Learn Afar Online with the Vocabo Chrome Extension
Master Vocabulary While You Browse — Free, No Sign-Up
Master Afar vocabulary while browsing the web. Free Chrome extension for language learners. Afar is spoken by estimated 2.5-3 million people. Afar is useful across the Ethiopia-Eritrea-Djibouti border region, an area of the Horn of Africa where few outsiders learn the local Cushitic language rather than Amharic, Tigrinya, or French.
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About Afar
Afar has no single script even today: it is officially written with the Latin-based Qafar Feera alphabet in Ethiopia, but has also historically been written in the Ge'ez and Arabic scripts.
Also known as: Qafar, Afaraf
Speakers
estimated 2.5-3 million
Language Family
Cushitic
Writing System
Latin alphabet (Qafar Feera), historically also written in Ge'ez and Arabic scripts
Difficulty
Hard
Spoken in
Why Learn Afar?
Afar is useful across the Ethiopia-Eritrea-Djibouti border region, an area of the Horn of Africa where few outsiders learn the local Cushitic language rather than Amharic, Tigrinya, or French.
Common Afar Words
Start your Afar journey with these essential words and phrases.
Assalaamu qaleykum
Hello (lit. peace be upon you)
ah-sah-LAH-moo qah-LAY-koom
Salaamata
Goodbye
sah-lah-MAH-tah
Lee
Water
leh
Buxa
Home / family
BOO-khah
Ayro
Sun / Day
AY-roh
Kataysa
Friend
kah-TAY-sah
Is Afar Hard to Learn?
Afar is Cushitic rather than Bantu, and its difficulty comes from a different set of features: nouns carry grammatical gender and a case system marked by suffixes, basic word order is subject-object-verb, and the consonant inventory includes pharyngeal sounds (as in Arabic) that don't exist in English. Vowel length is also contrastive, so a short and a long vowel can be the only difference between two otherwise identical words. Its closest relative is Saho, and it shares a good deal of vocabulary and structure with Somali.
Learning Afar Online: FAQ
Can I learn Afar online for free?
Yes — Vocabo is a free Chrome extension that teaches you Afar vocabulary while you browse the web. It replaces words and short phrases on pages you already read with their Afar equivalents, so you pick up vocabulary passively — no sign-up, no ads, and no daily lesson grind.
Is Afar on Duolingo?
No — Duolingo doesn't currently offer a Afar course for English speakers. You can still learn Afar online for free: Vocabo supports Afar and builds your vocabulary naturally while you browse.
Similar Languages to Afar
If you're interested in Afar, you might also want to explore these related languages:
Start Learning Afar Today
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