Yorùbá
Yoruba
Niger-Congo
Also known as: Yoruba
Yoruba (Èdè Yorùbá) is one of West Africa's major languages, with ~45M speakers — primarily in southwestern Nigeria (~40M across Lagos, Ibadan, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, and Kwara States), with sizable communities in Benin (~3M) and Togo (~1M), plus a strong Atlantic diaspora through Cuban Lucumí, Brazilian Candomblé, and Trinidadian Orisha religious practice. Linguistically, it is part of the Volta-Niger subgroup (sister to Itsekiri and Igala), with 3 phonemic tones (high á / mid a / low à) and a 7-vowel inventory (i e ɛ a ɔ o u) plus 5 nasal vowels. The orthography uses Latin with sub-dot for /ɛ ɔ ʃ/ and acute/grave for tone. Yoruba is the carrier of one of Africa's most urbanized pre-colonial civilizations (the Oyo Empire, c. 14th-19th c.), and the Ifá divination corpus — over 256 odu chapters codified and memorized by babalawo priests — is recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Atlantic diaspora forms helped preserve African religious philosophy in the Americas.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Yoruba
Water
omi
/omi/
Fire
iná
/iná/
Sun
oòrùn
/oòɾũ̀/
Moon
òṣùpá
/òʃùkpá/
Star
ìràwọ̀
/ìràwɔ̀/
Mother
ìyá
/ìjá/
Father
bàbá
/bàbá/
I
èmi
/èmi/
You
ìwọ
/ìwɔ/
Name
orúkọ
/orúkɔ/
Eye
ojú
/odʒú/
Hand
ọwọ́
/ɔwɔ́/
Heart
ọkàn
/ɔkã̀/
Love
ìfẹ́
/ìfɛ́/
Tree
igi
/iɡi/
House
ilé
/ilé/
Dog
ajá
/adʒá/
Cat
ológbò
/olóɡbò/
Eat
jẹ
/dʒɛ/
Drink
mu
/mu/
One
ọ̀kan
/ɔ̀kã/
Two
eéjì
/eédʒì/
Hello
ẹ kú
/ɛ kú/
Thank you
ẹ ṣé
/ɛ ʃé/
Good
dára
/dáɾa/
Computer
kọ̀ǹpútà
/kɔ̀.ŋ̀.kpú.tà/
Sushi
sushi
/suʃi/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo languages
| Meaning | Yoruba | Aja | Bengali | Burmese | French (Senegalese) | French (Ivorian) | French (Haitian) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | omi /omi/ | esi /esi/ | জল /dʒɔl/ | ရေ /jè/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ | eau /o/ |
| Fire | iná /iná/ | ezo /ezo/ | আগুন /aɡun/ | မီး /mí/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ | feu /fø/ |
| Sun | oòrùn /oòɾũ̀/ | ewe /ewe/ | সূর্য /ʃuɾdʒo/ | နေ /nè/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ | soleil /sɔlɛj/ |
| Moon | òṣùpá /òʃùkpá/ | esun /esun/ | চাঁদ /tʃãːd/ | လ /la̰/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ | lune /lyn/ |
| Star | ìràwọ̀ /ìràwɔ̀/ | ɣletivi /ɣletivi/ | তারা /t̪aɾa/ | ကြယ် /tɕɛ̀/ | étoile /etwal/ | étoile /etwal/ | étoile /etwal/ |
| Mother | ìyá /ìjá/ | nɔ /nɔ/ | মা /ma/ | အမေ /ʔəmè/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ | mère /mɛʁ/ |
| Father | bàbá /bàbá/ | to /to/ | বাবা /baba/ | အဖေ /ʔəpʰè/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ | père /pɛʁ/ |
