How to Learn Yoruba

Co-authored by Tian Zhou and Jennifer Mueller, JD

Last Updated: February 4, 2023 References Approved

There are about 30 million native speakers of Yoruba in Nigeria, a tonal language with many dialects. Unlike English and other European languages, the tone used when pronouncing a vowel can change the meaning of the word. If you want to learn Yoruba, start by practicing these tones and getting the vowel sounds down. Then learn common words and phrases so you can start conversing with natives.^{[1]
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Research source}Yoo bọ si o! (Good luck!)

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Mastering the Alphabet

1
Pronounce the oral vowels. There are 7 oral vowels in Yoruba, all of which are considered short, or unglided, sounds. Each vowel sound is produced in a different part of your mouth – front, middle, or back of the mouth, combined with either high or low.^{[2]
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- i is a high front vowel that sounds like a cross between the English word "eat" and the pronunciation of the letter "i" in words such as "silver" or "children."
- e is a high mid-front vowel somewhat like "fate," but more like the vowel sounds in the French word "été."
- ẹ is low mid-front vowel similar to the vowel sound in the English word "set."
- a is a low middle vowel similar to the vowel sound in the English word "not."
- ọ is a low mid-back vowel similar to the vowel sound in the English word "loss."
- o is a mid-back vowel similar to the vowel sound in the English word "soak."
- u is a high back vowel similar to the vowel sound in the English word "toot."
2
Practice nasal vowels. A familiarity with French may help you better pronounce nasal vowels in Yoruba. Five of the 7 oral vowels are nasalized when they follow a nasal consonant, such as "m" or "n." Nasalization varies widely among dialects.^{[3]
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- The nasalized i is similar to the vowel sound in the English word "pinch."
- The nasalized ẹ is similar to the vowel sound in the English word "bench."
- The nasalized a and ọ are both similar to the vowel sound in the British pronunciation of the word "aunt," or the English word "launch."
- The nasalized u is similar to the vowel sound in the English contraction "won't."
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3
Recognize consonants you already know. Yoruba has 19 consonants, most of which sound basically identical to the same letter in English. If you already speak English, you already know how to pronounce these letters.^{[4]
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- The letters b, d, g, t, k, and f sound virtually identical to the same letters in English. Just keep in mind that a g in Yoruba is always pronounced like the g in the English word "go," never like the g in "gem."
- The letters w and y also sound like the same letters in English when before an oral vowel. They are nasalized if they come before a nasal vowel.
- The letters j and h are similar to the same letters in English, but are less strongly pronounced.
4
Identify the difference between s and ṣ. While the s in Yoruba is pronounced similarly to the English s in the word "see," the letter ṣ is pronounced more like the sh in "she." A subscript dot in Yoruba is not an accent mark, but indicates a separate letter (although its sound is related to the letter without a subscript dot).^{[5]
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- The Yoruba s sound is higher in pitch than the s sound in English. Think of hissing like a snake, with the tip of your tongue at the roof of your mouth just behind your front teeth.
- In some dialects, these two letters sound virtually the same. When listening to native speakers, take note of their dialect or where in Africa they learned to speak the language.
5
Nasalize m and n. These letters are pronounced similar to the same letters in English, but they are pronounced through the nose rather than through the open mouth. Keep your tongue to the roof of your mouth when pronouncing these letters in Yoruba.^{[6]
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- An n before a vowel sounds similar to the ng in the English word "song."
6
Clip your tongue to pronounce an r. The letter r is not rolled in Yoruba, as it is in Spanish and other languages. Rather, it sounds similar to the r in the Spanish word "pero." Tap or clip your tongue against the back of your front teeth as you pronounce it.^{[7]
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- European languages would tap the tip of the tongue on the way up, at the beginning of the pronunciation. In Yoruba, however, you want to start with the tip of your tongue on the gum ridge behind your front teeth, and tap on the way down.
7
Use the English phrase "big boy" to master the gb sound. Both gb and p are pronounced similarly in Yoruba, and are likely to be difficult for beginners who speak English or other European languages. Practice by repeating the words "big boy" with no pause between the two words.^{[8]
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- Divide the words after the first vowel, so that you're saying "bi-gboy" instead. Keep practicing until you can make the sound smoothly.
- It can be helpful to practice with a native speaker, who can let you know if you're pronouncing the sounds correctly or give you tips on how to improve.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Understanding Grammar and Tonality

