Family Members in Igbo: Learn Igbo Family & Relationship Words

If you’re learning Igbo, knowing how to talk about family members in Igbo is one of the most useful places to start.

You may want to introduce your parents, talk about your brother or sister, or tell someone about your siblings. These are simple things, but they come up naturally when you’re getting to know someone.

In this guide, you’ll learn useful Igbo family vocabulary, including how to say family, mother, father, brother, sister and siblings in Igbo. More importantly, you’ll learn how to use some of these words in simple sentences.

The Family & Relationships topic is part of IgboLearn’s Basic Greetings and Introductions lesson. If you want to hear the words, practise their pronunciation and continue learning beyond this guide, there’s a free sample you can start with.

Start the free Igbo lesson on IgboLearn

How Do You Say “Family” in Igbo?

The Igbo word for family is: Ezinụlọ

In the lesson, the tutor first breaks it down as:

Ezi na Ụlọ

and then brings it together:

Ezinụlọ

So if you’re searching for “family in Igbo,” ezinụlọ is an important word to know.

But knowing how to say family is only the beginning. You’ll also need the words for the individual people who make up your family.

Family Members in Igbo

Here are the family words covered in this topic:

These are useful words to know, but don’t stop at memorising the table.

Let’s learn how to actually use them.

How Do You Say “Father” in Igbo?

Father in Igbo is “Nna.”

You may also hear:

Papa.

So:

Nna — Father
Papa — Father / Papa

Easy enough.

But what happens when you actually want to introduce your father?

To say “This is my father” in Igbo, the lesson teaches:

Onye a bụ nna m.
This is my father.

Say it aloud:

Onye a bụ nna m.

Instead of stopping at Nna = Father, you’re already learning how to use the word in a sentence.

How Do You Say “Mother” in Igbo?

Mother in Igbo is “Nne.”

You may also hear:

Mama.

So:

Nne — Mother
Mama — Mother / Mama

To say “This is my mother” in Igbo, say:

Onye a bụ nne m.
This is my mother.

Now compare the two:

Onye a bụ nna m.
This is my father.

Onye a bụ nne m.
This is my mother.

See the pattern?

You aren’t memorising two completely different sentences. You’re learning a structure and changing the family member you’re talking about.

Reading Nna and Nne is one thing. Hearing an Igbo speaker pronounce them and practising the sentences yourself is another.

In IgboLearn’s Basic Greetings and Introductions lesson, you can hear an Igbo tutor teach this Family & Relationships topic and practise along instead of relying only on written translations.

Take the Igbo lesson and watch the free sample

How Do You Say “Brother” in Igbo?

Brother in Igbo is “Nwanne nwoke.”

Nwanne nwoke
Brother

If you want to say “He is my brother” in Igbo, the lesson teaches:

Ọ bụ nwanne m nwoke.
He is my brother.

The tutor breaks this down while teaching it:

Ọ bụ + nwanne m + nwoke

Then puts it together:

Ọ bụ nwanne m nwoke.

This is why learning the sentence alongside the vocabulary helps.

You don’t only know what brother means in Igbo. You can now point to someone and tell another person:

Ọ bụ nwanne m nwoke.

How Do You Say “Sister” in Igbo?

Sister in Igbo is “Nwanne nwaanyị.”

Nwanne nwaanyị
Sister

And if you want to say “She is my sister” in Igbo, say:

Ọ bụ nwanne m nwaanyị.
She is my sister.

Compare it with brother:

Ọ bụ nwanne m nwoke.
He is my brother.

Ọ bụ nwanne m nwanyị.
She is my sister.

Again, you’re starting to see a pattern instead of treating every new sentence as something you have to memorise from scratch.

What Is “Sibling” in Igbo?

The lesson teaches:

Nwanne
Sibling

For siblings, you can say:

Ụmụ nwanne

or:

Ụmụnne

And if you want to say “They are my siblings” in Igbo, say:

Ha bụ ụmụnne m.
They are my siblings.

Now you have another sentence you can actually use when talking about your family.

Don’t Just Memorise Igbo Family Words

At this point, you could close this page knowing:

Nna means father.

Nne means mother.

Nwanne nwoke means brother.

Nwanne nwanyị means sister.

And Ụmụnne can mean siblings.

That’s useful.

But imagine someone shows you a picture and starts talking about their family in Igbo.

Or you want to introduce your own family.

Suddenly, knowing six isolated translations isn’t enough.

Real Igbo doesn’t arrive one flashcard at a time.

You need to hear the words, recognise them when someone speaks, practise saying them and understand how they work inside complete sentences.

You’ve already started learning this Family & Relationships topic here. You can continue it as part of IgboLearn’s Basic Greetings and Introductions lesson and practise with an Igbo tutor.

Continue this Igbo lesson for free

Practise Talking About Your Family in Igbo

Here’s something you can do right now.

Open a family picture on your phone.

Look at the people in it and identify them in Igbo.

Your father:

Nna m
My father

Your mother:

Nne m
My mother

Your brother:

Nwanne m nwoke
My brother

Your sister:

Nwanne m nwanyị
My sister

Your siblings:

Ụmụnne m
My siblings

Then take it one step further and use the complete sentences from the lesson.

Onye a bụ nna m.
This is my father.

Onye a bụ nne m.
This is my mother.

Ọ bụ nwanne m nwoke.
He is my brother.

Ọ bụ nwanne m nwanyị.
She is my sister.

Ha bụ ụmụnne m.
They are my siblings.

Now you’re not just learning family members in Igbo.

You’re talking about your family in Igbo.

Learn Igbo Family Vocabulary in Context

This is an important habit to build as you learn Igbo.

Don’t only ask:

“What is father in Igbo?”

Learn Nna, but also learn:

Onye a bụ nna m.

Don’t only learn:

Nwanne nwanyị = sister.

Learn:

Ọ bụ nwanne m nwanyị.

The vocabulary gives you the word. The sentence gives you something you can actually say.

And once you can hear the pronunciation, repeat it and practise it several times; it becomes much easier to recognise the same words when you hear someone else speaking.

You can also use the IgboLearn Dictionary to search for individual Igbo words, listen to their pronunciation and practise saying them aloud.

Learn Igbo Greetings Too

Family vocabulary becomes even more useful when you combine it with the Igbo you’ve already learnt.

You can greet someone, introduce yourself, ask questions and then begin talking about family.

If you’re still learning the basics, see to how to say good morning in Igbo and other common Igbo greetings.

Learn the greeting. Then how to introduce yourself.Learn how to ask questions. Learn how to talk about your family.

Then start putting everything together.

That’s when Igbo begins to feel less like a collection of translations and more like a language you can actually use.

Continue Learning Family & Relationships in Igbo

You now know how to say family, father, mother, brother, sister and siblings in Igbo.

But don’t make this another article you read, understand…and forget tomorrow.

Practise it.

The Family & Relationships topic is part of IgboLearn’s Basic Greetings and Introductions lesson. You can continue learning with an Igbo tutor, hear how the words and sentences are pronounced, and practise what you’ve learnt.

Start the Basic Greetings and Introductions lesson

Then get the IgboLearn app to keep learning and practising wherever you are.

Igbo ga-adị ndụ.