1. About Igbo
Igbo (Asụsụ Igbo) is a Volta–Niger language of the Niger–Congo family, spoken by around 30 million people in southeastern Nigeria and across a large diaspora. It is written in the Latin alphabet using the standard Önwu orthography, and — like English — its basic word order is Subject–Verb–Object, which gives English speakers a familiar starting frame.1
Two features need attention from the start. First, Igbo is a tone language: the same letters at a high or low pitch can mean different things, so listening for pitch matters. Second, three vowels are written with a dot underneath — ị, ụ, ọ — and there is a letter ṅ for the 'ng' sound; these are full letters, not decoration.1
Key features to know from day one
- Word order is Subject–Verb–Object, like English: Ọ na-eri ji = 'He/she is eating yam.'2
- Igbo has tone. Three phonemic tones — high, mid and low — distinguish words and grammar; in teaching texts high is marked á and low à, but everyday writing often leaves tone unmarked.1
- The dotted vowels are distinct letters: ị (as in 'bit'), ụ (as in 'put'), ọ (as in 'caught') — different from plain i, u, o.1
- Vowel harmony. Igbo vowels fall into two groups, and the vowels in a word usually come from the same group — affecting which form of a prefix you hear.1
- Useful digraphs: ch, gb, gh, gw, kp, kw, nw, ny, sh — gb and kp are single sounds made with both lips, unlike anything in English.1
2. The alphabet & tones
The Önwu alphabet has 36 letters (single letters and digraphs). The table shows the ones most likely to surprise an English reader.1
| Letter | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ị | 'i' as in 'bit' (a tenser i) | ihị (to love) |
| ụ | 'u' as in 'put' | ụzọ (road/way) |
| ọ | 'o' as in 'caught' | ọcha (white/clean) |
| ṅ | 'ng' as in 'sing' | ṅụ (to drink) |
| gb / kp | single sounds made with both lips | gba (to run) / akpa (bag) |
| nw / ny | 'nw' (as in 'twang') / 'ny' (as in 'canyon') | nwa (child) / anya (eye) |
| á / à | high tone / low tone | marked in teaching texts |
In this guide's exercises you can type the dotted vowels (ị, ụ, ọ) or their plain ASCII forms (i, u, o), and tone marks are optional — but learning to hear tone is the real goal.
3. Greetings & numbers
These greetings and numbers follow standard Igbo usage.3
| Igbo | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Hello / greetings (respectful) | |
| How are you? / Hello | |
| It's fine / I'm well | |
| Thank you | |
| Please | |
| Ee | Yes |
| No | |
| Sorry / sympathy | |
| See you / goodbye | |
| Ọ̀ bụ̀ eziokwu | It's true |
Numbers 1–10
| Value | Igbo | Value | Igbo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | ||
| 2 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 8 | ||
| 4 | 9 | ||
| 5 | 10 |
Practice: greetings & numbers
Practice: Core Igbo greetings and the first five numbers. You may type the dotted vowels (ị, ụ, ọ) or plain ASCII (i, u, o); tone marks are optional.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1.Hello / greetings (respectful):
Hint: the respectful all-purpose greeting, 'I wish you well'
- 2.How are you? (also used as 'hello'):
Hint: the everyday question-greeting; reply is 'ọ dị mma'
- 3.Thank you:
Hint: the everyday word for gratitude
- 4.Yes:
Hint: the short affirmative
- 5.No:
Hint: the basic negative
- 6.the number 'one':
Hint: the first counting number
- 7.the number 'two':
Hint: the number after otu (has two dotted vowels)
- 8.the number 'three':
Hint: the number after abụọ
- 9.the number 'four':
Hint: the number after atọ
- 10.the number 'five':
Hint: the number of fingers on one hand
10 questions
Grammar reference: Greetings and numerals per standard usage, cross-checked against Omniglot and the Harvard ELIAS Igbo course; cf. Emenanjọ, A Grammar of Contemporary Igbo (2015). All prompts original to LinguaCommons. CEFR A1.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
4. Pronouns, the copula & word order
Subject pronouns
The basic subject pronouns are m ('I'), ị ('you' singular), ọ ('he/she/it'), anyị ('we'), unu ('you' plural) and ha ('they'). They sit before the verb, matching the SVO frame.2
| Igbo | Meaning |
|---|---|
| m / mụ | I / me |
| ị / gị | you (singular) |
| ọ / ya | he / she / it |
| anyị | we / us |
| unu | you (plural) |
| ha | they / them |
Saying 'is': the copula bụ
To state identity ('X is Y'), Igbo uses bụ: Ọ bụ nwoke = 'He is a man'; M bụ onye Igbo = 'I am an Igbo person'. (Location and condition use a different verb, dị — as in Ọ dị mma, 'it is good'.)2
Practice: numbers 6–10, pronouns & the copula
Practice: Numbers 6–10, the subject pronouns, the identity copula bụ, and two courtesy words. Dotted vowels or plain ASCII both accepted; tone marks optional.. Type the missing word — accents are optional.
