A DICTIONARY OF MADA, A PLATEAU LANGUAGE ... - Roger Blench

A DICTIONARY OF MADA, 

A PLATEAU LANGUAGE OF 

CENTRAL NIGERIA 

BASED ON THE RIJA DIALECT 

Mada-English 

with an 

English-Mada finderlist 

Roger Blench 

Kay Williamson Educational Foundation 

8, Guest Road 

Cambridge CB1 2AL 

United Kingdom 

Voice/ Fax. 0044-(0)1223-560687 

Mobile worldwide (00-44)-(0)7967-696804 

E-mail rogerblench@yahoo.co.uk 

http://www.rogerblench.info/RBOP.htm 

Barau Kato 

(Cambridge, 24 July 2010)

Preface 

This dictionary is a preliminary attempt to record the richness of the Mada language. It is intended to help 

standardise the spelling of Mada words and to define words which are no longer in current use, especially 

cultural terms. The primary goal is to assist Mada speakers to use and spell words correctly. We hope also 

that the dictionary will be useful to students of the languages of Nigeria and of African languages in general. 

An introduction has been provided to facilitate the effective use of the dictionary. It covers Mada 

phonology; current orthography; sketch of Mada grammar; Mada language use; abbreviations; and the 

structure of individual entries. The appendices provide information of both cultural interest, such as Mada 

personal names, towns and villages; and words developed for Mada Bible Translation. 

The original source of the present document was a dictionary file prepared by Norman and Barbara Price in 

relation to the translation of the New Testament, a project finally finished and launched in 2000. However, 

the entries have been rechecked and in some cases retranscribed, many new items entered and it should be 

thus considered an essentially new document. 

We are aware that there are still many Mada words which have eluded us and that some words here defined 

may have secondary meanings that are not included. This is a draft circulated to interested individuals and 

therefore we would be grateful if any suggestions for amendment, correction and addition could be 

forwarded to the authors at the addresses given below. 

Roger Blench 

Barau Kato 

Jos 24 July 2010 

i

TABLE OF C O N T E N T S 

PREFACE ........................................................................................................................................................ I 

ABBREVIATIONS....................................................................................................................................... III 

1. THE MADA PEOPLE AND THEIR LANGUAGE................................................................................. I 

1.1 Location and Name ...................................................................................................................................................i 

1.2 Classification.............................................................................................................................................................i 

1.3 Scholarly publication .............................................................................................................................................. ii 

1.4 Dialects ................................................................................................................................................................... ii 

2. THE SOUND SYSTEM OF MADA AND ITS ORTHOGRAPHY .......................................................II 

2.1 Sound system .......................................................................................................................................................... ii 

2.2 Letters of the Mada alphabet.................................................................................................................................. iii 

3.3 Pronouns ................................................................................................................................................................ iii 

3.3.1 Direct speech .................................................................................................................................................. iii 

3.5 Adjectives ...............................................................................................................................................................vi 

4. GUIDE TO USING THE DICTIONARY .............................................................................................VII 

4.1 Structure of individual entries............................................................................................................................... vii 

4.2 Scientific Names ................................................................................................................................................... vii 

4.3 Nigerian English Usage ........................................................................................................................................ vii 

4.4 Etymology and Loan-words................................................................................................................................. viii 

4.5 Parts of Speech..................................................................................................................................................... viii 

BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................................................... IX 

1. PUBLICATIONS IN MADA................................................................................................................... IX 

2. LANGUAGE, ETHNOGRAPHY AND LINGUISTICS....................................................................... IX 

MADA-ENGLISH DICTIONARY ................................................................................................................1 

TABLES 

Table 1. Mada subject pronouns...................................................................................................................... iii 

Table 2. Mada subject pronoun paradigm ........................................................................................................iv 

Table 3. Mada pronouns re-ordered .................................................................................................................iv 

Table 4. Mada present tense subject pronouns .................................................................................................iv 

