100 Essential Yoruba Words

These are 100 essential Yoruba words, curated for learners: the pronouns, verbs, and everyday nouns that unlock simple sentences. Core-first learning works: a small set of essential words does most of the work in daily speech, so mastering this list with spaced repetition gives you the fastest possible start.

#	Word	Pronunciation	English meaning
1	èmi	eh-mee	I
2	ìwọ	ee-waw	you
3	òun	oh-oon	he
4	àwa	ah-wah	we
5	wọ́n	wawn	they
6	èyí	eh-yee	this
7	ìyẹn	ee-yen	that
8	kíni	kee-nee	what
9	tani	tah-nee	who
10	rárá	rah-rah	no
11	àti	ah-tee	and
12	tàbí	tah-bee	or
13	ṣùgbọ́n	shoog-bawn	but
14	nínú	nee-noo	in
15	pẹ̀lú	peh-loo	with
16	ọ̀kan	aw-kahn	one
17	méjì	meh-jee	two
18	ńlá	nlah	big
19	kékeré	keh-keh-reh	small
20	dára	dah-rah	good
21	tuntun	toon-toon	new
22	ènìyàn	eh-nee-yahn	person
23	omi	oh-mee	water
24	ọjọ́	aw-jaw	day
25	ọdún	aw-doon	year
26	àkókò	ah-koh-koh	time
27	ilé	ee-leh	house
28	iṣẹ́	ee-sheh	work
29	ayé	ah-yeh	world
30	ọ̀rọ̀	aw-raw	word
31	jẹ́	jeh	be
32	ní	nee	at
33	ṣe	sheh	do
34	sọ	saw	say
35	mọ̀	maw	know
36	rí	ree	see
37	lọ	law	go
38	wá	wah	come
39	fún	foon	give
40	gbà	gbah	take
41	fẹ́	feh	want
42	jẹun	jeh-oon	eat
43	mu	moo	to drink
44	báyìí	bah-yee	now
45	níbí	nee-bee	here
46	níbẹ̀	nee-beh	there
47	níbo	nee-boh	where
48	kílódé	kee-loh-deh	why
49	gbogbo	gboh-gboh	all
50	púpọ̀	poo-paw	many
51	gígùn	gee-goon	long
52	dá	dah	to create (make)
53	nǹkan	n-kahn	thing
54	wò	waw	to look at
55	jù	joo	more (to exceed)
56	lè	leh	can (be able)
57	mi	mee	my
58	ìró	ee-roh	sound
59	òkè	oh-keh	top (above)
60	pè	peh	to call
61	àkọ́kọ́	ah-kaw-kaw	first
62	ìsàlẹ̀	ee-sah-leh	bottom (down)
63	ẹ̀gbẹ́	eh-gbeh	side
64	wà	wah	to be (exist - be located)
65	ṣàwárí	shah-wah-ree	to discover (find)
66	èyíkéyìí	eh-yee-keh-yee	any
67	apá	ah-pah	part (section)
68	ibi	ee-bee	place
69	gbé	gbeh	to live (dwell)
70	lẹ́yìn	leh-yeen	after (behind)
71	padà	pah-dah	to return (go back)
72	nìkan	nee-kahn	only (alone)
73	ọkùnrin	aw-koon-reen	man (male)
74	fihàn	fee-hahn	to show
75	kọ̀ọ̀kan	kaw-aw-kahn	each (every)
76	wa	wah	our
77	abẹ́	ah-beh	under (underside)
78	ti	tee	of (possessive marker)
79	sí	see	to (toward)
80	gan-an	gahn-ahn	very
81	ó	oh	he - she - it (subject)
82	lórí	loh-ree	on (on top of)
83	ṣẹ̀ṣẹ̀	sheh-sheh	just (just now)
84	ìrísí	ee-ree-see	form (appearance)
85	ronú	roh-noo	to think
86	ìrànlọ́wọ́	ee-rahn-law-waw	help (assistance)
87	ìlà	ee-lah	line
88	ṣáájú	shah-joo	before (in front)
89	yí	yee	to turn (rotate)
90	ìtumọ̀	ee-too-maw	meaning
91	yàtọ̀	yah-taw	to differ (be different)
92	ọ̀tún	aw-toon	right (right side)
93	ọmọ	aw-maw	child
94	àtijọ́	ah-tee-jaw	old (former - of things)
95	náà	nah	also (too)
96	gbólóhùn	gboh-loh-hoon	sentence
97	mẹ́ta	meh-tah	three
98	afẹ́fẹ́	ah-feh-feh	air (wind)
99	eré	eh-reh	play (a game)
100	òpin	oh-peen	end

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Curated for learners: Yoruba has no reliable public frequency corpus, so this list is ordered by usefulness, not by measured frequency. Pronunciation is a respelling guide, not phonetic notation.

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Frequently asked questions about Yoruba words

How many Yoruba words do you need for a basic conversation?

Across languages, a small core of words does most of the work in everyday speech: the first few hundred words carry the bulk of simple conversation. You can manage basic exchanges with a few hundred words; this list is the foundation to build on.

What is the fastest way to memorize these 100 words?

Spaced repetition: review each word just before you would forget it, at growing intervals. It moves vocabulary into long-term memory far faster than rereading a list. Turn the 100 words into flashcards and review a small batch daily; the whole list fits into two to three weeks.

Are 100 words enough to speak Yoruba?

No. One hundred words let you recognize the skeleton of most sentences, but not hold a real conversation. They are the right starting point: after this list, keep growing your core vocabulary and start speaking practice early, even with simple phrases.

Where does this Yoruba word list come from?

It is curated for learners rather than corpus-ranked: Yoruba has no reliable public frequency corpus, so we selected the words that unlock everyday sentences and ordered them by usefulness. These are essential words, not a measured frequency ranking.