Standard Lemma guide

Somali

adj · name · noun · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /səˈmɑːli/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /soʊˈmɑːli/
  • US: /səˈmɑːli/
  • CMU ARPABET: S AH0 M AA1 L IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of, from, or pertaining to Somalia, the Somali people or language.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A Cushitic language spoken mainly in Somalia, eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti, and eastern Kenya.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • Somali is the primary language of Somalia

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

name

Meaning 3

Somali language and literature as an object of study.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • I'm learning Somali.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

An ethnic group native to the Somali Peninsula; a Somali, a group of Somalis, the Somalis.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: collective, countable

Examples

  • Historically, Somalis were a nomadic people herding camels, goats, and sheep. Nowadays, many if not most Somalis are urbanized people.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The Somali ethnic group as a whole; the Somali.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: collective, in-plural, uncountable

Examples

  • The Somali are an ethnic group of Cushitic origin indigenous to the Somali Peninsula. Their language is called Somali.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A citizen or resident from the country of Somalia.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: collective, countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A person from a Somali-majority republic, state, or region, including but not limited to: the Republic of Somaliland, the Somali region of Ethiopia (often called the Ogaden, but more neutrally the Somali region), or autonomous states within Somalia's federal system such as Puntland.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: collective, countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

A domestic cat breed derived from the Abyssinian cat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fox cat, long-haired Abyssinian

Antonyms: none provided

9

adjective

Meaning 9

of or relating to the African republic of Somalia or its people or their language and culture

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Somali coffee is excellent

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Somalian

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

the Cushitic language spoken by the Somali

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: Cushitic

11

noun

Meaning 11

a member of a tall dark (mostly Muslim) people inhabiting Somalia

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Somalian

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: African

History

Etymology

From or akin to Somali Soomaali.

