# Yoruba/Printable version

The current, editable version of this book is available in Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection, at
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Yoruba

# Lesson 1
## Salutation

Depending on the time of the day, different salutations may be used.
* Ẹ káàárọ. - good morning
* Ẹ káàsán. - good afternoon
* Ẹ Káalẹ́.. - good evening
* Ó dàárọ̀. - good night
If you are talking to someone who is the same age or younger than you, you greet differently.
* Káàárọ.
* Káàsán.
* Káalẹ́.
To present yourself, you can use the following expression:
* Orúkọ mi ni ... - My name is...
To ask how the person is:
* Ṣe dáadáa nì? - How are you?
* Gbogbo ẹbí ńkọ́? -How is your family?
* Níbo lo wà ?-Where are you?
Yorùbá has salutation for every occasion and situation. Examples:
Ẹ kú ìjókòó (sitting) Ẹ kú ìdúró (standing) Ẹ kú iṣẹ́. (Working) Ẹ kú ìgbádùn (enjoyment) Ẹ kú ojú oorun (sleeping)

# Pronunciation

The Yoruba alphabet is simple as the Famous English alphabet. The Yoruba alphabet is below;
Àà Bb Dd Ee Ẹẹ Ff Gg GBgb Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Òó Pp Rr Ss Ṣṣ Tt Uu Ww Yy
The structure of Yoruba syllables is slightly different from English. There are three kinds of syllables that may be formed:
* Consonant + vowel
* Vowel alone
* Syllabic nasal

## Consonants

| Letter | IPA | Pronunciation of the letter (English approximation) |
| B b | b | Like in English |
| Ch ch | t͡ʃ | Used in only some dialects, like "cheese" in English |
| D d | d | Like in English |
| F f | f | Like in English |
| G g | g | Like in goal |
| Gb gb | ɡ͡b | G and b pronounced simultaneously |
| H h | h | Like in English |
| J j | d͡ʒ | Somewhere between English j and y |
| K k | k | Slightly aspirated like in English |
| L l | l | Hard like in British English |
| M m | m | Like in English |
| P p | k͡p | K and p pronounced simultaneously |
| R r | r~ɹ | Either trilled or like in English |
| S s | s | Like in sit |
| Ṣ ṣ | ʃ | Like in English sh |
| T t | t | Slightly aspirated like in English |
| V v | ʋ | Somewhere between v and w |
| Y y | j | Like in yes |
In Benin, Ṣ/ṣ and V/v are represented, respectively, as Sh/sh and W/w.

## Vowels

| Letter | IPA | Pronunciation of the letter (English approximation) |
| A a | a | Like a in father |
| E e | e | Almost like in say, but a single release |
| Ẹ ẹ | ɛ | Like in "well" |
| I i | i | Like in see |
| I i | ɪ | Used only in some dialects, like bit |
| O o | o | Like in low, but a single release |
| Ọ ọ | ɔ | Like in "mom" |
| U u | u | Like in you |
| U u | ʊ | Used in only some dialects, like hook |
In Benin, Ẹ/ẹ and Ọ/ọ are represented, respectively, as Ɛ/ɛ and Ɔ/ɔ.

## "N"

The letter n, in Yoruba, does not exist as a phoneme, but it may have three uses, depending on the context:
* Syllabic nasal
* Nasal vowel
* Allophone of "l"
* The letter "m"

### Syllabic nasal

When a syllable is formed only by an n, it is called a syllabic nasal. It may have different pronunciations, depending on the following consonants.
When it precedes a vowel it is a velar nasal /ŋ/, like in sing. In other cases its place of articulation is homorganic with the following consonant, using the same place of articulation.

### Nasal vowel

When n follows a vowel by the end of the syllable, it causes the preceding vowel to be nasalised. The vowel may either be ẹ, i, ọ or u, that get a nasal vibration during their respective realisations. Sometimes, nasal ọ sounds pretty much like nasal a. However, vowels e and o cannot be nasalised.
Sometimes, nasal vowels are not represented not by a preceding, but by a succeeding n (see below.)
In IPA, nasalisation is represented by a tilde (~) over the vowel.

### Allophone of l

The letter l can never precede a nasal vowel. If it appears in such environment, the nasal vowel is written as oral (that is, without the succeeding n) and the l is written as n, pronounced /n/, like in English.

### The letter "m"

The letter m is also a nasal vowel. However, it is only used for the letters b and p. An example would be the word "jambà" which means crash.

