Wolof (Senegal)→English

Translate Wolof (Senegal) to English the way locals mean it.

Wolof speakers in Senegal often soften reassurance, agreement, and courtesy in ways that a word-for-word reader can mistake for indifference, hesitation, or a stronger promise than intended.

Going the other way? English to Wolof (Senegal)

474 local dialects

AIRTranslate on iPhone choosing between Wolof varieties

What locals actually say

Nanga def? Mangi fi rekk.

How are you? I’m okay, nothing special.

Mangi fi literally means “I’m here,” but it is a routine way to say that one is doing fine, while rekk adds the sense of “just” or “nothing more.”

Jërëjëf, amul solo.

Thanks, no worries.

Amul solo literally means “it has no importance,” and is commonly used to dismiss an inconvenience or reassure someone that it is not a problem.

Waaw waaw, dinañu ko def.

Yeah, yeah, we’ll take care of it.

Repeated waaw can acknowledge someone with a soft, sometimes slightly impatient tone, so it does not always signal enthusiastic agreement; dinañu ko def means “we’ll do it,” without necessarily promising immediate action.

Ñaata la?

How much is it?

The Wolof interrogative ñaata asks for a quantity or price and is common in market bargaining.

Fan la gare routière bi nekk?

Where is the bus station?

The construction fan la ... nekk? is Wolof's everyday way to ask where something is, while gare routière is a natural French loan in Dakar speech.

Dama bëgg lekk ceeb.

I want to eat rice.

Dama bëgg is a Wolof construction for expressing a personal want, and ceeb refers to rice or a rice-based meal.

Sama yaay ngi fi.

My mother is here.

The ngi fi construction signals that a person is present at the current place, and yaay is the Wolof word for mother.

Dama liggéey tey.

I am working today.

Dama plus a verb is a common Wolof first-person construction for a current activity, while tey means today.

Notes like these come with every AIRTranslate translation, so you learn why locals phrase it that way as you go.

How Wolof (Senegal) differs

Wolof (Dakar standard); nanga def greetings, teranga courtesy; French loanwords natural in urban casual register.

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Localization Notes explaining why locals say it that way