- 1.the number 'six':
Hint: comes after ise (5)
- 2.the number 'seven':
Hint: comes after isii (6)
- 3.the number 'eight':
Hint: comes after asaa (7)
- 4.the number 'ten':
Hint: the round number after the nines
- 5.subject pronoun 'I':
Hint: the first-person singular subject pronoun (a single letter)
- 6.subject pronoun 'you' (singular):
Hint: the second-person singular subject pronoun (a dotted vowel)
- 7.subject pronoun 'they':
Hint: the third-person plural pronoun
- 8.the copula 'is' (identity): Ọ (He is a man) → ___
Hint: the verb linking a noun to what it IS (not location)
- 9.please:
Hint: the courtesy word for making a request
- 10.sorry / sympathy (''):
Hint: said to comfort someone who has a mishap
10 questions
Grammar reference: Pronouns and the copula per Emenanjọ, A Grammar of Contemporary Igbo (2015) and Green & Igwe (1963); numerals per Omniglot. All sentences original to LinguaCommons. CEFR A2.. Sentences are original to LinguaCommons.
5. Beyond the basics
🚧 In development. This section will cover the verb system (the na- progressive, tense/aspect), negation, and how tone marks grammatical distinctions, plus question formation. Content here is being expanded in a later run and is not yet complete.
🚧 In development. A strategy for Igbo word-building (verb roots and the rich system of extensions/suffixes) and high-frequency vocabulary will be added here.
🚧 In development. This section will treat Standard (Igbo izugbe) vs the major dialects, proverbs (ilu) and respectful registers. Not yet complete.
🚧 In development. Planned: the central role of proverbs and idiom in Igbo rhetoric, naming, and cultural concepts. Not yet complete.
🚧 In development. Planned: mastering tone in connected speech and a media plan (Igbo news, film/Nollywood, music). Not yet complete.
- Igbo language — overview — orthography, tone, grammar
- Useful phrases in Igbo (Omniglot) — greetings and everyday phrases
- Numbers in Igbo (Omniglot) — the numeral system
Notes & Bibliography
- On Igbo (Asụsụ Igbo) — a Volta–Niger (Niger–Congo) language of southeastern Nigeria with ~30 million speakers; its standard Önwu orthography (Latin, 1962), including the dot-below vowels ị [ɪ], ụ [ʊ], ọ [ɔ] and ṅ [ŋ]; and its three phonemic tones (high, mid, low, marked with acute/grave accents) — cf. 'Igbo language' and Emenanjọ, Nolue, A Grammar of Contemporary Igbo (Oxford/Port Harcourt: M&J Grand Orbit, 2015). [source] ↩
- On Igbo subject–verb–object word order, the subject pronouns, and the identity copula bụ, cf. Emenanjọ, A Grammar of Contemporary Igbo (2015); and Green, M. M. & Igwe, G. E., A Descriptive Grammar of Igbo (Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1963). [source] ↩
- Greetings (Ndeewo, Kedụ, Ọ dị mma, Daalụ, Biko, Ee, Mba, Ndo) and the cardinal numerals (otu, abụọ, atọ, anọ, ise, isii, asaa, asatọ, itoolu, iri) per standard usage, cross-checked against Omniglot and the Harvard ELIAS Igbo materials. [source] ↩