Describing With dị

Level 2

Thing + dị + word. Or a verb: mara mma.

How It Works

Besides the eight words that follow a noun, Igbo describes things with dị or a verb.

ExampleMeaning
Ọ dị oyi.It is cold.
Ọ dị ọkụ.It is hot.
Nri a dị ụtọ.This food is tasty.
Ọ mara mma.It is beautiful.

The word mma in mara mma is a noun meaning “beauty”. The verb mara here goes with it as a fixed pair. Compare Ọ dị mma “it is good”.

Examples (4)

  1. Ọ dị oyi.

    It is cold.

    Dị plus oyi.

  2. Ọ dị ọkụ.

    It is hot.

    Dị plus ọkụ.

  3. Nwanyị ahụ mara mma.

    That woman is beautiful.

    Mara mma is a verb phrase.

  4. Mmiri a dị oyi.

    This water is cold.

    A noun phrase as the subject.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Describing With dịLevel 2

Learn This First

Dị carries the description, and the describing words are the other way to describe, so both come first.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

dịoyiọkụmara mma