Gambian Wolof (EC)

Numbers 1-20 in English and Gambian Wolof

one  beena six juroom beena eleven  fukka ak beena sixteen fukka ak juroom beena
two nyaar seven  juroom nyaar twelve  fukka ak nyaar seventeen fukka ak juroom nyaar
three nyetah eight juroom nyetah thirteen fukka ak nyetah eighteen fukka ak juroom nyetah
four  nyeneent nine  juroom nyeneent fourteen fukka ak nyeneent nineteen fukka ak juroom nyeneent
five  juroom ten fukka fifteen fukka ak juroom twenty  nyaar fukka

To tell time the phrase “wahktu” Is introduced. The endings of a few numbers are also changed from -ar/-ah/-a to -i. We may also use the phrases morning, afternoon, and evening to describe the time.

morning suba si
afternoon bechek bi
evening ngon si
night goudi gi

For example:

I wake up at 8 am –> Juroom nyeti wahktu la jok.

At 1 pm I go to my office. –> Ci beena wahktu si bechek bi, la dem si suma ligaykay.

In the first example, juroom nyeti wahktu means 8 am without specifically saying in the morning. In the second example, si bechek bi specifies the “pm” showing that it is in the afternoon.

 

Give it a try!

What is this sentence saying? Use the image for help. –> Am na class yi si fukki wahktu ak beena.

Highlight for answer: I have class at 11 am.

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Resources for Self-Instructional Learners of Less Commonly Taught Languages Copyright © by University of Wisconsin-Madison Students in African 671 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.