ẹ / ọ / ṣ

Letters with Dots

Level 1

ẹ / e, ọ / o and ṣ / s are different letter pairs.

How It Works

The dotted vowels are more open than their undotted counterparts. In pronunciation-only IPA notation, ẹ corresponds to [ɛ] and ọ to [ɔ]. The consonant ṣ corresponds to [ʃ], approximately English “sh”; s corresponds to [s]. Brackets here indicate pronunciation rather than ordinary Yoruba spelling.

Compare O ní ẹran, “You have meat,” addressed to one person, with Ẹ ní ẹran, addressed to several people or one person respectfully. The subject words differ; the underdot is not a plural suffix.

Uppercase Ẹ, Ọ, Ṣ retain their dots. Preserve them in words and lookup keys. Vowel accents independently indicate tone, so an accent above a vowel never replaces its underdot.

Examples (3)

  1. O ní ẹran.

    You have meat.

    Addresses one person with singular o.

  2. Ẹ ní ẹran.

    You have meat.

    Addresses several people or one person respectfully.

  3. Aṣọ pupa.

    Red clothing.

    Noun-phrase fragment containing ṣ and ọ.

How It Connects

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

ẹ / ọ / ṣLevel 1Letters with Dots

Learn This First

Keep every underdot, even when a vowel also carries an accent.