## Tone

Yoruba is a tonal language with three level tones: high, low, and mid (or "the default tone".)
Every syllable must have at least one tone, a syllable containing a long vowel can have two tones. Contour tones (i.e. rising or falling tone melodies) are usually analysed as separate tones occurring on adjacent tone bearing units (morae) and thus have no phonemic status.
Tones are marked by use of the acute accent for high tone (⟨á⟩, ⟨ń⟩), the grave accent for low tone (⟨à⟩, ⟨ǹ⟩). Mid is unmarked, except on syllabic nasals where it is indicated using a macron (⟨a⟩, ⟨n̄⟩).
Colloquial writing and even some literary texts may ignore diacritics, usually these representing tone, but also the dot used under e, o and s, seen as completely different letters.

# Word order in Yoruba

Yoruba word order (also known as linear order) is the order of the syntactic constituents of a language. The normal word order in Yoruba is Subject-Verb-Object, here are some examples,
* Bàbá ra bátá ‘Father buy shoes.’ Adjectives usually follow nouns.
* Ajá funfun ‘Dog white’. ‘Adverbials usually follow verbs.

# Verbs

Verbs in Yoruba is called ̀̀̀̀ọ̀rọ̀ ise .
| Number | English Verb | Yoruba Verb | Examples and Meaning | Notes |
| 1 | Eat | Jẹ | Jẹ ewà :Eat Beans | Jẹun: Eating.Jẹun is used when a person or animal is eating at the moment. |
| 2 | Drink | Mu | Mu omi:Drink water | Mumi can be used instead of Mu omi also Muti or Mu ọti(Drink Alcohol) |
| 3 | Call | Pè | Pè àwọn omo: Call the children | It could also mean pronounce. E.g Pè Orúkọ mi(Call my name or pronounce my name) |
| 5 | Walk | Rin | Ade n rin lo kilassi: Ade is walking to class | Rin: Walking or to walk. Rin is used when a person is moving from one place to another |
| 4 | Sleep | Sùn | Mo tí sùn lana(I have slept yesterday{literal translation}) | Orun also means sleep but it is used as a noun.E.g Oún Sùn Orun (He is Sleeping) |
| 5 | Accept | Gba | Mole gba ye | Gba is used when someone accept or is given or offer something |
| 6 | Added | Dapo | Oun lodapo mo | Dapo is used when one thing is mixed with another. It could also mean a name of a person |
| 7 | Admit | Gba | e gba be | When someone admit. This deferent from the Gba in accept. The pronunciation is the major defference |
| 8 | Adviced | Imoran | Won fun ni imoran | Imoran is used when you advice someone |
| 9 | Agree | Fara mo | Mo le fara mo iyen | In English this means; I can agree with that |
| 10 | Allow | Gba | Oun logba | In English this means; she allows it |
| 11 | I Spoke | Mo Soro | Mo n soro | In English this means; i am speaking |
| 12 | I wrote | Mo kowe | Mo n kowe | In English this means; i am writing |
| 13 | I drove | Mo wa moto | Mo n wa moto | In English this means; i am driving |

# Nouns

Noun in Yoruba is called ̀̀̀̀Eka Oro Oruko.
| Number | English Noun | Yoruba Noun |
| 1 | Dog | Aja |
| 2 | Car | Oko |
| 3 | Arm | Apa |
| 4 | Teeth | Eyin |
| 5 | Eye | Oju |
| 6 | Ear | Eti |
| 7 | Tongue | Ahon |
| 8 | Toe | Omo Ese |
| 9 | Thumb | Omo Ika |
| 10 | Throat | Ofun |
| 11 | Stomach | Ikun |
| 12 | Shoulder | Ejika |
| 13 | Nose | Imu |
| 14 | Mouth | Enu |
| 15 | Neck | Orun |
| 16 | Hair | Irun |
| 17 | Knee | Orikun |
| 18 | Cheeks | Ereke/eeke |

# Food and Fruits

| English Name | Yoruba Name | Notes |
| Orange | Ọsàn òrom̀bó | Fruit |
| Paw-paw | Ìbẹ́pẹ | Fruit |
| Banana | Ọ̀gẹ̀dẹ̀ | Fruit |
| Lime | Ọsàn wẹ́wẹ́ | Fruit |
| Corn | Àgbàdo | Fruit |
| Cherry | Agbalumo | Fruit |
| Beans | Ewa | Food |
| Rice | Iresi | Food |
| Bread | Buredi | Food |
| Porridge | Asaro | Food |
| Beans Cake | Akara | Food |
| Garden Egg | Egba | Fruit |
| Cassava | Egè | Food |
| Bean pudding | Moi moi | Food |
| Plaintain | Ogèdè | Fruit |
| Pap | Ogi | Food |
| Yam | Ísu | Food |
| Pounded yam | Íyan | Food |
| Flour | Amala | Food |
| Watermelon | Elegede | Fruit |
| Strawberry | iru eso didun kan | Fruit |
| Mango | Mangoes | Fruit |

