Welcome to a lesson dedicated to exploring numbers in the Yoruba language. This lesson covers cardinal and ordinal numbers, fundamental grammar rules, and conversational phrases to enhance your understanding and fluency.
Map of Nigeria showing Yoruba speaking regions
Yoruba Numbers: Cardinal and Ordinal
Yoruba cardinal numbers denote quantity, answering the question "how many?".
Ordinal numbers, on the other hand, indicate the order or rank of items.
For example: "my first language is Yoruba."
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Consider the following example using numbers in a sentence: "did you read the third book?" [ordinal number + noun] - nje o ka iwe keta?
Grammar Rules for Yoruba Numbers
Yoruba cardinal numbers refer to the counting numbers, because they show quantity. For example: I speak two languages.
The Yoruba Counting System
The base of the counting system is ogún 'twenty' (or 'score'). There are words for each of the decades; units in 1-4 are created by adding to these, while units in 5-9 are created by subtracting from the next decade.
The odd decades are created by subtracting ten from the next even decade, as in Danish.
Ogún is the basic word for twenty, okòó the word when counting objects.
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For thirty, the forms are ọgbọ̀n and ọɡbọ̀n ǒ.
Units apart from the fives are generally transparent: oókànlélógún 'twenty-one', eéjìdínlọ́ɡbọ̀n 'twenty-eight', etc.
There are also more recent decimal forms for the thousands: 2,000 ẹgbẹ̀rún méjì 'thousand twice', 3,000 ẹgbẹ̀rún mẹ́ta 'thousand thrice', etc., as well as additive forms for the fives, due to the influence of English.
Examples of Numbers in Yoruba:
- One: Òkan
- Two: Èjì
- Three: Ẹta
- Four: Ẹrin
- Five: Ẹdẹfa
- Twenty: Ogún
- Thirty: Ogbòn
Counting 1 to 100 in Yoruba (Oonka Yoruba) using Simple Number Maths | How To Speak Yoruba Language
Practical Conversation Phrases in Yoruba
Below are some phrases used to initiate conversations and get acquainted with new people:
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- Where are you from? - nibo lo ti wa?
- Where do you live? - nibo lo ngbe?
- What do you do for a living? - kini ise ti o fi njeun?
Yoruba Greetings
Did you enjoy this lesson about numbers in Yoruba? I hope so, if you have any problem with this lesson contact me with questions you have homepage. You can now check the next lesson below.
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