Grammar lets you build sentences. Expressions are what make a conversation feel like a conversation — and there are only a handful you genuinely need.
These six do most of the social work in Igbo. None of them needs a verb tense, and all six are complete utterances on their own.
Welcoming Someone: Nnọọ
- ǹnọ̀ọ̀ — welcome! (particularly to a visitor)
- Bata n’ime ụlọ! Nnọọ! — Come into the house! Welcome!
- Mmadụ bịa be gị, i sị ya nnọọ. — When someone comes to your house, you tell him welcome.
That second sentence is almost an instruction manual. Nnọọ is not optional politeness in an Igbo home — it is what you say, and its absence is noticed.
Thanking Someone: Daalụ
- dàalụ — thank you
To thank someone for something, add maka:
- Daalụ maka ego i nyere nna m. — Thank you for the money you gave my father.
- Anyị na-asị gị, “daalụ maka enyemaaka i nyere anyị.” — We are saying to you, “thanks for the help you gave us.”
Daalụ maka … is a frame you can fill with anything. It is worth learning as a unit.
Sympathy and Apology: Ndo
- ǹdo — a salutation of sympathy or apology
Ndo is the one with no clean English equivalent, and it is the most useful word in this list.
- Amaka, sị ya ndo. — Amaka, say sorry to him.
- Ndị mmadụ na-asị ya ndo maka ọnwụ di ya. — People are consoling her on the death of her husband.
Look at the range. The same word covers a small apology and consolation at a funeral. English would need sorry in one and something much more careful in the other.
Ndo means roughly I see that something is hard for you. Say it when someone trips, when someone is ill, and when someone is bereaved.
Careful with the spelling: ndo with a different tone means shade. Context separates them completely, so this is not a mistake that will cause confusion.
Asking Forgiveness: Gbaghara
- gbaghàrà — pardon; forgive
Ndo acknowledges that something is hard. Gbaghara asks to be forgiven — it is the stronger word, for when you were actually at fault.
- Biko, gbaghara m. — Please forgive me.
Note that it is a command form — the bare verb — with biko softening it and m as the object. Three things you have already learned, in four words.
Please: Biko
- bikō — please; used to seek forgiveness or permission
Biko is the single most useful word a beginner can carry. It turns a blunt command into a request, buys you time, and asks someone to repeat themselves without rudeness.
- Biko, nyem narị naịra abụọ. — Please give me two hundred naira.
- Biko, ekweghị! — Please, I don’t agree!
That second one shows biko doing something English please cannot — softening a disagreement rather than a request.
Leaving: Keemesịa
- kèemesịa — goodbye!
- Ugonna, keemesịa! — Bye, Ugonna!
Carrying a sense of until later, this is how you close a conversation rather than just stop talking.
All Six, in Order of Usefulness
| Biko | please — softens everything |
| Daalụ | thank you |
| Ndo | sympathy, from a stumble to a funeral |
| Nnọọ | welcome — expected, not optional |
| Gbaghara | forgive me — when you were at fault |
| Keemesịa | goodbye |
Learn these six and you can be gracious in Igbo before you can be fluent in it — which, socially, matters more.
Keep Building Your Igbo Sentences
Everyday expressions are the fifth topic in Sentences Part 2, just before the lesson’s closing conversation — where all six of these turn up in use rather than in a list.
👉 Learn How to Build Igbo Sentences – Part 2 free on IgboLearn
💬 Use all six in an AI Igbo conversation
Related reading: five of these six have a longer piece behind them — nnọọ, daalụ, ndo, biko and ka ọ dị. The two worth reading first are ndo and daalụ, because both cover more ground than their English translations let on: ndo is sympathy at least as often as apology, and daalụ carries well done as readily as thank you.
Ndo acknowledges that something is hard — sympathy or a light apology, covering everything from a small knock to consolation at a funeral. Gbaghara is the stronger word, asking to be forgiven, for when you were actually at fault.
Daalụ maka … Daalụ is thank you, and adding maka lets you name what for. It is a frame you can fill with anything, so it is worth learning as a unit.
Biko. It turns a blunt command into a request, buys you time, and asks someone to repeat themselves without rudeness — and it does one thing English “please” cannot, which is soften a disagreement rather than just a request.