Language lesson
🇳🇬 Yorùbá
Yorùbá is spoken across south-western Nigeria and into Benin and Togo. It is a tonal language: the same syllable carries a different meaning depending on whether your voice goes low, mid or high, which is why written Yorùbá uses accent marks.
- Spoken in
- Nigeria, Benin, Togo
- Speakers
- About 45 million speakers
- Language family
- Niger-Congo · Volta-Niger branch
Lesson one
How it sounds.
Three tones — low (à), mid (a) and high (á). The dot under ẹ, ọ and ṣ changes the sound: ẹ is like 'e' in bed, ọ like 'o' in lot, ṣ like 'sh'.
Say it out loud
Seven phrases to start with.
- Ẹ n lẹHello (respectful)say it: eh n-LEH
- Ẹ káàrọ̀Good morningsay it: eh KAA-raw
- Ẹ káalẹ́Good eveningsay it: eh KAA-leh
- Ṣé dáadáa ni?Are you well?say it: sheh DAA-daa nee
- Ó dáadáa niI am wellsay it: oh DAA-daa nee
- Ẹ ṣéThank yousay it: eh SHEH
- Ó dàbọ̀Goodbyesay it: oh DA-bor
Behind the words
Culture notes.
- Greeting is a whole art form. There are separate greetings for someone working, eating, returning from a journey or recovering from illness.
- Adding 'Ẹ' before a greeting shows respect to elders or to more than one person.
- Younger people traditionally greet elders with a bow (ìdọ̀bálẹ̀ for men, ìkúnlẹ̀ for women).
Practise today: Greet someone with 'Ẹ káàrọ̀' before noon, then answer their reply with 'Ó dáadáa ni, ẹ ṣé'.