Yoruba for

Beginners
LESSON 1
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TUTOR: Ore Adesina.
 Welcome to our Yoruba For
Beginners course

Today's This lesson focuses on how to start a basic

conversation in Yoruba using greetings and

Agenda common courtesy.

By the end of this lesson, you should be able

to:

Understand some common

forms of greetings in Yoruba.
Introduce yourself by name, in Yoruba.

Start a basic conversation like a

Yoruba speaker.
Before we begin
with Greetings in
Yoruba, let's look at
Tones.
Tones in Yoruba
Listen and Pronounce after me

Falling or low tone Mid or flat tone Rising or high tone

Dò Re Mí
 Let's practice!
Bàtà (Dò Dò) - Shoe

Bàtá (Dò Mí) - Drum

Aya (Re Re) - Wife

Àyà (Dò Dò) - Chest

Let's practice!
Ògùn (Dò Dò) - Medicine

Ó gùn (Mí Dò) - It’s long

Ogún (Re Mi) - Twenty

Ogun (Re Re) - War

Let’s put this to practice by introducing
ourselves

Who Am I?

Orúkọ mi ni... (My name is)

Orúkọ mi ni Ọrẹ Adéṣínà

"Oh rookor mee knee"

Your turn to practice!

Kí l’orúkọ ẹ?
WHAT'S YOUR NAME?

Orúkọ mi ni...........
How do you start a conversation?

What’s the first thing you say when you meet someone?
Ìkíni - Greetings in
Yorùbá
Greetings are a very important part of the
Yorùbá culture, because they are a sign of
respect for one another.

So, Yorùbá speakers begin their

conversations with an applicable
greeting.
Greetings according to the time of the day.

Ẹ Káàárọ̀ - Good Ẹ Káàsán - Good Ẹ Káalẹ́ - Good evening.

morning. afternoon.
 Basic
How Are You?
A: Ṣé àlàáfíà ni
Vocabulary
B: Àlàáfíà ni o.

A: Ṣé dáadáa ni.
B: Dáadáa ni.
TIP: Shay ah-lah-fee-yah knee
How do you start a
conversation?

Listen and pronounce

after me.
Funkẹ: Káàárọ̀ o
Temi: Káàárọ̀ . Ṣé àlàáfíà ni ?
Funkẹ: Àlàáfíà ni o.
TIP: Shay ah-lah-fee-yah knee
How do you start a
conversation?

Segun: Káàsán o
Funmi: Káàsán. Ṣé dáadáa ni?
Segun: Dáadáa ni o.
TIP: Shay ah-lah-fee-yah knee
The difference between greeting
elders and your peers.

Yoruba people accord a lot of respect to their

elders.
So the way elders are greeted is with addition of
the honorific pronoun, “Ẹ”.

For example:

Ẹ Káàárọ̀, bàbá
Men greet by prostrating — Dọ̀bálẹ̀
Women greet by kneeling — Kúnlẹ̀
Let’s see how it works.

Funkẹ: Ẹ Káàsán o bàbá

Babaa Ṣegun: Káàsán o. Ṣé àlàáfíà ni?
Funkẹ: Àlàáfíà ni sa (sir).
The Evening before Sunset (5pm - 6:30pm)
Yoruba people typically greet for four time-
periods in one day. The evening is divided in
two periods: Before the sun sets and after the
sun sets.
The greeting applicable before the sun sets is:

Ẹ Kúùrọ̀lẹ́

Instead of Good night, Yorùbá speakers prefer

to say:

Òdàárọ - Till morning

Let’s talk about more forms
of greetings and
pleasantries.

What are some greetings

and pleasantries you use
with your friends and
family?
Other forms of greetings in Yoruba.
‘Kú’ is the expression used for greetings
by Yorùbá people.
Some examples of other common Yoruba greetings are found below:

kú + iṣẹ́ = kúuṣẹ́
(a greeting said to someone working)

kú + ìjókòó = kúùjókòó
(a greeting said to someone seated)

kú + ìsinmi = kúùsinmi
(a greeting said to someone resting or on a Sunday)

kú + ilé = kúulé o
(a greeting said to someone you meet at home)
Try these yourself

Cold/Snow = Òtútù
Festivity/Christmas/Birthday = Ọdún
Rain = Òjò

kú + ____ = kú _____
(a greeting said when it’s cold/snowing)

kú + ____ = kú _____
(a greeting said when celebrations are on)

kú + ____ = kú _____
(a greeting said when it is raining)

Note: Ẹ kú ọjọ́ ìbí could be used specifically for

birthdays
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