Table 5. Tones on Mada polysyllabic verb-stems ............................................................................................iv 

Table 6. Mada uncompleted past paradigm: monosyllabic stem.......................................................................v 

Table 7. Mada uncompleted past paradigm: polysyllabic stem.........................................................................v 

Table 8. Mada verb-stem paradigm ‘come’.......................................................................................................v 

Table 9. Tones on Mada polysyllabic verb-stems ............................................................................................vi 

Table 10. Mada imperfective verb-stem paradigm ‘was coming’ ....................................................................vi 

Table 11. Mada concordial adjectives ..............................................................................................................vi 

ii

Abbreviations 

Amer. American (for Americanisms) 

arch. archaic 

dial. dialect 

et. etymology 

euph. euphemism 

fig. figurative 

hum. humorous 

id. idiom 

id. ideophone 

ins. insulting 

lit. literally 

NE Nigerian English 

Ng. Ningo dialect 

Sh. Shugbu dialect 

Apart from the abbreviations, symbols are used to indicate particular features; 

 

see Appendix for further detail 

iii

Mada dictionary: Front matter 

INTRODUCTION 

1. The Mada people and their language 

1.1 Location and Name 

The Mada people live primarily in the region between Anjida and Akwanga on and around the road leading 

from Fadan Karshi to Akwanga in Nasarawa State, Central Nigeria. Their numbers are hard to estimate but 

probably now exceeds 100,000. Earlier literature refers to the Mada as ‘Yidda’ (e.g. Temple 1922:260) but no 

such term is used today. In colonial times a distinction was made between ‘Hill Mada’ and ‘Plains Mada’. The 

‘hill Mada’ were however, part of Eggon and as such unrelated to the Mada proper. These terms have now been 

dropped and today’s Mada now refers to the ‘Plains Mada’ of earlier sources. 

The Mada have tribal marks on their faces – 3 straight lines on the upper jaw on both sides, one on the forehead 

and one on the upper cheek close to the left eye. Women have tiny marks of straight lines drawn close to the 

mouth (lower cheek) on both sides. These days the marks are not seen on young ones any longer because it is 

considered cruel to have the marks especially due to the instruments used to draw the marks. These days also, 

most Mada women have all kinds of marks that are alien to the Mada culture due to influences of other cultures. 

In the olden days, women used to pierce one nostril and their ears for earrings. 

During the Nigerian civil war which broke out in 1967, almost all the children born at the time were given 

marks so as not to mistake them to be Igbos, especially someone who was light skin. Also, those young adults 

who were not previously given the marks, were given during the war. 

1.2 Classification 

Mada was classified as part of the Plateau language group by Greenberg (1963) and Williamson (1971), 

Hansford et al. (1976), Gerhardt (1989) and Crozier and Blench (1992) have all followed this view. Mada was 

put together with Ninzam, Ayu, Che, Ninkyop and some other languages as part of Plateau IV. More recently, 

this group has been christened ‘Ninzic’ in the light of the numerous languages with a –nin- element in their 

ethnonym (Blench 2000). 

Greenberg’s (1963:9) original list was Rukuba (Kuche), Ninzo (Ninzam), Ayu, Mada, Kaninkwom. The current 

list of Ninzic languages is as follows; 

Ninzo 

Ce [=Rukuba] 

Mada 

Bu-NiNkada 

Numana-Nunku-Gwantu-Numbu 

Ningye 

Kanufi 

Ninkyop-Nindem 

Doubtfully 

Vaghat-Ya-Bijim-Legeri 

Ayu? 

Data on many of these languages is too weak to be confident of their place within the group. However, on 

Ninzo and Ce relatively extensive data means that we can be sure these are the closest relatives of Mada. 

i


1.3 Scholarly publication 

The principal modern work on the Mada language is Price (1989) 1 . This work covers the phonology and 

orthography of Mada spoken in Rija, a village central to Mada country and the dialect chosen for New 

Testament translation. Price (1989) gives a valuable comparative wordlist in different dialects, which shows 

that at least some of them have markedly different phonology from Rija Mada. 

