Yesterday in Romani: word list
All 19 words of unit 16, “Yesterday”, of the Čiriklo course, from A to Z, with English translations.
| Romani | English |
|---|---|
| avľa | he/she came |
| avľom | I came |
| dikhľal | you saw |
| dikhľom | I saw |
| diňom | I gave |
| geľa | he/she went |
| geľal | you went |
| geľom | I went |
| chaľom | I ate |
| iľom | I took |
| kerďa | he/she did |
| kerďal | you did |
| kerde | they did |
| kerďom | I did |
| pijľom | I drank |
| phenďa | he/she said |
| phenďom | I said |
| suťom | I slept |
| šunďom | I heard |
Grammar and culture tips
Past tense endings
The past tense has the same endings for every verb: -om (I), -al (you), -a (he, she), -am (we), -an (you, plural), -e (they). kerďom – I did, kerďal – you did, kerďa – he/she did, kerďam – we did, kerďan – you (plural) did, kerde – they did.
Same for men and women
Unlike Czech, the Romani past tense does not change with gender: geľom means “I went”, whether a man or a woman says it.
Irregular verbs
Some verbs have a different stem in the past tense: džal (to go) → geľom, chal (to eat) → chaľom, del (to give) → diňom, lel (to take) → iľom, sovel (to sleep) → suťom.
When?
Words that go well with the past tense: idž (yesterday), imar (already) and čirla (long ago).
Learn it with Čiriklo
This word is taught in unit 16, “Yesterday”, of the free app Čiriklo, where you hear it – also slowed down – and practise it in short lessons. The app’s explanations are in Czech.
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