Oromo Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Oromo grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Oromo andEnglish the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Oromo and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Oromo.

Prepositions	Oromo
and	fi
above	gubbaa / gararraa
under	jala / gajjallaa
before	dura
after	booddee / booda
in front of	fullee isaa
behind	dudduuba / dugda duuba
far from	irraa siqee / iraa fagaatee
near	bira
in	keessa
inside	keessa
outside	ala
with	wajjin
without	malee
about	waa'ee
between	gidduu
but	garuu
for	f
from	irraa, ittii
to	itti

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Oromo Phrases

Welcome to our seventh lesson about popular Oromo phrases. This page will include greetings, questions, emergency and survival expressions, asking for direction, language practice, introducing yourself, holiday wishes, and finally some travel phrases.

Holiday Wishes	Oromo
Happy birthday	ayyaana dhalootaa gaarii
Happy new year	ayyaana haaraa gaarii
Merry Christmas	ayyaana dhalootaa kiristoos gaarii hata'u
Good luck	carraa gaarii, (or milkaa'a)
Congratulations	baga gamadan

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Oromo Numbers

Welcome to the sixth Oromo lesson about numbers. This time we will learn about cardinal and ordinal numbers, followed by grammar rules, then animal names, finally a conversation in Oromo to help you practice your daily phrases.

Cardinal	Oromo	Ordinal	Oromo
one	tokko	first	tokkoffaa
two	lama	second	lammaffaa
three	sadii	third	sadaffaa
four	afur	fourth	arfaffaa
five	shan	fifth	shanaffaa
six	jaa'a	sixth	jaa'affaa
seven	torba	seventh	torbaffaa
eight	saddeet	eighth	saddeetaffaa
nine	sagal	ninth	saglaffaa
ten	kudhan	tenth	kurnaffaa
eleven	kudhatokko	eleventh	kudhatokkoffaa
twelve	kudhalama	twelfth	kudhalammaffaa
thirteen	kudhasadii	thirteenth	kudhasadaffaa
fourteen	kudhafur	once	al-tokko
fifteen	kudhashan	twice	al-lama
sixteen	kudhajaa'a	Monday	dafinoo / ojja duree
seventeen	kudhatorba	Tuesday	facaasaa
eighteen	kudhasaddeet	Wednesday	roobii
nineteen	kudhasagal	Thursday	kamisa
twenty	digdama	Friday	jimaata
seventy one	torbaatami tokko	Saturday	sambata xinnaa / sambata duraa
one hundred	dhibba tokko	Sunday	dilbata / sambata guddaa

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Oromo Gender

Welcome to the fifth Oromo lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Oromo to help you practice your daily phrases.

man dhira	woman dubartii	husband dhirsa	wife niitii
boy gurbaa	girl intala	father abbaa	mother haadha

Gender Grammar Rules

In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.

Grammar + Rules	Oromo
my son is a student [masculine + noun]	ilmi kiyya barataadha
her daughter is a student [feminine + noun]	intalli se barattuudha
he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine]	inni oboleessa dheera tokko qaba
she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine]	obboleetti dheertu tokko qabdi
his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective]	obbolewwaan sa ijoolleedha
his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective]	obbolettiwaan sa ijoolledha

The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.

son ilma	daughter intala	brother obboleessa	sister obboleettii
grandfather akaakayyuu	grandmother akkawoo	child mucaa	children mucoolii

Expressions in Oromo

Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Oromo, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.

English	Oromo
What do you mean?	maal jechuu keeti?
I don't understand	naa ngalle
I don't know	an hinbeeku
What is that called in Oromo?	afaan oromootin maal jedhama?
What is this?	kun maal inni?
What does that word mean in English?	jechi kun afaan ingiliizitin maal jedhaa?
Sorry (if you made a mistake)	dhiifama

Source: learn101

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Oromo Plural

Welcome to the fourth Oromo lesson about the plural. This time we will learn about the singular form and what it looks like in the plural, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of emergency phrases.

book kitaaba	books kitaaboota	car makiinaa	cars makiinoota
tree muka	trees mekeelee	flower daraaraa	flowers daraaraa

Plural Grammar Rules

The plural is the form which refers to more than one object or person. For example: I speak two

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Oromo Nouns

Welcome to the third Oromo lesson about nouns. This time we will first learn about fruits and vegetables, followed bygrammar rules, then food items, finally a conversation in Oromo to help you practice your daily phrases.

potatoes dinnichaa	tomatoes timaantima	onions shunkurtaa	carrots kaarootii
fruits muduraa	apples miilloo	bananas muuzii	oranges burtukaanii

Nouns Grammar Rules

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Oromo Adjectives

 This time we will first learn about colors, followed by grammar rules, then weather expressions, finally a conversation in Oromo to help you practice your daily phrases.

black gurraacha	grey daalacha	white adii	blue baluu
green magariisa	yellow	red diimaa	brown bifa bunaa

Adjectives Grammar Rules

In general adjectives are words which describe or modify another person or object in a given sentence. For

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Oromo Alphabet

Today I will teach you the Oromo alphabet. If you follow everything provided in this page, you will be able to read, write and pronounce the Oromo letters quickly and easily. I'm providing the sound so that you can hear the pronunciation of the characters. Oromo contains 26 letters (consonants and vowels). Below you will find the letters, the pronunciation and sound.

A a	[aa] like ask	B b	[bee] like bird	C c	[see] like cat, ice	D d	[dee] like day	E e	[ee] like eat	F f	[ef] like fly
G g	[gee] like gold	H h	[haa] like help	I i	[ie] like India	J j	[jot] like yes	K k	[kaa] like kiss	L l	[el] like life
M m	[em] like man	N n	[en] like nice	O o	[oo] like old	P p	[pee] like play	Q q	[kuu] like quit	R r	[er] like rice
S s	[es] like sea	T t	[tee] like time	U u	[uu] like urge	V v	[vau] like very	W w	[wee] like west	X x	[ex] like ox
Y y	[y] like day	Z z	[set] like zoo

Source: learn101

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