Pronunciation
Yoruba spelling is regular: once you know the letters and the three tones, you can read any word aloud.
Three tones
Every syllable is high, mid or low. Tone marks show which: á (acute) is high, a (no mark) is mid, à (grave) is low. A macron (ā) is sometimes written to show a mid tone clearly.
On every word we draw a tone line: a dot on the top line is high, the middle line mid, the bottom line low.
Same letters, three words
Pitch alone changes the word. Every word on this site shows its tone line, so you can see the melody before you say it.
The alphabet
25 letters · no c, q, v, x or zSeven vowels
| Vowel | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a | as in “father” | ata |
| e | as in “day”, without the y | ilé |
| ẹ | as in “bed” | ẹja |
| i | as in “see” | igi |
| o | as in “go”, without the w | orí |
| ọ | as in “pot” | ọmọ |
| u | as in “food” | iṣu |
Nasal vowels
An n after a vowel usually isn't a separate sound: it tells you to say the vowel through the nose.
A lone n or m can be a syllable of its own and carries its own tone, as in the progressive marker ń (“is …ing”).
Syllables
Every syllable is a vowel, a consonant + vowel, or a syllabic n. So Yoruba words end in a vowel or n — never another consonant.
Hear it from a teacher
Tone is easiest to learn by ear. Our teachers correct your pronunciation live.