Eʋegbe
Ewe
Niger-Congo (Kwa, Gbe)
Ewe (Eʋegbe) is a tonal language of southeastern Ghana and southern Togo, with ~7.4M speakers. Belongs to the Gbe branch of Niger-Congo, closely related to Fon and Aja. Major Ewe contributions to West African religion include the Vodun belief system (origin of Caribbean Vodou). Phonologically interesting: contrasts bilabial /f v/ with labiodental /ɸ β/, and uses 7 oral and 5 nasalised vowels. Standardized Latin orthography developed in 1853 by Bremen Mission with diacritics (ɖ ɛ ƒ ɣ ŋ ɔ ʋ).
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Ewe
Water
tsi
/tsi/
Fire
dzo
/dzo/
Sun
ɣe
/ɣe/
Moon
ɣleti
/ɣleti/
Mother
dada
/dada/
Father
fofo
/fofo/
Eat
ɖu
/ɖu/
Drink
no
/no/
Love
lɔ̃lɔ̃
/lɔ̃lɔ̃/
Heart
dzi
/dzi/
Tree
ati
/ati/
House
aƒe
/aɸe/
Dog
avu
/avu/
Cat
dadi
/dadi/
Hand
asi
/asi/
Eye
ŋku
/ŋku/
Hello
ŋdi
/ŋdi/
Thank you
akpe
/akpe/
One
ɖeka
/ɖeka/
Good
nyo
/ɲo/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo (Kwa, Gbe) languages
| Meaning | Ewe | Gen (Mina) | Aja | Fon | San Blas Kuna | Middle Japanese | Mussau-Emira |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | tsi /tsi/ | tsi /tsi/ | esi /esi/ | sin /sĩ/ | di /di/ | 水 /midu/ | eai /eai/ |
| Fire | dzo /dzo/ | dzo /dzo/ | ezo /ezo/ | zo /zo/ | so /so/ | 火 /ɸi/ | kapok /kapok/ |
| Sun | ɣe /ɣe/ | ɣe /ɣe/ | eŋke /eŋke/ | hwe /ɦʷe/ | olo /olo/ | 日 /ɸi/ | ariu /aɾiu/ |
| Moon | ɣleti /ɣleti/ | dzinkɛ /dʒinkɛ/ | esun /esun/ | sun /sũ/ | nii /niː/ | 月 /tuki/ | malam /malam/ |
| Mother | dada /dada/ | nɔ /nɔ/ | nɔ /nɔ/ | nɔ /nɔ/ | nan /nan/ | 母 /ɸaɸa/ | nia /nia/ |
| Father | fofo /fofo/ | tɔ /tɔ/ | to /to/ | tɔ /tɔ/ | baba /baba/ | 父 /titi/ | tama /tama/ |
| Eat | ɖu /ɖu/ | ɖu /ɖu/ | ɖu /ɖu/ | ɖu /ɖu/ | gunne /ɡune/ | 食ふ /kuɸu/ | anu /anu/ |
| Drink | no /no/ | no /no/ | nu /nu/ | nu /nu/ | gobe /ɡobe/ | 飲む /nomu/ | inum /inum/ |
| Love | lɔ̃lɔ̃ /lɔ̃lɔ̃/ | lɔ̃lɔ̃ /lɔ̃lɔ̃/ | lɔ̃ /lɔ̃/ | yiwanu /jiwanu/ | sabbi /sabːi/ | 愛 /ai/ | talimi /talimi/ |
| Heart | dzi /dzi/ | dzi /dzi/ | dzi /dzi/ | ayi /aji/ | kurgin /kuɾɡin/ | 心 /kokoɾo/ | lalota /lalota/ |
| Tree | ati /ati/ | ati /ati/ | ati /ati/ | atin /atĩ/ | sappi /sapːi/ | 木 /ki/ | rikei /ɾikei/ |
| House | aƒe /aɸe/ | aƒe /aɸe/ | avia /avia/ | xwé /xʷé/ | nega /neɡa/ | 家 /iɸe/ | ulemi /ulemi/ |
| Dog | avu /avu/ | avu /avu/ | avu /avu/ | avun /avũ/ | achu /atʃu/ | 犬 /inu/ | kovur /kovuɾ/ |
| Cat | dadi /dadi/ | agbo /aɡbo/ | ami /ami/ | kpɔnyɔ /kpɔɲɔ/ | miji /midʒi/ | 猫 /neko/ | busi /busi/ |
| Hand | asi /asi/ | alɔ /alɔ/ | alɔ /alɔ/ | alɔ /alɔ/ | arigan /aɾiɡan/ | 手 /te/ | lima /lima/ |
| Eye | ŋku /ŋku/ | ŋku /ŋku/ | ŋku /ŋku/ | nukún /nukṹ/ | ibya /ibja/ | 目 /me/ | mata /mata/ |
| Hello | ŋdi /ŋdi/ | ado /ado/ | nɛnɛ /nɛnɛ/ | a fɔn ganji /a fɔ̃ ɡãdʒi/ | nuedi /nweðiː/ | 御機嫌よろしう /ɡokiɡen joroɕiu/ | emua /emua/ |
| Thank you | akpe /akpe/ | akpe /akpe/ | amɛ akpe /amɛ akpe/ | àwǎnú /àwǎnú/ | nuedi malo /nweðiː malo/ | 忝し /katadʑikenaɕi/ | poasi /poasi/ |
| One | ɖeka /ɖeka/ | ɖeka /ɖeka/ | ɖeka /ɖeka/ | ɖokpó /ɖokpó/ | kuenki /kweŋki/ | 一つ /ɸitotu/ | esa /esa/ |
| Good | nyo /ɲo/ | nyo /ɲo/ | nyo /ɲo/ | ɖagbe /ɖaɡbe/ | nuegan /nweɡan/ | 良し /joɕi/ | rop /ɾop/ |
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