Igbo Is a Tone Language

Foundations

Same letters, different pitch, different word. Akwa has four meanings.

How It Works

Igbo uses pitch to tell words apart. Four common words are spelled akwa, and only the tones separate them:

Written with tone	Pitch	Meaning
àkwà	low, low	bed
àkwá	low, high	egg
ákwà	high, low	cloth
ákwá	high, high	crying

This is a standard example in courses and in Wikipedia. Some sources also give “bridge” for the low, low word. The marks above are for study only. Ordinary Igbo, and these lessons, write akwa with no marks, and readers use the topic and the nearby words to choose.

The word igwe means “iron” and also “sky”, so context decides there too.

Examples (4)

akwa
egg, cloth, bed or crying
One spelling, four words. Context decides which one is meant.
Ana m eri akwa.
I am eating an egg.
Eat points to egg, so context decides the meaning.
Ada na-ebe akwa.
Ada is crying.
The verb ebe points to crying, so context decides the meaning.
igwe
iron or sky
One spelling, two words. Context decides which one is meant.

How It Connects

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

Igbo Is a Tone LanguageFoundations

Learn This First

Every syllable has a pitch, so learners need to find the syllables first.

Open Syllables
Know open syllables, because every syllable carries a pitch and the pitch can change the meaning: akwa “cry”, “egg”, “cloth” or “bed”.
Foundations

Words in This Pattern

igweakwa

Practice Igbo Is a Tone Language in Bubblegum

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