1
Recognize the 3 level tones in Yoruba. The language has high ( ´ ), middle (¯), and low ( ` ) tones that occur over vowels. The combination of tones used determines the meaning of a given word in Yoruba.^{[9]
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- For example, the word "ọkọ" means "husband." Add a high tone to the second syllable and the word means "hoe." A low tone over the vowels in both syllables changes the meaning to "spear." A single low tone in the second syllable changes the meaning to "vehicle."
- A high tone cannot occur in the first syllable of a word. Although there is a diacritical symbol to represent it, middle tones typically aren't marked.
2
Use subject-verb-object word order for sentences. In Yoruba, unlike in some other languages (such as Spanish), the subject is never left out of the sentence. The sentence structure should be familiar to speakers of English and other Latin languages such as Spanish, French, and Italian.^{[10]
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- For example, "Olú ra aga" means "Olu bought a chair." A literal translation would be "Olu buy chair."
3
Identify nouns and verbs. Most verbs in Yoruba are monosyllabic, while most nouns have 2 syllables. Nouns also typically start with vowels. This can be an easy way to instantly recognize whether a word is a noun or a verb.^{[11]
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- The verb form in Yoruba does not change to reflect whether the subject is singular or plural. Similarly, nouns do not change form to reflect plurality. For example, the sentence "Olú ra ì̀wé méjì ní Ìbàdàn" means "Olu bought two books at Ibadan," but a literal translation would be "Olu buy book two at Ibadan."
- There are 2 "tenses" in Yoruba – future and non-future. However, the verb form never changes to reflect a different tense. The tense meant by the speaker is understood from the context of the conversation.
4
Use question markers to form interrogative sentences. Question markers in Yoruba are "ṣé" (yes) and "bí" (no). When asking a yes/no question, you would place both question markers at the beginning and end of the sentence. When asking a content question, you can place one marker at the beginning, or one marker at the end.^{[12]
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- For example, if you wanted to ask "Did Olu come?" in Yoruba, you could say either "Ṣé Olú wá" or "Olú wá bí."
- The French interrogative construction of making a statement followed by the word "non?" is similar to the Yoruba interrogative construction.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Growing Your Vocabulary

1
Listen to Nigerian popular music. Much Nigerian popular music evolved from traditional Yoruba music, and has music in the Yoruba language. The repetitive nature of song lyrics makes music a good way to immerse yourself in the language and pick up new words and phrases.^{[13]
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- Listening to native speakers of Yoruba can also help you hear tonality and perfect your pronunciation. Simply mimic the way you hear the native speakers pronouncing the words.
- Since you can put music on in the background while you're doing other things, you can learn Yoruba without much effort or concentration.
2
Memorize basic greetings in Yoruba. If you know how to say hello and ask how someone is doing in any language, you can start to have very basic conversations. When you know how to greet someone and start a conversation, you'll gain confidence in your speaking skills.^{[14]
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- Ẹ n lẹ! is a general greeting that means "hello!" To follow up by asking "How are you?" you would say "Ṣe daadaa ni o wa?" The reply to this question is "Mo wa daadaa, o ̣se. Iwọ naa n kọ?" This reply essentially means "I'm fine, and you?"
- "Please" in Yoruba is "jọwọ," and thank you is "o se." Good manners will take you a long way when learning a language. If someone thanks you, respond "ko to ọpẹ," which means something like "you're welcome" or "no problem."
- Say "Oni a dara o" if you want to tell someone to "have a nice day" in Yoruba.
3
Read and watch Yoruba-language news. The BBC has a Yoruba-language news service focusing on global and Nigerian news and events. Go to https://www.bbc.com/yoruba to explore the site.^{[15]
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- Reading about current events with which you're already familiar can help expand your vocabulary.
- Brief videos give you the opportunity to watch and listen to native speakers of Yoruba, which can help improve your comprehension and pronunciation.
4
Watch cultural orientation videos in Yoruba. The US Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center has a cultural orientation video that introduces you to the Yoruba culture, language, religion, and traditions. The program is available online for free.
5
Take free Yoruba language courses online. The Foreign Services Institute of the U.S. State Department has basic and intermediate courses in Yoruba. These courses are available online for free through the Live Lingua Project. Go to https://www.livelingua.com/project/fsi/Yoruba/ to download the materials.^{[16]
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- The courses are a bit dated, so some of the phrases you learn may not be reflective of the language as currently spoken. However, the courses provide good pronunciation and tonality drills, and with the included audio files you can listen to Yoruba spoken by native speakers.
- The University of Texas at Austin also has a free multimedia Yoruba textbook available at http://www.coerll.utexas.edu/yemi/.

Community Q&A

Question

How can I say "say it to me softly"?

Arianna Harrell

Community Answer

You say ¨sọ fun mi ni rirọ¨.
Question

What is the meaning of Alaanu in Yoruba?

Community Answer

Alaanu in Yoruba means ¨kind¨.