Independent Pronouns

Level 1

Mụ, gị, ya, anyị, unu, ha: the pronouns that can stand on their own.

How It Works

PersonFormExample
ImụMụ na gị. (you and I)
you (one)gịMaka gị.
he, she, ityaNye ya nri.
weanyịAnyị bụ ndị enyi.
you (many)unuUnu bụ ndị nkuzi.
theyhaHa bụ ndị enyi m.

These forms are not the only pronouns. A shorter set, m, ị, ọ and others, is used right beside the verb. The forms gị, ya, anyị, unu and ha also follow verbs and nouns, as in ụlọ gị “your house”.

Note that mụ is the stand-alone “I”. After a verb or helper, the short m is used instead.

Examples (5)

  1. Mụ na gị.

    You and I.

    Mụ is the stand-alone I, here in “you and I”.

  2. Anyị bụ ndị enyi.

    We are friends.

    Anyị is the same form before and after the verb.

  3. Maka gị.

    For you.

    Gị follows the word maka.

  4. Nye ya nri.

    Give him or her food.

    Ya is the object form too.

  5. Ha bụ ndị enyi m.

    They are my friends.

    Ha stands before bụ.

How It Connects

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

Independent PronounsLevel 1

Learn This First

The pronoun ya covers he, she and it, so learners first see that Igbo has no grammatical gender.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

mụgịyaanyịha