Language/Yoruba/Grammar/Adjectives

Yoruba Grammar - Adjectives

Hi Yoruba learners! 😊
In this lesson, we're going to learn about adjectives in Yoruba. Adjectives are used to describe or modify nouns or pronouns. They give more information about the noun, such as its size, color, shape, or personality.

Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: Future Tense, Pronouns, Oro asopo (Conjunctions) & Negation.

Adjectives - Basic Information

In Yoruba, adjectives are usually placed before the noun. However, they can also come after the noun and still make perfect sense. Let's look at some examples:

• "Ọ̀pọ̀lọ́ àgbàlagbà" can mean "an old police officer" or "a police officer who is old". "Àgbàlagbà" means old, and "Ọ̀pọ̀lọ́" means police officer.

• "Odò ọ̀run" can mean "a blue river" or "a river that is blue". "Odò" means river, and "ọ̀run" means blue.

In Yoruba, adjectives have no gender, so they don't change with the noun's gender. Also, adjectives don't have plural forms.

To make a sentence negative, the word "kọ̀" is added before the adjective. For example, "kọ̀ dípọ̀n" means "not deep".

Now, let's look at some common Yoruba adjectives:

Yoruba	Pronunciation	English
Ìdùnún	ee-doo-noo	Sweet
Ìròyìn	ee-roh-yin	Loud
Àrùgbọ́	ah-roo-gboh	Green
Ìpínkẹ́rì	ee-peen-kehr-ee	Small
Àlàbà	ah-lah-bah	White

Here are some examples to illustrate:

• "Òúnjẹ̣ wà dánù." (oh-oohn-jeh wah dah-noo) means "The food is delicious." "Òúnjẹ̣" means food, and "dánù" means delicious.

• "Àkàrà rẹ̀ rírò." (ah-kah-rah reh ree-roh) means "Your akara is crunchy." "Àkàrà" means akara (bean cake) and "rírò" means crunchy.

Now, let's move on to comparative and superlative adjectives.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things. In Yoruba, the word "ní" is used to form a comparison. For example:

• "Akin ni wọ̀n kò bọ pẹpẹ." (ah-keen nee wohn koh boh peh-peh) means "Akin is not as fair as Pẹpẹ." "Kò bọ pẹpẹ" means "not as fair as Pẹpẹ."

Superlative adjectives are used to compare three or more things. In Yoruba, the word "láì" is used to form a superlative. For example:

• "Ọ̀lá láì bí orírẹ̀ là." (oh-lah lah-ee bee oh-ree-reh lah) means "Ọ̀lá is the tallest of all." "Láì bí" means "the most" or "the -est".

Let's look at some more examples:

• "Ọkàn tí òúnjẹ̣ yẹn bá ìdùnún ní wọ́n, kò kàn dúró." (oh-kahn tee oh-oohn-jeh yen bah ee-doo-noon nee wohn, koh kahn doo-roh) means "The heart that tasted that delicious food couldn't wait." "Kàn" means "able to", "dúró" means "wait".

• "Ṃí másàní ni òní: máa pọ̀!" (mee mah-shah-nee nee oh-nee: mah poh!) means "It's my birthday today: let's party!" "Ṃí másàní" means "my birthday", and "máa pọ̀" means "let's party".

Now, let's create a dialogue with adjectives:

• Person 1: "Ọkọ̀ mi ńlọ sí NYSC kàtàkàtà, kò láì bí mi!" (oh-koh mee nloh see NYSC kah-tah-kah-tah, koh lah-ee bee mee!) - "My husband is going to NYSC camp tomorrow, he is the strongest of us all!"
• Person 2: "Mo fẹ́ tó mọ̀ nǹkan kan... Se o mo rẹ̀?" (moh feh toh mohn-kahn kahn... seh oh moh reh?) - "I want to know something... Do you know yours?"
• Person 1: "Ráyẹ̀-n-rẹ̀ ní Ọ́ṣun àárọ̀n." (rahyeh-n-reh nee oh-soohn ah-ah-rohn) means "Shake your butt for Ọ́ṣun festival." "Ráyẹ̀-n-rẹ̀" means "Shake it!" (literally "shake-and-shake"), "Ọ́ṣun" is a Yoruba goddess of fertility and love, and "àárọ̀n" means festival.
• Person 2: "Ọflà kì í wúló lókè!" (oh-flah kee ee woo-loh loh-keh!) - "The falcon does not make a nest on the ground!"
• Person 1: "Ágbà ti àrùgbọ́ ká yẹ kọ́ ńbẹ́." (ah-gbah tee ah-roo-gboh kah yeh koh n-beh) means "An old man rocks the green hat." "Ágbà" means old man, "ti" means who, "àrùgbọ́" means green hat, "ká yẹ" means to rock (in this context), and "kọ́ ńbẹ́" means present.

Hope you enjoyed learning about adjectives in Yoruba! To practice more, you can use Polyglot Club. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

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➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Other Lessons

• Nouns
• Negation
• Onka Yoruba (Counting and Numbers in Yoruba)
• Gender
• Give your Opinion
• How to Use Be
• Future Tense
• Oro asopo (Conjunctions)
• Questions
• Conditional Mood

Sources

• Yoruba Adjectives
• Adjectives in English and Yoruba - Learn Entry