1.4 Dialects 

Mada has an extensive dialect network and there is quite high level of variation from village to village. Price 

(1989) gives a valuable comparative wordlist in different dialects, which shows that at least some of them have 

markedly different phonology from Rija Mada. The following dialects are listed; 

Rija, Gbugyar, Anjagwa, Ancho, Buhar, Akwanga, Ungwar Zaria 

of these, Akwanga and Ungwar Zaria are markedly different from the others. Nonetheless all dialects are easily 

mutually intelligible and Mada speakers are used to adjusting to different lects. 

2. The Sound System of Mada and its Orthography 

2.1 Sound system 

Mada has twenty consonant phonemes: 

Labial Labiodental 

Alveolar Velar Labiovelar 

Plosives vls p t k kp 

vd b d g gb 

Fricatives vls f s 

vd v z 

Affricates vls 

ts 

vd 

dz 

Nasals m n ŋ 

Laterals 

 

Vibrants 

r 

Approximants vls 

ʍ 

Approximants vd y w 

The voiceless approximant, /„ / is written ‘hy’ in the orthography but always sounds labialised. It is often 

written hyw in other Plateau languages, but there is no contrast with /hy/ so it is redundant. 

There are eight vowel phonemes: 

Front Central Back 

Close i u 

Close-Mid e ə o 

Open-Mid ε ɔ 

Open 

a 

1 Gerhardt (1983:112 ff.) includes some notes on the phonology and noun-class systems of two Mada dialects, but these have been 

comprehensively superseded by Price (1989). 

ii


but five corresponding nasalised vowels; 

Front Central Back 

Close ĩ ũ 

Open-Mid ɛ̃ ɔ̃ 

Open 

It is striking that this is identical to the vowel system of Ninkyop, the other language in the Ninzic group to 

have lost its nominal affix system. 

In the original orthography of 1985, the symbol ñ was adopted to mark nasalisation following a vowel, but this 

has been simplified to n. Thus ã is written ‘an’. The reason for this, is that the free ‘n’ is very rare and usually 

would not take word final following special vowels. 

Mada has three level tones and a rising and falling tone. Tones are marked as follows: 

high tone is unmarked 

/¯/ mid tone is shown by a macron 

/`/ for a low tone 

/ˆ/ for a falling tone 

/ß/ for a rising tone. 

The rising tone is uncommon compared with the other times. Mada is highly tonal and many lexical and 

grammatical distinctions are made only by tone. The orthography therefore marks tone on all syllables. 

2.2 Letters of the Mada alphabet 

The alphabet is phonemic and is made up of 34 letters. These are arranged as follows: 

a, b, c, e, ε, ə, d, f, g, gb, h, hw, i, j, k, kp, l, m, n, ng, ny, o, ɔ, p, r, s, sh, t, u, v, w, y, z, zh. 

These correspond to the IPA symbols used in the phonology via the following conventions; 

ng ŋ 

c tsʸ 

j dzʸ 

sh sʸ 

ny ŋʸ 

h ʍ before o~u 

hw ʍ elsewhere 

ã 

3.3 Pronouns 

3.3.1 Direct speech 

3.3.1.1 Subject Pronouns: intransitive 

Mada subject pronouns in intransitive constructions are; 

Table 1. Mada subject pronouns 

1s Ngə̄ 1p tə̄ 

2s wə̄ 2p gyə̄ 

3s (persons) gu 3p bə 

3s (objects) yə 3p yə 

iii


The existence of a neuter pronoun in the third person seems to be rather unusual in the context of Plateau 

languages. 

Mada recognises a completed and uncompleted past. The completed past has no inserted TAM and thus can 

represent the simplest verbal paradigm (Table 2). 

