Igbo for Lazy People: How to Speak Igbo by Speaking English

If you already speak English and are too lazy to learn Igbo but have Igbo friends, relatives, or enemies and would like to communicate with them once in a while, this is the definitive shortcut on how to speak Igbo without actually saying any Igbo words. ( Okay, as few as possible)

Igbo has a deceptively simple vocabulary but its structure is complex, consisting of nouns, verb prefixes, verb roots, verb suffixes, particles, auxiliaries, adjectives that behave like verbs, and adverbs that don't exist at all etc.

Ain't nobody got time for that!

The secret to mastering the entire Igbo language in one day using English is to memorize only the PARTICLES and the SUFFIXES, and remember the following rule:

Any English word can be converted into an Igbo word by adding -U

Just add suffixes and particles and you'll be speaking Igbo in no time!

Like so:

Case Study 1 - Skill Level : Easy

Bring + U = Bringu

Bag + U = Bagu

e.g. Amaka bringu bagu m!

Translation - Amaka fetch my bag!

Case Study 2 - Expert Mode

Dressu Chinyere afu a wrinklubagoli

Translation - that ( a particular) Chinyere's dress has already begun to wrinkle.

Nkechi a ka sellurodu house-u ya

Translation - Nkechi hasn't even sold her house yet.

Here's a list of the most commonly used suffixes and particles

Ka - implies action has not yet happened

Du - equivalent of Even in English

Ro - action is negative

Ba - action is just beginning

Li - action has already been performed

A - this or that

Go - action was completed in the past

Ga - action will be performed in the future

Now you can speak Igbo without saying any meaningful Igbo words.

Ngwa,

fuckuba off