Igbo Pronouns: How to Say I, You, We & They in Igbo

Learning Igbo pronouns is an important step when you want to move from knowing individual words to building complete Igbo sentences.

You know some Igbo words. You may even know how to build a simple sentence.

But what happens when you want to say:

I am going.

You are eating.

We will go.

or:

They ran.

That’s where Igbo pronouns come in.

Pronouns are words like I, you, he, she, we and they. They help you talk about yourself and other people without constantly repeating names.

In this guide, you’ll learn some of the most useful Igbo pronouns for beginners, see how they work inside simple sentences, and learn an important difference between subject and object pronouns.

This is Topic 3 of IgboLearn’s How to Build Igbo Sentences – Part 1 lesson, taught by Igbo tutor Chinyere Obiyor.

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What Are Igbo Pronouns?

A pronoun is a word that can take the place of a noun.

Instead of repeating someone’s name every time you talk about them, you can use words like he, she or they.

Here are the Igbo pronouns introduced in this topic:

You may have noticed something.

Some of these pronouns change depending on where they’re used in a sentence.

Let’s look at why.

Igbo Subject Pronouns vs Object Pronouns

Remember what we learnt about subject, verb and object in Igbo sentences.

The subject is who or what performs the action.

The object is who or what receives the action.

Pronouns can take these different positions too.

For example:

M — I

Mụ — me

Think about the difference in English:

I am going.

He saw me.

Both I and me refer to the same person, but we use them differently depending on their role in the sentence.

This helps us understand some of the Igbo pronouns in this lesson.

How Do You Say “I” in Igbo?

When I is the subject of the sentence, the lesson uses:

M — I

For example:

M na-aga Enugu.

I am going to Enugu.

Who is going?

M — I.

The corresponding object form taught in the lesson is:

Mụ — me

So remember:

M — I

Mụ — me

Rather than memorising them as unrelated words, pay attention to where they belong in the sentence.

How Do You Say “You” in Igbo?

For you as the subject, the lesson introduces:

I / Ị — you

For example:

I na-eri nri.

You are eating.

Here, I is the subject because you are performing the action.

The corresponding object form is:

Gị — you

So:

I / Ị — you as the subject

Gị — you as the object

How Do You Say “He” or “She” in Igbo?

For he, she or it as the subject, the lesson introduces:

O / Ọ — he / she / it

For example:

Ọ bịara ebe ahụ taa.

He/She came there today.

The corresponding object form taught in the lesson is:

Ya — him / her / it

So:

O / Ọ — he / she / it

Ya — him / her / it

Again, the important thing isn’t only knowing the translation. Pay attention to how the pronoun is being used in the sentence.

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How Do You Say “We,” “You All” and “They” in Igbo?

The remaining subject pronouns in this topic are straightforward.

We

Anyị — we

For example:

Anyị ga-aga ụlọ akwụkwọ.

We will go to school.

You All

When speaking to more than one person:

Unu / Unu niile — you all

For example:

Unu niile ga-agba egwu echi.

You all will dance tomorrow.

They

Ha — they

For example:

Ha gbara ọsọ.

They ran.

Put all the subject pronouns together and you get:

Don’t only memorise the pronouns.

Look at how each one works inside a complete sentence.

Practice Igbo Pronouns

Let’s see what you remember.

Can you match these Igbo pronouns to their English meanings?

M — ?

I / Ị — ?

O / Ọ — ?

Anyị — ?

Unu / Unu niile — ?

Ha — ?

Now check your answers:

M — I

I / Ị — you

O / Ọ — he / she / it

Anyị — we

Unu / Unu niile — you all

Ha — they

Now go one step further.

Say these complete sentences aloud:

M na-aga Enugu.

I na-eri nri.

Ọ bịara ebe ahụ taa.

Anyị ga-aga ụlọ akwụkwọ.

Unu niile ga-agba egwu echi.

Ha gbara ọsọ.

The goal isn’t just to know that M means I or Ha means they.

You want to become comfortable seeing and using those pronouns inside Igbo sentences.

What Comes Next?

You now know some of the main Igbo subject pronouns taught in this lesson:

M, I / Ị, O / Ọ, Anyị, Unu and Ha.

You’ve also seen that some pronouns have different object forms:

M → Mụ

I / Ị → Gị

O / Ọ → Ya

But recognising those forms in a table is only the beginning.

The next step is seeing object pronouns working inside complete Igbo sentences.

That’s what comes next in the lesson.

Continue Learning How to Build Igbo Sentences

If sentence formation itself is still new to you, start with how to form simple sentences in Igbo, then learn about subject, verb, and object in Igbo sentences.

How to Build Igbo Sentences – Part 1 includes 7 topics taught by Igbo tutor Chinyere Obiyor and is rated ⭐ 4.9/5 on the IgboLearn app.

At the end of the lesson, you can test what you’ve learnt with an assessment and continue practising in the IgboLearn app with games, topic activities and audio flashcards.

Don’t just learn what each pronoun means.

Learn where it belongs.

Then use it to build a sentence.

👉 Continue How to Build Igbo Sentences – Part 1 for free