Yoruba overview

Free Yoruba starter kit — 60 phrases you can print

A one-page Yoruba cheat sheet for absolute beginners. Every phrase shows the Yoruba spelling, what it means, and a respelling with the stressed syllable in capitals so you can say it out loud today. Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and a large diaspora in Brazil, Cuba and the US — around 45 million.

First words

Greetings that open every door

  • Ẹ káàárọ̀Good morning/eh kah-AH-raw/
  • Ẹ káàsánGood afternoon/eh KAA-sahn/
  • Ẹ kú ìrọ̀lẹ́Good evening/eh KOO ee-RAW-leh/
  • Ẹ ṣéThank you/eh SHEH/
  • Bẹ́ẹ̀ niYes/BEH-eh nee/
  • RáráNo/RAH-rah/
  • Jọ̀wọ́Please/JAW-waw/
  • Ó dàbọ̀Goodbye/oh DAH-baw/

Free starter kit

Get all 60 Yoruba phrases

Enter your email and the full printable Yoruba starter kit opens right here — every phrase, meaning and pronunciation respelling. We'll also send one short daily phrase so it actually sticks. Unsubscribe from any email.

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Is Yoruba hard to learn?

  • Yoruba is tonal: high, mid and low tones change meaning, so the accent marks are not decoration.
  • Greetings are age- and time-specific — ẹ káàrọ̀ in the morning, ẹ káàsán in the afternoon.
  • The dotted letters ẹ, ọ and ṣ are separate sounds from e, o and s.

Want the whole reference instead? Read the full Yoruba phrasebook or grab a starter kit in another language.