Somali Alphabet Chart

Capital Small

The Somali alphabet uses the Latin script with 26 letters, officially adopted in 1972. In addition, an apostrophe (') is used to represent the glottal stop.

b
B
t
T
j
J
x
X
kh
Kh
d
D
r
R
s
S
sh
Sh
dh
Dh
c
C
g
G
f
F
q
Q
k
K
l
L
m
M
n
N
w
W
h
H
y
Y
a
A
e
E
i
I
o
O
u
U

Downloads

Image PDF Worksheet

A4-ready downloads for printing and offline use.

B
B
T
T
J
J
X
X
Kh
Kh
D
D
R
R
S
S
Sh
Sh
Dh
Dh
C
C
G
G
F
F
Q
Q
K
K
L
L
M
M
N
N
W
W
H
H
Y
Y
A
A
E
E
I
I
O
O
U
U

Downloads

Image PDF Worksheet

A4-ready downloads for printing and offline use.

Understanding Somali Letters

Somali is commonly written with a Latin-based alphabet designed to represent Somali sounds clearly. While many letters look familiar to English readers, the spelling conventions follow Somali sound patterns, not English ones.

The chart helps you see the core letter set and common combinations in one place. Once you learn the patterns, reading Somali becomes much more consistent and predictable.

Somali has also been written in other scripts historically, including Osmanya. This page focuses on the Latin-based Somali orthography used widely today.

Reading Somali Spelling Patterns

When reading Somali, avoid English pronunciation guessing, especially for vowels. Build a consistent letter-to-sound habit and trust the chart.

Pay attention to doubled letters, which often indicate length. Length can matter for meaning, so treat doubling as intentional.

Practice by reading short clusters from the chart and repeating them. Consistent decoding builds confidence quickly.

How to Write Somali Letters Properly

Somali in Latin script is written left to right and uses uppercase and lowercase. Practice both forms, but focus on lowercase first for practical reading and writing.

Write vowels neatly and consistently. Clean vowels improve readability and reduce confusion.

Practice common digraphs and doubled letters as units. When your hand writes them consistently, your reading becomes more fluent.

Use the worksheet for repetition and recall. Copy a small set today, then rewrite it tomorrow from memory.

Learning Tips for Somali Alphabet

Learn the most common patterns first, including letter combinations used frequently in Somali words.

Keep practice short and daily. Ten minutes per day is enough to build stable recognition.

When two patterns confuse you, isolate them and do contrast practice. Focused repetition fixes mix-ups quickly.

Practice Somali With Downloads

Use the PDF as a printable chart, the image for quick reference, and the worksheet for handwriting drills. A clean chart nearby helps you keep spelling patterns consistent.

Pick a small set of letters today, practice them well, and expand gradually. Somali reading improves as soon as patterns feel automatic.