Table 2. Mada subject pronoun paradigm 

1s Ngə̄ car I wrote 

2s wə̄ cǎr You wrote 

3s (persons) gu cǎr He wrote 

3s (objects) yə̄ cǎr It wrote 

1p tə̄ car We wrote 

2p gyə̄ cǎr You wrote 

3p (persons) bə car They wrote 

3p (objects) yə cǎr It (pl.) wrote 

Table 3 shows the pronouns re-ordered to reflect this pattern. 

Table 3. Mada pronouns re-ordered 

2s wə̄ 1s Ngə̄ 

2p gyə̄ 1p tə̄ 

3s gu 3p bə 

This grouping then occurs in all combinations of subject pronoun and TAMs. To mark tense/aspect, Mada 

inserts particles between the pronoun and verb. Table 4 shows a typical present tense marked by the auxiliary 

là; 

Table 4. Mada present tense subject pronouns 

pron. am writing 

2s wə̄ là cǎr 

3s gu là cǎr 

2p gyə̄ là cǎr 

1s Ngə̄ là car 

1p tə̄ là car 

3p bə là car 

The same stem-tone changes are paralleled on polysyllabic verbs. For example, the verb debə, ‘to give way’ has 

the following paradigm (Table 5); 

Table 5. Tones on Mada polysyllabic verb-stems 

pron. am giving way 

2s wə̄ là dèbə̀ 

3s gu là dèbə̀ 

2p gyə̄ là dèbə̀ 

1s Ngə̄ là debə̀ 

1p tə̄ là debə̀ 

3p bə là debə̀ 

The ordering of the pronouns is the same, but a low-high opposition replaces the rising-high of monosyllabic 

stems. This resembles the imperfective contrasts found in the irregular verbs ‘come’ and ‘go’ (Table 10) 

although the connection between these two sets is less than transparent. 

Mada can express future action in two ways, either; 

iv


or; 

Ngə̄ lə car 

I will write 

Ngə̄ lə sə̀ car 

I will be write 

In both cases, the tone-pattern on the verb follows the pronominal pattern outlined above and the TAM is 

invariant. 

However, in the case of the uncompleted past and the conditional, the auxiliaries undergo tone-changes that 

reflect the verb-stem tone-changes. Table 6 shows the paradigm for the uncompleted past; 

Table 6. Mada uncompleted past paradigm: monosyllabic stem 

pron. was writing 

2s wə̄ sə̀ cǎr 

3s gu sə̀ cǎr 

2p gyə̄ sə̀ cǎr 

1s Ngə̄ sə̄ car 

1p tə̄ sə̄ car 

3p bə sə̄ car 

In the case of a polysyllabic stem, comparable changes occur on the second syllable of the verb-stem (Table 7); 

Table 7. Mada uncompleted past paradigm: polysyllabic stem 

pron. was escaping 

2s wə̄ sə̀ gbojùn 

3s gu sə̀ gbojùn 

2p gyə̄ sə̀ gbojùn 

1s Ngə̄ sə gbojun 

1p tə̄ sə gbojun 

3p bə sə gbojun 

The conditional, which inserts the auxiliary də between pronoun and verb, follows the same pattern of 

mimicking the verb-stem tones. Thus; 

Ngə̄ də̄ car 

I if write 

wə̄ də̀ cǎr 

You if write 

Mada appears to encompass at least one pair of ‘irregular’ verbs where the tone-pattern is somewhat different 

although it still confirms to underlying assignment of number. These are the verbs ‘come’ and ‘go’. Table 8 

shows the verb-stem tones for the present tense for ‘to come’; 

