Somali
Soomaali
so
17M speakers
Somali
(Soomaali)
is a Afro-Asiatic language
with approximately 17M speakers speakers.
It is written using the
Latin
script.
Its BCP 47 language code is so.
Writing Systems Used for Somali
Frequently Asked Questions
What alphabet or script does Somali use?
Somali is written using the Latin script (ISO 15924 code: Latn). Latin is written left-to-right.
What direction is Somali written?
Somali is written Left-to-right. Text runs from left to right, the same direction as most European languages.
How many people speak Somali?
Somali has approximately 17M speakers speakers worldwide. It is a member of the Afro-Asiatic language family.
What language family does Somali belong to?
Somali belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family. It is written with the Latin script.
What is the language code for Somali?
The BCP 47 language code for Somali is "so". This code is used in software, web standards (the HTML lang attribute), and internationalization contexts.
Language Facts
- BCP 47 Code
- so
- ISO 639-3
- som
- Status
- living
- Speakers
- 17M speakers
- Language Family
- Afro-Asiatic
- Scripts
- 1
- Primary Script
- Latin
Data sourced from Unicode CLDR and ISO 639-3. Last updated April 20, 2026.