| I | èmi /èmi/ | nyɛ /ɲɛ/ | আমি /ami/ | ငါ /ŋà/ | je /ʒə/ | je /ʒe/ | je /ʒə/ |
| You | ìwọ /ìwɔ/ | wo /wo/ | তুমি /t̪umi/ | နင် /nɪ̀ɰ̃/ | tu /ty/ | tu /ty/ | tu /ty/ |
| Name | orúkọ /orúkɔ/ | nyikɔ /ɲikɔ/ | নাম /nam/ | နာမည် /nàmɛ̀/ | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ | nom /nɔ̃/ |
| Eye | ojú /odʒú/ | ŋku /ŋku/ | চোখ /tʃokʰ/ | မျက်စိ /mjɛʔ sḭ/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ | œil /œj/ |
| Hand | ọwọ́ /ɔwɔ́/ | alɔ /alɔ/ | হাত /hat/ | လက် /lɛʔ/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ | main /mɛ̃/ |
| Heart | ọkàn /ɔkã̀/ | dzi /dzi/ | হৃদয় /hɾidɔe̯/ | နှလုံး /n̥əlóuɴ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ | cœur /kœʁ/ |
| Love | ìfẹ́ /ìfɛ́/ | lɔ̃ /lɔ̃/ | ভালোবাসা /bʱalobaʃa/ | အချစ် /ʔətɕʰɪʔ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ | amour /amuʁ/ |
| Tree | igi /iɡi/ | ati /ati/ | গাছ /ɡatʃʰ/ | သစ်ပင် /θɪʔpìɴ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ | arbre /aʁbʁ/ |
| House | ilé /ilé/ | avia /avia/ | বাড়ি /baɽi/ | အိမ် /ʔèiɴ/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ | maison /mɛzɔ̃/ |
| Dog | ajá /adʒá/ | avu /avu/ | কুকুর /kukuɾ/ | ခွေး /kʰwé/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ | chien /ʃjɛ̃/ |
| Cat | ológbò /olóɡbò/ | ami /ami/ | বিড়াল /biɽal/ | ကြောင် /tɕàuɴ/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ | chat /ʃa/ |
| Eat | jẹ /dʒɛ/ | ɖu /ɖu/ | খাওয়া /kʰaoa/ | စား /sá/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ | manger /mɑ̃ʒe/ |
| Drink | mu /mu/ | nu /nu/ | পান করা /pan kɔɾa/ | သောက် /θauʔ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ | boire /bwaʁ/ |
| One | ọ̀kan /ɔ̀kã/ | ɖeka /ɖeka/ | এক /ɛk/ | တစ် /tɪʔ/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ | un /œ̃/ |
| Two | eéjì /eédʒì/ | eve /eve/ | দুই /d̪ui/ | နှစ် /n̥ɪʔ/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ | deux /dø/ |
| Hello | ẹ kú /ɛ kú/ | nɛnɛ /nɛnɛ/ | নমস্কার /nɔmɔʃkaɾ/ | မင်္ဂလာပါ /mìɴɡəlà bà/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ | bonjour /bɔ̃ʒuʁ/ |
| Thank you | ẹ ṣé /ɛ ʃé/ | amɛ akpe /amɛ akpe/ | ধন্যবাদ /dʱonnobad/ | ကျေးဇူးတင်ပါတယ် /tɕézú tìɴ bà dɛ̀/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ | merci /mɛʁsi/ |
| Good | dára /dáɾa/ | nyo /ɲo/ | ভালো /bʱalo/ | ကောင်း /káuɴ/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ | bon /bɔ̃/ |
| Computer | kọ̀ǹpútà /kɔ̀.ŋ̀.kpú.tà/ | — | কম্পিউটার /kɔmpiu̯ʈaɾ/ | ကွန်ပျူတာ /kʊ̀ɴpjùtà/ | ordinateur /ɔʁdinatœʁ/ | ordinateur /ɔʁdinatœʁ/ | ordinateur /ɔʁdinatœʁ/ |
| Sushi | sushi /suʃi/ | — | সুশি /su.ʃi/ | ဆူရှီ /sʰùʃì/ | sushi /suʃi/ | sushi /suʃi/ | sushi /suʃi/ |
Word order compared
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