Table 8. Mada verb-stem paradigm ‘come’ 

pron. am coming 

2s wə̄ là nyə̌ 

3s gu là nyə 

2p gyə̄ là nyə̌ 

1s Ngə̄ là nyə 

1p tə̄ là nyə 

3p bə là nyə 

v


These are evidently very similar to the paradigm in Table 4 except for the 3s. In the case of polysyllabic verbstems, 

these very nearly mimic the monosyllabic paradigm except that the 3s is no longer irregular. For 

example, the verb gbojun, ‘to escape’ has the following paradigm (Table 9); 

Table 9. Tones on Mada polysyllabic verb-stems 

pron. am escaping 

2s wə̄ là gbǒjǔn 

3s gu là gbǒjǔn 

2p gyə̄ là gbǒjǔn 

1s Ngə̄ là gbojun 

1p tə̄ là gbojun 

3p bə là gbojun 

The uncompleted past is more distinctive however, compared with Table 6. The distinctive tone-changes in the 

auxiliary sə have been neutralised and the tone-oppositions marked on the verb-stem become a simple high-low 

opposition (Table 10); 

Table 10. Mada imperfective verb-stem paradigm ‘was 

coming’ 

pron. was coming 

2s wə̄ sə nyə̀ 

3s gu sə nyə̀ 

2p gyə̄ sə nyə̀ 

1s Ngə̄ sə nyə 

1p tə̄ sə nyə 

3p bə sə nyə 

The same changes apply to the verb ywe ‘to go’ but no other monosyllabic verbs of this type have yet been 

identified. 

3.5 Adjectives 

Adjectives in Mada appear to be of two major types, those which follow a noun directly and show tonal concord 

with it and those which follow the copula or verb to be, sē. The first type is comparatively rare and those 

identified so far are shown in (Table 11); 

Table 11. Mada concordial adjectives 

s. pl. Gloss Example 

kukwɔ kukwɔ̄ small, young mbu kukwɔ small mat mbu kukwɔ̄ small mats 

nggɔ̀n nggɔn nggɔn big mbu nggɔn large mat mbu nggɔn nggɔn large mats 

bəbə̄ — decayed, rotten krī bəbə̄ mē this rotten yam 

goglo — hot te mə̀sər goglo cà nggə̄ m... fetch water hot bring me 

kənàn — much kə̄ jī kənàn much money 

The first two, ‘small’ and ‘big’ show tonal concord with the noun qualified, while others do not. Some of these 

adjectives can also act as complements to sē; 

kūkwɔ̌ 

kənàn 

yə̀mē sē kūkwɔ̌ this is small 

kə̄ kə̄ nggə̄ sē kənàn chickens my are many 

An unusual case is; 

pwà undeveloped, referring to peanuts bencwē ku pwà groundnuts fell undeveloped 

which might be better treated as an adverb, despite its qualifying a noun. 

vi


Adjectives following sē are common, and indeed this construction is widespread throughout Plateau, occurring 

for example in Berom and Izere. Many of these adjectives have plurals and thus agree in number with the head 

noun. 

cīnji cinji black bàbər nggə̄ sē cīnji motorcycle my is black 

hū hūhū wide nkɔ̀n sē hū the gate is wide. kə̄ nkɔ̀n sē hūhū the gates are wide 

hwyε hwyεhwyε narrow 

Adjectives can take diminutive prefixes like nouns and show concord with the noun they qualify; 

(fə-)nyεn small fəvɛ̀n mū sē fənyεn boy that is small 

Apart from showing agreement in number, reduplicated adjectives can indicate intensity; 

nyɛ̂ nnyɛ̄ n 

very small 

and animacy; 

hyur close (people) tə̄ sē hyur bə̄ kəywə̀ we are close to one another 

hyuhyur close (objects) nkɔ̀n sē hyuhyur bə̄ tə̀ the gate is close to us 

4. Guide to using the dictionary 

4.1 Structure of individual entries 

Each entry has the following order; 

Mada word part of speech Class Meaning Hausa other information 

Singular Plural 

n. 

v. 

