Table of contents
- Igbo Language Alphabets
- Language and Pronunciation
- Personal Pronouns
- Present Tense and Imperative
- Numerals
- Infinitives, Participles and Auxiliaries
- Adjectives
- Tense and Suffixes
- Parts of the Body
- Prepositions
- Interrogative Pronouns
- Conjunctions
- Orthography
Igbo Language Alphabets
There are 36 alphabets in the Igbo language. Pronunciation of each alphabet is the same as when it appears in any word as a letter, although they sound longer or are stretched a bit more as alphabets. Don’t you think that makes the Igbo language quite easy? I think so too!
I am going to list the Igbo alphabets so you can have a glance at all of them, get a bit familiar with them.
The Igbo alphabets, in the right order, appear thus:-
The upper and lower cases are separated by a comma.
A,a B,b CH,ch D,d E,e F,f G,g
GB,gb GH,gh GW,gw H,h I,i ị,ị J,j
K,k KP,kp KW,kw L,l M,m N,n Ṅ,ṅ
W,nw NY,ny O,o Ọ,ọ P,p R,r S,s
SH,sh T,t U,u Ụ,ụ V,v W,w Y,y
Z,z.
Grammar: Language and Pronunciation
Igbo language is one of the many languages spoken in Nigeria. Since its independence, the main languages in Nigeria have been Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, also known by the word ‘wazobia’, i.e. ‘wa’ in Yoruba, ‘zo’ in Hausa, and ‘bia’ in Igbo, all meaning ‘to come’. Igbo is predominantly spoken in Abia, Imo, Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi and parts of Rivers and Delta states. Speaking English, you can get by in most parts of Igboland, though in some very remote areas, only Igbo is understood.
Igbo language is classified as a Niger-Congo language and belongs to the Kwa sub-group of languages spoken in sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated that some of these Kwa languages have been spoken in roughly the same locations as today for over 4,000 years. Main characteristics for the Kwa languages are the tones and vowel harmony.
Tones (also called contrastive pitch) are used to differentiate words that are written identically. For example, the same word in Igbo may have four different meanings depending on its pitch. In tone languages, pitch is a property of words, but what is important is not absolute pitch but relative pitch. Igbo language makes use of two main tones: the high tone (such as u as in “rule”) is pronounced with the tongue bent towards the roof of the mouth. The low tone (such as a in “father”) is produced with the tongue flat and low in the mouth and with the mouth a bit wider than for high tones. Considering the high and low tones, akwa can mean either weeping (high-high tone), cloth (high-low), egg (low-high) or bridge (low-low).
Vowel harmony involves words which are either built up of a combination of syllables with an i, e, o or u vowel, or on the other hand a combination involving syllables with an a, ị, ọ or ụ vowel, for example:
Igbo Igbo anụ meat, animal | ezi pig ụlọ house |
Syllables with both combinations of vowels rarely occur in one word, unless it is a compound word or compound verb. Also, some of the suffixes do not harmonise with the verb stem.
Vowel Harmony
Many words in the language are built up from smaller words, not to say for a few English words that have been copied directly. There are a wide variety of dialects, some of which resemble each other, though others might have totally different vocabularies and pronunciations, though word order and tone are consistent throughout the grammatical Igbo structure. The two main dialect zones, Onitsha and Owerri, have most words in common, but there are some differences in the vocabulary, for example:
Onitsha | Owerri | |
kedu | olee | what, which |
one | ole | how many |
fa | ha | they |
afa | aha | name |
Igbo written language is phonetic and it uses most of the English alphabet. The consonants are similar to the use as in the English language, though there are separate combinations of consonants, i.e. gb, gh, gw, kp, kw, nw, ny and sh, which are official recognised letters. The sh combination is hardly used. In addition, there is one other character, ñ, which is a voiced nasal ‘n’. These characters and some of the various combinations are listed with their pronunciation below:
as in | pronounced as | meaning | |
gb | egbe | e-gbe | hawk |
gh | agha | a-ga | war |
gw | gwa | g-wa | to tell |
kp | akpa | a-pa | bag |
kw | kwaa | kwaa | also, too |
mm | mmiri | m-miri | water |
nn | nna | n-na | father |
ñ | añụlị | anju-li | happy, merry |
nw | nwa | n-wa | child |
ny | nyaa | n-ya | to drive |
For the vowels, the difference is more distinguishing. Some of the vowels have an umlaut (this is according to the New Standard Orthography; in previous versions of Igbo orthography there was a dot below the vowel) above the letter indicating a different pronunciation:
vowel | pronounced as in |
a | arm |
e | set |
i | see |
ị | pit |
o | go |
ọ | author |
u | put (verb) |
ụ | shot |
The Igbo alphabet as found in dictionaries is in the following order:
a, b, c, ch, d, e, f, gb, gh, gw, h, i, ị, j, k, kp, kw, l, m, n, ṅ, nw, ny, o, ọ, p, r, s, sh, t, u, ụ, v, w, y, z
Grammar: Personal Pronouns
Separable | Inseparable | ||
mụ, m | I, me, my | (verb) + m | I |
gị | you , your | i, ị | you |
ya | he, his, him, she, her, it, its | o, ọ | he/she/it |
anyị | we, us, our | ||
unu | you, your (pl.) | ||
ha | they, them, their |
The pronouns in Igbo language have two forms: separable and inseparable. The inseparable forms only apply to the singular pronouns and are found as the single subject in direct combination with the main verbs of a sentence, as in
bi | live (verb stem) |
ebi m | I live |
i bi | you live |
o bi | he/she lives |
Note that for the first person singular, the m follows the verb stem.
