West Africa · Diaspora
Igbo
Asụsụ IgboThe language of south-eastern Nigeria, of the Nri religious tradition, the Aro trading network and the Igbo Landing story carried into the Americas.
- Family
- Niger–Congo (Volta–Niger)
- Script
- Latin with dotted vowels
- Speakers
- ~31 million speakers
- Spoken in
- Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea
The course
Five units, one word at a time
0/5 mastered
Unit 1
Greetings
Igbo greetings often bless the person before asking anything.
- Ndeewo — Hello (formal)
- Kedu? — How are you?
- Ọ dị mma — It is well / I'm fine
- Daalụ — Thank you
- Ka ọ dị — Goodbye (until then)
- Nnọọ — Welcome
Unit 2
People and family
Umunna — the kindred — sits at the centre of Igbo life.
- Nne — Mother
- Nna — Father
- Nwa — Child
- Enyi — Friend
- Mmadụ — Person
- Nwanyị — Woman
Unit 3
Numbers one to ten
Counting in Igbo.
- Otu — One
- Abụọ — Two
- Atọ — Three
- Anọ — Four
- Ise — Five
- Iri — Ten
Unit 4
Food and the market
Ahia — market — words.
- Mmiri — Water
- Nri — Food
- Ahịa — Market
- Ego ole? — How much money?
- Achọrọ m — I want
- Ọ dị oke ọnụ — It is expensive
Unit 5
Everyday phrases
Yes, no, sorry and where.
- Ee — Yes
- Mba — No
- Biko — Please
- Ebee? — Where?
- Aghọtaghị m — I don't understand
- Ndo — Sorry / sympathy
How to sound right
- Dotted vowels ị, ọ and ụ are separate sounds from i, o and u.
- Igbo is tonal, and the same spelling can be several words at different pitches.
- Kedu is the everyday 'how are you'; Ndeewo is the more formal greeting.
The audio button in lessons uses your device's speech engine, which rarely has a native African voice. Treat it as a rough guide and trust the written pronunciation hints and the coach instead.
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