Plural verbs are rarer than nouns, but they are listed in the second column where they occur. Mada also has 

plural adjectives. Parts of speech are given in §4.5. Class is a semantic classification used to identify different 

fields of meaning. It will be deleted in the printed version. Hausa is included in some cases, but will probably 

also be eliminated from the printed version. The final column gives examples of the words in use, but also 

scientific names and other types of information. Mada words are always in boldface. 

4.2 Scientific Names 

In this dictionary, many scientific names are given for plants and animals. Scientific names are in Latin, and 

they are written in italics to show they are not English. Scientific names are intended to be an international 

language so that researchers in all countries will have a single name for a living creature, although the name in 

their own language will vary. For example, when the definition of a word is baobab, Adansonia digitata this 

means that baobab is the common English name corresponding to the Latin or scientific name following. These 

may not be familiar to Mada speakers, but it is important to try and identify correctly those plants and animals 

that people experience in their everyday life. 

4.3 Nigerian English Usage 

Certain usages in Nigerian English have now diverged from international English, and this is a potential source 

of confusion in definitions. For example, 'follow' in Nigeria generally means 'to go along with', whereas in 

International English it means to 'go after' or 'go behind'. Similarly ‘use to' has the sense of 'customarily' in 

Nigeria, so 'he use to go to market' implies a practice. In International English the sense is rather 'formerly', 

implying that the action referred to no longer takes place. In this dictionary, International English is used for the 

primary definition throughout. Where Nigerian usage is given, it is always in apostrophes, thus; ‘use to' or 'fox'. 

vii


Other meanings of a word are listed below the first meaning. Where a word is used in an idiom it is marked ‘id.’ 

and the literal translation of the idiom is given. Examples of the word in use are given first in Mada and then in 

a natural English translation. 

4.4 Etymology and Loan-words 

Not every word in the language is native to Mada; like English, Mada has borrowed words from other 

languages. The sources of many words have not been identified; however, obvious loanwords from other 

languages are marked in the text. The following abbreviations are used; 

E. = English 

F. = Fulfulde 

H. = Hausa 

Sh. = Shugbu 

Y. = Yoruba 

Occasionally a word can be identified as a loan-word but the precise source language is unknown. In this case 

the word is marked (


Bibliography 

1. Publications in Mada 

a. Mada Phonology 

b. Yɛso sē bə ̄ nggɔn nggɔn yə ̄ gu kpə ̄ tə ̄ cūngwɔn (Jesus has power to save us) 

c. Alphabet chart 

d. The Jesus Film 

2. Language, Ethnography and Linguistics 

Blench, R. M. 2000a. Revising Plateau. In: Proceedings of 2 nd WOCAL, Ekkehard Wolff & O. Gensler eds. 

159-174. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe. 

Blench, R. M. 2000b. Transitions in Izere nominal morphology and implications for the analysis of Plateau 

languages. In: Nominal classification in African languages. A. Meißner & A. Storch (eds.) 7-26. Frankfurter 

Afrikanistische Blätter, 12. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe. 

Crozier, D.H. and Blench, R.M. 1992. An Index of Nigerian Languages. Summer Institute of Linguistics Inc. 

Dallas. 

De Wolf, P. 1971. The noun class system of Proto-Benue-Congo. The Hague: Mouton. 

Gerhardt Ludwig, 1989. Kainji and Platoid. In: Niger-Congo. Bendor-Samuel, J. 359-76. Lanham: University 

Press of America Inc. 

Gerhardt, L. 1972/3a. Das Nominalsystem der Plateau-4 Sprachen: Versuch einer Rekonstruktion. Afrika und 

Übersee, 56:72-89. 

Gerhardt, L. 1983. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Sprachen des Nigerianischen Plateaus. Glückstadt: Verlag J.J. 

Augustin. 

Gerhardt, Ludwig & Heinz Jockers. 1981. Lexikostatistische Klassifikationen von Plateausprachen. In: Berliner 

Afrikanistische Vorträge, H. Jungraithmayr and G. Miehe eds., 25-54. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer. 