# Adjectives

Yoruba Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence. Here are some examples:
| Number | English Adjectives | Yoruba Adjectives |
| 1 | Black | Dudu |
| 2 | Red | Alawo eje |
| 3 | A green tree | Igi Alawo ewe |
| 4 | A tall building | Ile giga |
| 5 | A very good friend | Ore todara pupo |
| 6 | A very old man | Arugbo Okunrin |
| 7 | Deep | Jin |
| 8 | Tall | Ga |
| 9 | Long | Gun |
| 10 | Deep | Jin |
| 11 | White | Alawo efun |
| 12 | Big | Nla |
| 13 | Narrow | Tinrin |
| 14 | Small | Kekere |
| 15 | Thick | Nipon |
| 16 | Wide | Gboro |
| 17 | Straight | Tooro |
| 18 | Salty | Iyo ja |
| 19 | Difficult | Ole |
| 20 | Easy | Irorun |
| 21 | Sweet | Dun |

# Pronouns

Yoruba pronouns are words that are used instead of a noun. Here are some examples:
| Number | English Pronoun | Yoruba Pronoun |
| 1 | I | Emi |
| 2 | You | Iwo |
| 3 | He | Oun |
| 4 | We | Awa |
| 5 | They | Awon |
| 6 | Me | Emi |
| 7 | My | Temi |
| 8 | His | Toun |
| 9 | Theirs | Tawon |
| 10 | Mine | Temi |
| 11 | Our | Tiwa |

# Prepositions

Yoruba Prepositions are Position and direction that are expressed by the prepositions in combination with spatial relational nouns, Here are some examples:
| Number | English Prepositions | Yoruba Prepositions |
| 1 | top | ori |
| 2 | down | ilẹ̀ |
| 3 | inside | inú |
| 4 | Edge | etí |

# Conjunctions

Yoruba conjunction are words that are used to connect words, phrases, and clauses. Here are some examples:
| Number | English Conjunctions | Yoruba Conjunctions |
| 1 | After | lẹhin |
| 2 | Although | Biotilejepe |
| 3 | As much as | niwongbati |
| 4 | But | sugbon |
| 5 | Because | Nitori |

# Adverbs

Yoruba adverbs are part of speech. Generally they're words that modify any part of language other than a noun. Adverbs can modify verbs, adjectives (including numbers), clauses, sentences and other adverbs. Here are some examples:
| Number | English Adverbs | Yoruba Adverbs |
| 1 | Tomorrow | Ola |
| 2 | Soon | Laipe yi |
| 3 | later | Tobaya |