Separable pronouns are not confined to its sole purpose as a subject with a verb and can be used as a subject, direct and indirect object, for example:
buru | carry (verb stem) |
anyị buru gị | we carry you |
unu buru mụ | you carry me |
mụ na gị buru ya | me and you carry him |
They can also follow a noun in possessive relationship:
di | husband | di m | my husband |
di gị | your husband | ||
di ya | her husband | ||
nwa | child | nwa m | my child |
nwa anyị | our child |
Grammar: Present Tense and Imperative
For the present tense of verbs, the verb stem is used. If the personal pronoun follows the verb (which is the case for the first person inseparable pronoun), an a- or e- prefix is attached to the verb stem in line with the vowel harmony, i.e. an a- prefix for verb stems with an a, ị, ọ or ụ vowel; an e- prefix for verb stems with an i, e, o or u vowel:
bi | live (verb stem) | chị | carry (something in the hand) (verb stem) |
ebi m | I live | achị m | I carry |
This prefix falls away with the other pronouns. The second and third person inseparable pronouns harmonise with the verb stems:
i bi | you live | ị chị | you carry |
o bi | he lives | ọ chị | he carries |
Separable pronouns do not require harmonisation:
anyị bi | we live | anyị chị | we carry |
unu bi | you (pl.) live | unu chị | you carry |
ha bi | they live | ha chị | they carry |
mụ na gị bi | me and you live | mụ na gị chị | me and you carry |
Other example:
bụ | be (verb stem) |
abụ m Mike | I am Mike |
ị bụ emeka | you are Emeka |
ọ bụ emeka | he is Emeka |
anyị bụ Mike na Emeka | we are Mike and Emeka |
unu bu Mike na Emeka | you are Mike and Emeka |
ha bụ Mike na Emeka | they are Mike and Emeka |
The negative present tense is formed by harmonising the verb stem with the harmonising prefix a or e and suffix ghi or ghị in the following manner:
abụghị m Nick | I am not Nick |
aha m bụ Michael; aha m abụghị Nick | my name is Michael; my name is not Nick. |
anyị chị anụ | we carry meat |
unu akwọghị anyị | you do not carry us |
ebi m na Achara Layout | I live in Achara Layout |
ebighi m na GRA | I do not live in GRA |
The imperative uses the verb stem without any prefix:
nye | give |
gwa | tell |
The imperative can be followed by a noun or pronoun:
nye m ego | give me money |
gwa m | tell me |
kwuo ya | say it |
zụọ akwa | buy a cloth |
unu zaa ala | you (pl.) sweep the floor |
ka ha gaa | let them leave |
ka anyi laa | let us go (home) |
ka anyi gaa | let us leave |
The negative imperative is formed with the prefix e- or a- and suffix –ne or –la, both harmonising with the verb stem:
erine | do not eat |
azala | do not sweep |
unu azala | you do not sweep the floor |
Grammar: Numerals
otu | 1 |
abụọ | 2 |
atọ | 3 |
anọ | 4 |
ise | 5 |
isii | 6 |
asaa | 7 |
asatọ | 8 |
itolu | 9 |
iri | 10 |
iri na otu | 11 |
iri na atọ | 13 |
iri abụọ | 20 |
iri abụọ na otu | 21 |
iri atọ | 30 |
iri atọ na otu | 31 |
iri asatọ | 80 |
iri itolu | 90 |
narị | 100 |
narị abụọ | 200 |
puku | 1,000 |
puku atọ na iri abụọ na iri | 3,210 |
nde | 1,000,000 |
ijeri | 1,000,000,000 |
ọkara | half |
Only otu and ọkara precede the noun; the other numbers follow the noun:
otu ụlọ | one house |
ụlọ ise | five houses |
otu naira | one naira |
naira abụọ | two naira |
ọkara naira | half a naira |
Note that the noun does not change if it is in plural.