Greenberg, J. H. 1963. The Languages of Africa. Bloomington: Indiana University. 

Hansford, K. et. al. 1976. An Index of Nigerian Languages. Studies in Nigerian Languages, No. 5. SIL, Accra. 

Kadima, H. & K. Jerzyk n.d. The phonology of Ninkyob. ms. Jos. 

Kingdon, Jonathan 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals. San Diego: Academic Press. 

Maydell, H. J. von 1986. Trees and shrubs of the Sahel. Eschborn: GTZ. 

Okezie, Akobundu, I. & C.W. Agyakwa 1998. A handbook of West African weeds. 2 nd . ed. Ibadan: International 

Institute of Tropical Agriculture. 

Price, N. 1989. Notes on Mada phonology. Language Data, Africa Series, 23. Dallas: SIL. 

Serle, W., Morel, G.J. & W. Hartwig 1977. A field guide to the birds of West Africa. London: William Collins. 

Shimizu, K., 1975. A Lexicostatistical Study of Plateau Languages and Jukun. Anthropological Linguistics 17, : 

413-418. 

Temple, Olive 1922. Notes on the Tribes, Provinces, Emirates and States of the Northern Provinces of Nigeria. 

Argus Printing and Publishing Co. Capetown. 

Williamson, Kay 1989. Benue-Congo Overview. In: John Bendor-Samuel (ed.), The Niger-Congo Languages. 

Lanham: University Press of America, pp. 247-276. 

Williamson, Kay, 1984. Practical Orthography in Nigeria. Heinemann Educational Books (Nigeria) Limited, 

Ibadan. 

Williamson, Kay & Roger M. Blench 2000. Niger-Congo. In: Bernd Heine & Derek Nurse (eds.), African 

Languages: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 11-42. 

Wolff, H., 1954. Nigerian Orthography. North Regional Adult Education Office, Kaduna. 

ix


CAVEAT LECTOR 

The following version of the Mada dictionary still has problems you should be aware of. These are; 

1. Verbs. The Mada verbal system is far from fully understood, but since all tense/aspect marking makes use of 

tone and a basic CVC verb can bear up to four different tones in context, the tone of the head entry 

becomes a matter of some importance. I now believe that the most useful form of the verb is the 2s present 

tense, since from this all other forms can be predicted. At the moment, the head entries consist of the tone 

in the present tense, and the past in the second column, except where a suppletive plural verb has been 

identified, but these have not been checked. It is also clear that irregular verbs exist, but these have still to 

be clarified. The tones may thus change in the final version of the dictionary. 

2. Nouns. Whether a noun has a plural in Mada is hard to predict, and I have inserted a long dash in Column 2 

where I have clear assertions that a word has no plural. However, many words seem to have two or three 

plurals, a sign that the nominal system is in flux. Also some words may have plurals but they were 

unknown at the time of elicitation. In this case, the cell is left blank. 

3. Scientific identifications. Almost all the scientific names come from a single day spent in Rija, going through 

books of images with a circle of elderly men. In the case of trees, we were sometimes able to see the tree in 

question, but in most cases we have had to depend on the books. Scientific names should therefore be 

regarded with appropriate scepticism. 

x

Mada dictionary: Main text 

MADA-ENGLISH DICTIONARY 

Missing: guest, rib, vein 

a architecture dr item of dress mt mat 

ai agricultural implement e emotions p person 

an ant f fish pd personal decoration 

fa farming 

ap animal part fo food pl plant 

fr fruit po pot 

b bird g grass r reptile, amphibian 

bf bodily fluid ga game s snake 

bm body mark, sore etc. go gourd sh shrub 

gr grasshopper 

bp body part h herb so song 

bs basket hu hunting equipment t tree 

c crop i insect ti title 

tm temporal (adverbs) 

co colour k kinship to tool 

cr crustacean la landscape tp tree part 

d disease, sickness ma mammal tr traditional religion 

da domestic animal me medicine tx textile 

dc dance mi musical instrument v vine 

dk drink mo money w weaving 

w weather 

Singular Plural PoS C English Hausa Examples, other information 

A. 

