Oromo

About Oromo

Oromo, called Afaan Oromoo by its speakers, is the first language of about 24 million people, most of them in Ethiopia, where it has more native speakers than any other language. It is the official language of the Oromia region and is also spoken in northern Kenya.

Since the 1990s Oromo has been written in Latin letters, in an alphabet called Qubee. Long vowels and long consonants are written double, as in the greeting akkam (hello, how are you). Some letters stand for sounds English does not have: x, q and c are made with a short burst of air from the throat. Galatoomi means thank you.

FamilyAfroasiatic, Cushitic
Native speakersabout 24 million (2007)
Where spokenEthiopia (Oromia), northern Kenya
ScriptLatin alphabet (Qubee)
Codesom (ISO 639-1), orm (ISO 639-3)

Speaker number: Nationalencyklopedin (2007), via Wikidata. Retrieved 26 September 2026.

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