The ordinal numbers are as follows:
mbụ | first |
nke abụọ | second |
nke atọ | third |
nke anọ | fourth |
Examples:
ụlọ mbu | the first house |
ụlọ nke abụọ | the second house |
abụ m mbu | I am first |
Grammar: Infinitives, Participles and Auxiliaries
Infinitives have a vowel prefix, i or ị, harmonising with the vowel of the verb stem.
Examples:
ime to do isi to cook ire to sell igbu to kill izute to meet ili to bury | ikwọ to carry on one’s back ịta to chew ịnụ to hear ịchọ to want ịza to sweep ịmụ to learn |
The negative infinitive has the e- or a- prefix and ghi or ghị suffix, both harmonising with the vowel of the verb stem:
emeghi | not to do | azaghị | not to sweep |
etoghi | not to grow | amụghị | not to learn |
Participles are formed by a preceding vowel, e- or a-, and the verb stem:
esi | cooking | aga | going |
eme | doing | amụ | learning |
The participle is used with an auxiliary to specify its action. The auxiliary precedes the participle and is connected with it through a hyphen if immediately followed by the participle.
Examples:
na | used as auxiliary to specify continuing action in the present: |
ana m azụ anụ | I am buying meat |
ọ na-esi anụ | he is cooking meat |
ga | used as auxiliary to indicate future action: |
aga m azụ anụ | I will buy meat |
ọ ga-esi anụ | he will cook meat |
The negative form has an a- (or e-) prefix and ghị (or ghi) suffix attached to the auxiliary:
anaghị m azụ anụ | I am not buying meat |
ọ anaghị esi anu | He is not cooking meat |
Grammar: Adjectives
In Igbo, adjectives can immediately precede or follow the noun or pronoun to which it belongs. Most commonly used adjectives are:
ọma | good, beautiful |
ọcha | white, clean |
oji | black |
ọjọọ | ugly, bad |
ukwu | big |
obele | small |
niile/dum | all, each, every |
Examples:
ọ bụ akwụkwọ ọcha | it is white paper |
ewu dum nọ ebea | all goats are here |
If the adjective is not directly preceding the noun or pronoun, the noun form of the adjective is used:
adjective | noun form |
ọma | mma |
ọcha | ụcha |
ọjọọ | njọ |
Examples:
akwụkwọ dị ụcha | the paper is white |
ewu dum dị mma | all goats are good |
The same principle as described above, applies to demonstrative adjectives, they can only follow or precede the noun immediately:
-a | this, these | ahụ | that, those |
ụlọa | this house, these houses | ụlọ ahụ | that house, those houses |
These adjectives also form the demonstrative pronouns:
nkea | this | nke ahụ | that |
ndịa | these (group) | ndi ahụ | those (group) |
ihea | this (thing) | ihe ahụ | that (thing) |
ebea | here (place) | ebe ahụ | there |
Examples:
nkea dị mma | this is good |
nke ahụ dị njọ | that is bad |
ndia di mma | these are good |
ihe ahụ dị njọ | that (thing) is bad |
ebe ahụ dị njọ | there is bad |
Note:
The verb ‘to be’ can be translated by three different verbs: bụ, dị and nọ. The verb bụ is most commonly used for ‘to be’; dị is used with a noun and not adjectives and indicates the quality or location of something ; nọ is used for the presence of someone in a location:
ọ dị mma | it is fine |
ọ dị n’elu akpati | it is on top of the box |
ọ nọ ya? | is he in? |
ọ nọ ebe ahu? | is he there? |
Grammar: Tense and Suffixes
In Igbo language, verbs do not distinguish between present and past tense. The meaning of the verb is generally changed by the suffix that specifies the action in the present or past. Some of these suffixes harmonise with the verb stem, others do not, and sometimes multiple suffixes can follow each other in a combination.
