Are you curious to learn how some Nigerian tongues say “thank you”?
Join us in our today’s talk. We are going to show how certain tongues show gratitude in their local dialect.
Once our discussion is over, you should be able to appreciate someone using at least two of these tongues.
Say Thank You In Nigerian Tongues
There are so many tongues littered in different parts of Nigeria. Research indicates that there are more than 500 verbalized languages in Nigeria.
Each of them has a unique way of saying “thank you”.
These native words are the best way that Nigerians use to convey an act of kindness and its tendency in urban and rural areas.
How To Express Your Thanks In Nigerian Dialects
Now let’s see how you can say thank you in languages like Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Fulfulda, Tiv, Edo, Ngas, Idoma, Ebira, and many more.
Hausa
It is one of the most important ethnic groups in Nigeria located in the northern region of Nigeria. By some estimates, we have more than 30 million people who speak the Hausa language.
In this regard, there are 3 ways that you can show appreciation in the Hausa dialect.
You can say ‘Na gode’, which means thank you, or ‘Alah ya ampana’ which means may God make it useful. Finally, you can say ‘Allah ya sa Alheri’ this means May God bless.
If you want to respond to it, you can say ‘madalla’.
Igbo
Igbo is another important ethnic group in Nigeria, situated in the eastern part of the country. There are approximately 24 million people who verbalize the tongue throughout the country.
A show of appreciation in the Igbo tongue differs according to the area. Nevertheless, everyone understands one another.
Natives of Enugu and Anambra often say ‘daalu’, while people in the central Igbo say ‘imeela’ which means you have done well. You can respond you can say ‘noo’, ‘ooo’, ‘Nsogbu adighi’, or ‘Nsogbu adiroo’.
Yoruba
It is not possible to mention some great tongues in Nigeria without mentioning Yoruba. Nationals, who verbalize this tongue settle in the western region of the country.
We have about 21 million people who speak that language in Nigeria. Yoruba people give thanks based on the age of the answerer.
However, we will examine how they do this.
For older people, you can say ‘E seun’. Then for those of your age or younger, you can say ‘O seun’ or O se. but generally, you can say ‘dupe lowo’ or ‘dupe lowo ti o’
Fulfulde
Indigenous people of this tongue live in the northern region of Nigeria.
There are approximately 11.5 million people in Nigeria who verbalize this tongue. They also have a unique manner to show appreciation in their local dialects.
Let’s check them out.
You may use these words to express your gratitude “miyotti”, “miyotti sosai” and “useko”. But if the respondent is just a person, you can say ‘a jaraama’ if it’s more than a person, then say ‘on jaraama’.
Tiv
This native tongue belongs to the people of Taraba, part of the state of Nassarawa and Benue in north-central Nigeria.
The natives of Tiv have their own style of saying thank you and it’s as simple as saying ‘M sugh u’, although the word can as well be used to say ‘sorry, hi, and welcome’
Ngas
When you travel to Plateau State, you can come across this dialect. There are different ways of appreciating someone using the Ngas tongue.
If you do not pronounce the words correctly, you may mistake them for something else. But don’t worry; we’ll help you make a distinction.
The overall way of saying thank you is “seyil”, but you can also say “nyha seyil”, so thank you.
If you are referring to a male say ‘ nyah seyil ya’ while a female is ‘nyah seyil yi’ then for more than a person ‘nya seyil wun’.
Edo
The Edo language originates from Edo in the southern region of Nigeria.
They also have their own way of expressing their appreciation by saying “uwese” or “u ru ese”. Whatever you pick, it’s all right.
Kanuri
Nigerians who speak that tongue live in the northeastern part of the country. Approximately 10 million people are believed to have originated in Kanuri.
So saying thank you in this wonderful tongue is like Nyiro askarngana or Nyiro zauro askarngana, which means thank you very much.
Ebira
Ebira is also a language belonging to some indigenous people in the center-north and a region in the southwestern part of Nigeria.
If you want to show a little appreciation in Ebira, you can say “avo” or “nyaari emi”, which means thank you for your support.
Ijaw
Exiting to the core south of Nigeria, are the Ijaw people. It’s as simple as saying “emiyenkah” to thank someone in that particular language.
Idoma
This language may be traced among the indigenous of Benue in the central part of northern Nigeria. They also have an easy way to demonstrate appreciation.
In this regard, you say “anya” and if you wish to answer, you always use the same word “anya”.
Igede
The Igede tongue originated from the southern part of Nigeria, although they have certain similarities with the Idoma people.
So if you want to say thank you, simply say “obe” and you’re done.
Urhobo
Still in the south of Nigeria, we have a few nationals who speak predominantly Urhobo.
In fact, we have about a million people who verbalize the tongue. The word appreciation in this dialect has extra meanings, although it depends on the way you pronounce it.
You can say ‘vwhe kobiruo’ ‘mingwo or migwo’ which could either mean good morning, afternoon or evening.
Efik
This dialect is also known by some as Ibibio. It is well-known in the Cross River and other parts of southern Nigeria.
There are two simple ways of saying thank you in this dialect.
It’s either you say “sosono” or “sosono eti eti eti” which means thank you very much.
As previously mentioned, there are more than 500 languages in Nigeria. So even though we have the entire clock for ourselves, we can’t finish them all.
But with the little that we have provided, you can show certain gratitude with the help of one or two of these languages as indicated.