sonkor
feminine
The Somali word for sugar is sonkor.
sonkor refers to the sucrose obtained from sugar cane or sugar beet used to sweeten food and beverages.
Meaning: sucrose from sugar cane or sugar beet used to sweeten food and drink (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
sonkor is a feminine noun.
Did you know?
- The word sonkor is a loanword that traveled through Arabic and likely originated from the Sanskrit word 'śarkarā'.
- In Somali, describing a person as sonkor or macaan can be a way to call them 'sweet' or 'dear', moving beyond the literal ingredient.
- If you want to ask for sugar in a shop, you would often use the phrase sonkor ma haysaan?, which literally asks 'Do you not possess sugar?'
Examples in context
- Sonkor badan ayaa ku jirta cuntadan.There is a lot of sugar in this food.
- Fadlan i sii sonkor yar.Please give me a little sugar.
Example conversation
Yasmin and Mustafa are having coffee in the kitchen.
- YasminMustafa, ma u baahan tahay sonkor?Mustafa, do you need sugar?
- MustafaHaa, fadlan wax yar i sii.Yes, please give me a little.
- YasminMa sonkor badan ayaad rabtaa?Do you want a lot of sugar?
- MustafaMaya, sonkor yar oo kaliya.No, just a little sugar.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sugar” translations and entries sonkor, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
