Words to eat, drink and shop in Wolof: food, drinks, and what you need at the market. 36 words checked against reference sources (Senegalese Wolof, official spelling).

1

Eating and drinking

ndoxwater
ceebrice
ceebu jënrice with fish
yàppmeat
jënfish
mburualso: Mbuurubread
xoromsalt
suukërsugar
meewmilk
nenegg
ginaarchicken
dugubmillet
mboqcorn, maize
cerecouscous
gertepeanut
sobleonion
kaanihot pepper
ñebbebeans
diwlinoil
attaayaalso: ataayatea
kafecoffee
lekkfood; to eat
maafepeanut sauce
soowyogurt, curdled milk
2

At the market

marsemarket
kërhouse
xaalismoney
weccitchange (money)
bitikalso: bitigshop
jaaykatseller
dëkkvillage, town
ekoolschool
jàkkaalso: Jakkmosque
lopitaan Gambiahospital
yoonroad; time (occurrence)
kilokilogram

Test yourself

1. What does “ceeb” mean?

2. What does “ginaar” mean?

3. What does “attaaya” mean?

4. What does “bitik” mean?

Where do these words come from?
The words in this article come from: Peace Corps Senegal Wolof manual (2012), French Wiktionary. They are copied with their exact spelling; when two sources disagree, the variant is shown. Do you speak this language and spot a mistake? Write to us.