/anɡa/
Heart
wodanaa
/wodanaː/
Love
baxa
/batʼa/
Tree
haqqe
/haqːe/
House
mine
/mine/
Dog
minceeti
/mintʃeːti/
Cat
adurree
/adurːeː/
Eat
itaa
/itaː/
Drink
aguraa
/aɡuraː/
One
mitto
/mitːo/
Two
lame
/lame/
Hello
nagaa yi'ne
/naɡaː jiʔne/
Thank you
gali'ne
/ɡaliʔne/
Good
danchu
/dantʃu/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Cushitic, Highland East) languages
| Meaning | Sidamo | Gedeo | Oromo | Konso | Wolaytta | Daasanach | Saho |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | waayyo /waːjːo/ | woyye /wojːe/ | bishaan /biʃaːn/ | pishaa /piʃaː/ | haatta /haːtːa/ | no /no/ | lee /leː/ |
| Fire | giiraa /ɡiːraː/ | gira /ɡiɾa/ | ibidda /ibidːa/ | apitta /apitːa/ | tama /tama/ | mes /mes/ | gira /ɡira/ |
| Sun | arrishshe /arːiʃːe/ | ayyaʼne /ajːaʔne/ | aduu /aduː/ | piirtuta /piːrtuta/ | awa /awa/ | sicho /sitʃo/ | ayro /ajɾo/ |
| Moon | agana /aɡana/ | agina /aɡina/ | jiʼa /dʒiʔa/ | leya /leja/ | aginaa /aɡinaː/ | mar /mar/ | alsa /alsa/ |
| Star | beeddakko /beːdːakko/ | urje /urdʒe/ | urjii /urdʒiː/ | hikkitta /hikːitːa/ | xoolinttee /tʼoːlintːeː/ | izinti /izinti/ | cutuk /ħutuk/ |
| Mother | ama /ama/ | aaki /aːki/ | haadha /haːɗa/ | aayyaa /aːjːaː/ | aaya /aːja/ | waana /waːna/ | ina /ina/ |
| Father | anna /anːa/ | eke /eke/ | abbaa /abːaː/ | aappaa /aːpːaː/ | aawa /aːwa/ | kaaba /kaːba/ | abba /abba/ |
| I | ani /ani/ | ani /ani/ | ani /ani/ | anti /anti/ | taani /taːni/ | yi /jɪ/ | anu /ʔanu/ |
| You | ati /ati/ | ati /ati/ | ati /ati/ | atti /atti/ | neeni /neːni/ | ku /ku/ | atu /ʔatu/ |
| Name | suʼma /suʔma/ | su'ma /suʔma/ | maqaa /makʼaː/ | maχχa /maχːa/ | sunttaa /suntːaː/ | ete /ete/ | migaq /miɡaːʕ/ |
| Eye | ille /ilːe/ | ille /ilːe/ | ija /idʒa/ | ilta /ilta/ | ayfee /ajfeː/ | ill /ilː/ | inti /inti/ |
| Hand | anga /anɡa/ | anga /aŋɡa/ | harka /haɾka/ | harka /harka/ | kushiyaa /kuʃijaː/ | hark /haɾk/ | gaba /ɡaba/ |
| Heart | wodanaa /wodanaː/ | wodana /wodana/ | onnee /onːeː/ | sataʔta /sataʔta/ | wozanaa /wozanaː/ | lubeen /lubeːn/ | qalbe /qalbe/ |
| Love | baxa /batʼa/ | baxxa /baxːa/ | jaalala /dʒaːlala/ | ʄaalaɗiyaa /ʄaːlaɗijaː/ | siiqaa /siːqaː/ | kashed /kaʃed/ | kaxano /kaħano/ |
| Tree | haqqe /haqːe/ | haqqa /haqːa/ | muka /muka/ | ʛoyra /ʛojra/ | mittaa /mitːaː/ | hecho /hetʃo/ | caar /ħaːr/ |
| House | mine /mine/ | mine /mine/ | mana /mana/ | tika /tika/ | keettaa /keːtːaː/ | mar /maɾ/ | kalo /kalo/ |
| Dog | minceeti /mintʃeːti/ | kaneessa /kaneːsːa/ | saree /saɾeː/ | kuta /kuta/ | kanaa /kanaː/ | kashe /kaʃe/ | kare /kaɾe/ |
| Cat | adurree /adurːeː/ | adurre /aduɾːe/ | adurree /aduɾːeː/ | aturraata /aturːaːta/ | gaaduwaa /ɡaːduwaː/ | paka /paka/ | dummu /dummu/ |
| Eat | itaa /itaː/ | ittu /itːu/ | nyaachuu /ɲaːtʃuː/ | ɗamiyaa /ɗamijaː/ | miya /miːja/ | icho /itʃo/ | niitan /niːtan/ |
| Drink | aguraa /aɡuraː/ | agittu /aɡitːu/ | dhuguu /ɗuɡuː/ | ikiyaa /ikijaː/ | ushiya /uʃija/ | ʔurro /ʔuro/ | yaaqab /jaːʕab/ |
| One | mitto /mitːo/ | mitto /mitːo/ | tokko /tokːo/ | takka /takːa/ | issino /isːino/ | takka /takːa/ | inki /inki/ |
| Two | lame /lame/ | lame /lame/ | lama /lama/ | lakki /lakːi/ | naaʼʼa /naːʔːa/ | nam /nam/ | lammá /lamˈma/ |
| Hello | nagaa yi'ne /naɡaː jiʔne/ | mooye /moːje/ | akkam /akːam/ | nakaytaa /nakajtaː/ | saro /saro/ | nagaya /naɡaja/ | malaal /malaːl/ |
| Thank you | gali'ne /ɡaliʔne/ | galaata /ɡalaːta/ | galatoomi /ɡalatoːmi/ | — /—/ | galatay /ɡalataj/ | galche /ɡaltʃe/ | galatto /ɡalatto/ |
| Good | danchu /dantʃu/ | danee /daneː/ | gaarii /ɡaːriː/ | paʛaari /paʛaːri/ | lo'o /loʔo/ | ash /aʃ/ | meqe /meʕe/ |
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