Words You’d Find In Both The Igbo And Yoruba Languages

The Igbo people are an ethnic group native to the present-day south-central and southeastern Nigeria. Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger River – an eastern and a western section.

The Yoruba peopleare an ethnic group of southwestern and north-central Nigeria, as well as southern and central Benin. Together, these regions are known as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute over 40 million people in total.

When someone says “One Nigeria”, many Nigerians internally scoff. Some even go as far as doing it on the outside. This is because Nigeria is full of many tribes who do not seem to have a lot in common.

But when you look closely, many Nigerian tribes have many things in common such as culture, food and even languages. The Yorubas and Igbos may seem to be as different as the sun and moon. But they have lots in common, especially in language. Here are 8 words you’d find in both Yoruba and Igbo languages , although they may have different meanings and pronunciations:

1. lle
   Any Yoruba person will tell you that this word means “house”. In the Igbo language, this word means “tongue”.

2. Enu
   In Igbo, enu means “up” while in Yoruba, it refers to the mouth.

3. Owu
   Can you believe this word means the same thing in both languages? Yes, it does. Owu is both the Yoruba and Igbo word for thread.

4. Ede
   Ede is the Yoruba word for language. It is also the Igbo word for cocoyam.

5. Oja
   When someone says the word “oja” in Yoruba, they mean market. In Igbo, Oja is the name given to the flute.

6.Aja
Aja is found in both languages albeit with different meanings. In Igbo, Aja means sand. But it means dog in Yoruba.

7.Jide
It’s pretty amazing how two different tribes can have the same name for male children. Though to be fair in Igbo, this name is the short form of Jideofor. In Yoruba, Jide is the short form of Babajide, Olajide etc. In Igbo, Jide means to hold. While in Yoruba, it can mean “has come/resurfaced”.

1. Iwe
   iwe in igbo is anger. In yoruba, iwe is book.