To talk about your family in Yoruba: parents, children, brothers and sisters. 14 words checked against reference sources (standard Nigerian Yoruba, with tones).
1
Family words
bàbáfather
màmámom, mother
ìyámother
ọmọchild
ẹ̀gbọ́nolder sibling
àbúròyounger sibling
ọkọhusband
ìyàwówife
ìdíléfamily (immediate)
mọ̀lẹ́bíextended family
ẹbífamily
ọ̀rẹ́also: ɔ̀rɛ́friend
obìnrinwoman
ìyá àgbàold woman; grandmother
Test yourself
1. What does “màmá” mean?
2. What does “ẹ̀gbọ́n” mean?
3. What does “ìyàwó” mean?
4. What does “ẹbí” mean?
Where do these words come from?
The words in this article come from: Yorùbá Yé Mi textbook (COERLL, University of Texas at Austin), Alphabet of the national languages of Benin (CENALA, 1990). They are copied with their exact spelling; when two sources disagree, the variant is shown. Do you speak this language and spot a mistake? Write to us.
The words in this article come from: Yorùbá Yé Mi textbook (COERLL, University of Texas at Austin), Alphabet of the national languages of Benin (CENALA, 1990). They are copied with their exact spelling; when two sources disagree, the variant is shown. Do you speak this language and spot a mistake? Write to us.