Across languages

Translations

133 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: Somalies — pertaining to Somalia
  • Arabic: صُومَالِيّ (ṣomāliyy) — pertaining to Somalia
  • Asturian: somalín — pertaining to Somalia
  • Basque: somaliar — pertaining to Somalia
  • Catalan: somali — pertaining to Somalia
  • Chinese Mandarin: 索馬里的 (Suǒmǎlǐ-de) — pertaining to Somalia
  • Czech: somálský — pertaining to Somalia
  • Dutch: Somalisch — pertaining to Somalia
  • Esperanto: somalia — pertaining to Somalia
  • Finnish: somalialainen — pertaining to Somalia
  • Finnish: somali- — pertaining to Somalia
  • Finnish: somalilais- — pertaining to Somalia
  • French: somalien — pertaining to Somalia
  • Galician: somalí — pertaining to Somalia
  • German: somalisch — pertaining to Somalia
  • Greek: σομαλικός (somalikós) — pertaining to Somalia
  • Irish: Somálach — pertaining to Somalia
  • Latvian: somāļu — pertaining to Somalia
  • Latvian: somāliešu — pertaining to Somalia
  • Marathi: सोमाली (somālī) — pertaining to Somalia
  • Norwegian Bokmål: somalisk — pertaining to Somalia
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: somalisk — pertaining to Somalia
  • Polish: somalijski — pertaining to Somalia
  • Portuguese: somali — pertaining to Somalia
  • Portuguese: somaliano — pertaining to Somalia
  • Romanian: somalez — pertaining to Somalia
  • Russian: сомали́йский (somalíjskij) — pertaining to Somalia
  • Spanish: somalí — pertaining to Somalia
  • Swahili: Kisomali — pertaining to Somalia
  • Welsh: Somalïaidd — pertaining to Somalia
  • Welsh: Somalaidd — pertaining to Somalia
  • Afrikaans: Somali — a language
  • Afrikaans: Somalies — a language
  • Arabic: صُومَالِيَّة (ṣomāliyya) — a language
  • Armenian: սոմալի (somali) — a language
  • Asturian: somalín — a language
  • Basque: somaliera — a language
  • Belarusian: самалійская (samalijskaja) — a language
  • Bulgarian: сомалийски (somalijski) — a language
  • Catalan: somali — a language
  • Chinese Mandarin: 索馬里語 /索马里语 (Suǒmǎlǐ-yǔ) — a language
  • Chinese Mandarin: 索馬利亞語 /索马利亚语 — a language
  • Czech: somálština — a language
  • Dutch: Somalisch — a language
  • Dutch: Somali — a language
  • Esperanto: somala lingvo — a language
  • Finnish: somali — a language
  • Finnish: somalin kieli — a language
  • French: somali — a language
  • German: Somali — a language
  • German: Somalisch — a language
  • Greek: σομαλικά (somaliká) — a language
  • Gujarati: સોમાલી (somālī) — a language
  • Hindi: सोमाली (somālī) — a language
  • Hungarian: szomáli — a language
  • Icelandic: Sómalska — a language
  • Irish: Somáilis — a language
  • Japanese: ソマリア語 (Somaria-go) — a language
  • Japanese: ソマリ語 (Somari-go) — a language
  • Khmer: ភាសាសូម៉ាលី (phiesaa soomaalii) — a language
  • Korean: 소말리어 (somallieo) — a language
  • Latvian: somāļu valoda — a language
  • Latvian: somāliešu valoda — a language
  • Lithuanian: somalių — a language
  • Macedonian: сомалиски (somaliski) — a language
  • Maltese: Is-Somalu — a language
  • Marathi: सोमाली (somālī) — a language
  • Moksha: сомалиень (somalijeń) — a language
  • Navajo: Soomáálii bizaad — a language
  • Norwegian Bokmål: somali — a language
  • Norwegian Bokmål: somalisk — a language
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: somali — a language
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: somalisk — a language
  • Polish: somalijski — a language
  • Portuguese: somali — a language
  • Romanian: somaleză — a language
  • Romanian: somali — a language
  • Russian: сомали́йский (somalíjskij) — a language
  • Scots: Somali — a language
  • Somali: af somaali — a language
  • Upper Sorbian: somališćina — a language
  • Spanish: somalí — a language
  • Swahili: Kisomali — a language
  • Swedish: somaliska — a language
  • Thai: ภาษาโซมาลี (paasăa sohmaalee) — a language
  • Tigrinya: ሶማሊ (somali) — a language
  • Turkish: Somalice — a language
  • Ukrainian: сомалійська (somalijsʹka) — a language
  • Walloon: Somalyin — a language
  • Welsh: Somalïeg — a language
  • Afrikaans: Somaliër — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Arabic: صُومَالِيّ (ṣomāliyy) — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Arabic: صُومَالِيَّة (ṣomāliyya) — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Asturian: somalín — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Asturian: somalina — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Basque: somaliar — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Catalan: somali — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Chinese Mandarin: 索馬里人 (Suǒmǎlǐ-rén) — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Czech: Somálec — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Czech: Somálka — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Dutch: Somaliër — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Dutch: Somalische — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Esperanto: somaliano — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Esperanto: somalianino — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Finnish: somali — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • French: Somalien — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • French: Somalienne — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Galician: somalí — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • German: Somali — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • German: Somalier — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • German: Somalierin — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Greek: Σομαλός (Somalós) — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Greek: Σομαλή (Somalí) — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Hindi: सुमाली (sumālī) — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Irish: Somálach — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Latvian: somālietis — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Latvian: somāliete — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Lithuanian: somalietis — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Lithuanian: somalietė — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Marathi: सोमाली (somālī) — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Norwegian Bokmål: somalier — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: somaliar — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Polish: Somalijczyk — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Polish: Somalijka — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Portuguese: somali — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Portuguese: somaliano — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Romanian: somalez — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Romanian: somaleză — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Russian: сомали́ец (somalíjec) — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Russian: сомали́йка (somalíjka) — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Spanish: somalí — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Swahili: Msomali — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
  • Turkish: Somalili — a person from Somalia or of Somali descent
Real reading context

Somali in complete knowledge articles

Somalia–United Kingdom relations History & culture · Advanced · 17 uses