The most commonly suffixes used are:
-tara/-tere -ra/-re action in the past (he did) -la/-le completed action (he has done) -bụ/-bu a past continuous action (he used to do) -ri past completed action (he did) -ba continue doing, starting an action (start doing) -go already completed the action (have done) -bago already completing the action (already doing, already done) -lu to indicate an intensification of the action of the verb -ta brings an action to completion -kwazi also, as well -re present continuous action (is doing) |
Examples:
ọ zụtara anụ | he bought meat |
o butere ya | he brought it |
ị bịara? | did you come? |
o gwụla | it is finished |
o rule | it is time |
ana m azụbụ anụ | I used to buy meat |
o biri ebea | he lived here |
o riri anụ | he ate meat |
o bigo ebe ahụ | he has lived there |
o rigo anụ | he has eaten meat |
o ribago nrị | he has already started eating |
anabago m | I am already going |
ọ nabago | he has already gone |
chelu | wait! |
weta ego | bring money |
abukwazi m Mike | I am also Mike |
Olee ka i mere? | How are you doing? |
There are more verb tenses in Igbo language. One tense is used to start a conversation or speech or is used in a sentence introduced by another verb. This tense is formed by a harmonising a- or e- prefix with the verb stem:
unu enwere mmiri na ọkụlatrịk? | do you have water and electricity? (opening question) |
To go in more details would go beyond the scope of this book, and I would suggest to read the grammar books mentioned in the references.
Parts of the Body
enwere m isi | I have a head |
o nwere mkpịsị aka iri | he has ten fingers |
Grammar: Prepositions
Prepositions are words used before a noun or pronoun to specify a place, position or time. In Igbo, there is only one preposition na. When preceding a vowel, it has the tone of that vowel and is written n’ instead.
ọ nọ n’ụlọ | he is in the house |
ọ dị n’ala | it is on the ground |
ọ dị na ji | it is on the yam |
In combination with a noun, it can specify the location of the preposition in more detail:
Noun | Preposition |
(enu / top), (okpuru / underside), (ime / interior), (akụkụ / edge) | (na / in, at, on), (n’enu / on top of, up), (n’okpuru / under, below), (n’ime / inside), (n’akụkụ / beside) |
Examples:
ọ dị n’enu akpati | it is on top of the box |
ọ dị n’okpuru akpati | it is under the box |
ọ dị n’ime akpati | it is inside the box |
ọ dị n’ akụkụ akpati | it is beside the box |
Grammar: Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogatives are used to ask a question. In Igbo, a question can only be initiated by either an interrogative or a personal pronoun.
Following interrogatives are commonly used:
olee kedu | how, when, where, which |
gịnị | what |
maka gịnị | why |
ebee | where, which place |
ole | how much, how many |
onye | who |
The pronoun could be followed by ka or ihe in case the interrogative is not the sole subject of the sentence.
Examples:
olee maka ndi be gị? | how about your family? |
olee ihe ha kwuru? | What did they say? |
olee ka i mere? | how do you do? |
gịnị ka unu na-eme? | what are you (pl.) doing? |
ebee ka ị nọ? | where are you? |
ego ole ka ọ bụ? | how much money is it? |
onye ka ị bụ? | who are you? |
onye mere ihea? | who does this? |
onye ka ihea mere? | who does this happen to? |
If the interrogative is missing in a question, the verb must be preceded by a pronoun:
ọ nọ ya? | is he in? |
adị m mma? | am I good? |
ọ nọ ebe ahụ | he is there |
Grammar: Conjunctions
Words that can connect two words or sentences are called conjunctions. Most of the conjunctions start with an initial consonant:
kama | instead of |
mgbe ahụ | then |
tupu | until |
maka | as, so |
otu | as, that |
mana | but, if, that, whether |
na | and, that |
ka mgbe | since |
ka | so that, that |
Examples:
achọrọ m anụ kama ọkụkụ | I want meat instead of chicken |
i risie nrị mgbe ahụ gaba | you eat, then you go |
eri kwala nrị, tupu na mụ agaba | do not eat until I go |
maka na ihea dị mma, ka m jịrị goro ya | as this is good, I buy it |
ọ dị mma otu osighi wee dị ọnụ | it is good, as it is cheap |
ịhea mara mma mana ọdị ọnụ | this is good, but expensive |
mụ na gị nọ ebea | me and you are here |