# Numbers

One- Ookan Two - Eeji Three -Eeta Four - Eerin Five - Aarun Six - Eefa Seven - Eeje Eight - Eejo Nine - Eesan Ten - Eewa Eleven - Ookanla Twelve - Eejila Thirteen- Etala Fourteen - Erinla Fifteen - Eedogun Sixteen - Eerindilogun Seventeen - Eetadilogun Eighteen - Eejidilogun Nineteen - Ookandilogun Twenty - Ogun Twenty one - Mokanlelogun Twenty two - Mejilelogun Twenty three - Metalelogun Twenty four - Merinlelogun Twenty five - Aarundilogun Twenty six - Medogbon Twenty seven - Metadinlogbon Twenty eight - Mejidinlogbon Twenty nine - Meedogbon Thirty - Ogbon Thirty one - Okanlelogbon Thirty two - Ejilelogbon Thirty three -Metalelogbon Thirty four - Merinlelogbon Thirty five- marundinlogoji Thirty six - merindinlogoji Thirty seven- Ogbonmeje Thirty eight -Mejidinlogoji Thirty nine - Ogbonmesan Forty- Ogoji Forty one - Mokanlelogoji Forty two - mejilelogoji Forty three- Metalelogoji Forty four - Meerinlelogoji Forty five - Marundinladota Forty six - Merindinladota Forty seven - Metadinladota Forty eight - Mejidinladota Forty nine - Mokandinladota Fifty - Aadota Fifty one - Mokanleladota Fifty two - Mejileladota Fifty three - Metaleladota Fifty four - Merinleladota Fifty five - Marundinlogota Fifty six- Meerindinlogota Fifty seven - Metalelogota Fifty eight - mejidinlogota Fifty nine - Mokandinlogota Sixty - Ogota Sixty one - Mokanlelogota Sixty two - Mejilelogota Sixty three - metalelogota Sixty four- merinlelogota Sixty five - Marundinladorin Sixty six - Merindinladorin Sixty seven - Metadinladorin Sixty eight - mejidinladorin Sixty nine - Mokandinladorin Seventy - Aadorin Seventy one - Mokanleladorin Seventy two - mejileladorin Seventy three - metaleladorin Seventy four - Merinleladorin Seventy five - marundinlogorin Seventy six - Merindinlogorin Seventy seven - Metadinlogorin Seventy eight - Mejidinlogorin Seventy nine - Mookandinlogorin Eighty - Ogorin Eighty one - Mookanlelogorin Eighty two - mejilelogorin Eighty three - metalelogorin Eighty four - merinlelogorin Eighty five - Marundinlaadorun Eighty six - Merindinladorun Eighty seven - Metadinladorun Eighty eight - Mejidinladorun Eighty nine - mokandinladorun Ninety - Aadorun Ninety one - Mookanleladorun Ninety two - mejileladorun Ninety three - Metaleladorun Ninety four - Merinleladorun Ninety five - Marundinlogorun Ninety six - Merindinlogorun Ninety seven - Metadinlogorun Ninety eight - Mejidinlogorun Ninety nine - mokandinlogorun Hundred - Oogorun Hundred and one - Ọgọrun le ọkan
Hundred and two - Ọgọrun le meji
Hundred and three - Ọgọrun le leta
Hundred and four - Ọgọrun le Lerin
Hundred and Five- Ọgọrun le lerun
Hundred and six - Ọgọrun le Mefa Hundred and seven - Ọgọrun le meje
Hundred and eight - Ọgọrun le mejo
Hundred and nine - Ọgọrun le mesan
Hundred and ten - Adọfa
Hundred and eleven - Adọfa le okan
Hundred and twelve - Adọfa le leji
Hundred and thirteen - Adọfa le meta
Hundred and fourteen - Adọfa le lerin
Hundred and Fifteen - Adọfa le lerun
Hundred and sixteen- Adọfa le lefa
Hundred and seventeen - Adọfa le meje
Hundred and eighteen - Adọfa le mejo
Hundred and nineteen- Adọfa le lesan
Hundred and twenty - Ọgọfa

# Idioms in yoruba

Idiomatic expression in Yoruba is an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up.
| Number | English meaning | Yoruba meaning |
| 1 | In trouble | Fori jale agbon |
| 2 | Stingy | Je Ori ahun |
| 3 | The secret has been leaked | Akara tu si epo |
| 4 | Make unnecessary enquiry | Tun ifun oro |
| 5 | Spend without saving | Fi owo mewa jeun |

# Proverbs in yoruba

Yoruba proverb is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language.
| Number | English Proverb meanings | Yoruba Proverbs meanings |
| 1 | Both the tortoise that taunts a hungry snake are edible meat (preys) to a hungry hunter. | Ebi npa ejo, ahun nyan, ati ahun ati ejo, eran jije ni fun olode. |
| 2 | Do not falter if you are being chased as one is getting tired so is the one chasing you | Eniti eegun nlepa ko roju , bi o ti n re eniyan beni o n re araorun |
| 3 | Passers-by are the first to bring the news that the corn is ripe | Ero ona ni royin oka to gbo |
| 4 | A protruded tooth is a problem to the mouth | Eyin to ta yo,wahala enu ni |
| 5 | When a king's palace burns down, the re-built palace is more beautiful. | Ile oba t'o jo, ewa lo busi |
| 6 | All lizards lie flat on their stomach and it is difficult to determine which has a stomach ache | Gbogbo alangba lo d'anu dele, a ko mo eyi t'inu nrun |
| 7 | Charity begins at Home | Ile la ti n ko eso re ode |
| 8 | The person that eat late, will not eat spoiled food | A pę ko to jęun, ki ję ibaję |
| 9 | There is danger at Longę's farm (Longę is a name of a Yoruba Legend), Longę himself is danger | Eewu bę loko Longę, Longę fun ara rę eewu ni |
| 10 | If a big masquerade claims it doesn't see the smaller masquerade, the small masquerade will also claim it doesn't see the big masquerade | Bi Ēēgun nla ba ni ohùn o ri gontò, gontò na a ni ohùn o ri Ēēgun nla |

# Phrases in Yoruba

Yoruba phrases called expression in some contexts is a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit This page will include greetings, questions, emergency and survival expressions, asking for direction, language practice, introducing yourself, holiday wishes, and finally some travel phrases. Here are examples of travel phrases,
| Numbers | phrases in Yoruba | English meaning |
| 1. | mo gba aye sile | I have a reservation (hotel) |
| 2. | elo ni fun ale kan | What is the charge per night? |
| 3. | se won ti gba ijoko yi | Is this seat taken? |
| 4. | aduro-tini nile ounje | Waiter |