àku n. b grey parrot Psittacus erithacus 

an conj. and, then tə̄ dan gu an gu kan bàn nkɔ̀n də̀ ywe we told him and then 

took road and went 

an àn excl. no response to a question – sē wə̄ wān nan kì mē? is-it you who did 

1



thing this? Did you do this? 

anrɛ̀n conj. because nggə̄ nan ənə̀mē anrɛ̀n dər là ngar nggə̀ I do like-this because 

heart cont. break (pain) me. I do this because I am suffering. 

anrīn adv. before wə̄ də̀ nàn ndu mē anrīn wə̄ sə rē lā you if do work this before 

you will eat food. You won’t get any food until you do this work. 

atìshâû id. describes snizzing nggə̄ te gbə̀shǔ de atìshâû I make sneezing that atìshâû 

āyiririiii↘ excl. ululation gudà āyiriririiii↘ là gbo mbə̄ ca Ncān (they) are bringing a wife to 

Ncān 

B. 

bàbər bābər n. motorcycle babur < Hausa 

bān v. to accompany, to go with, to 

‘follow’ 

2 

yə̄ gu lə dān mə̄ nē tswē yə̄ bə lə ban RELp 3s FUT tell people 

place 3pi 3p FUT accompany. He will tell people where they are 

to go 

bān vu v. to take dauka Ban yə̄ nə̄ nggə̀. Take it give me. Vǔ zəkpə cà nggə̄ mān. Bring 

me those shoes [vu governs a plural object] 

bān dem. those Nywεn bān wə̄ sē sen? Children those (of) you are how? 

bān mə̀bān n. law Îoka Bān tə̄ dan de tə̄ ka sə̄ mə̀ yo. Our law says that we should not 

drink wine. 

ban mgbə̀ v.p. to sniff nggə̄ là ban mgbə̀ I cont. take sniff 

bàr v. to touch taba bàr nggə̄ də̀ man kyɛn touch me and see 

bǎrga barga n. lion zaki 

n. lip patan bakin bǎrnyū gu sē nggɔ̀n lips his are big 

bǎrnyū 

barnyū, 

mə̀bǎrnyū 

be adv. forever tə̄ lə sɔ̀n be we will stay forever 

bě be, bəbe n. seed be is a prefix 

bē loc. outside waje gu sē ə bē he is at outside 

bedə̀rō — n. c millet dauro < Hausa 

begywī n. i flying ants shinge 

běkan bekan n. pd ring zobe nggə̄ gyɔ běkan ngwɔ̀n I put ring hand 

běkyɛ̀n bekyɛ̀n n. c Lima beans waken rumfa 

běkì bekī n. pp seed kwayan hatsi



běkìtɔ̄ n bekītɔ̄ n n. pd ear-ring abin kunne yə̀mē sē běkì tɔ̄ n this is ear-ring 

běkpū bekpu n. c kernel of guinea corn dawa 

belə̄ belà nywɛ̂ n n. b cattle egret 

belə̄ belà 

cf. kə̀kənggyān. < Hausa Ardeola ibis 

běmè — n. e wickedness mugunta wə̄ là te běmè mē mūn? you cont. make wickedness this why? 

Bemè p.n proper name wickedness 

běmkpàn bemkpàn n. c maize kernel masara 

běncī benci n. c acca cultivar 

běncwē bencwē n. c groundnut gyeda 

běntə bentə n. c beniseed, sesame ridi cf. also njìnjà 

běntsu béntsú n. c acca, fonio acca 

běnzɛ̄ benzε n. v jumblebeads idon zakara Abrus precatorius 

běsə̄ n bésə̄ n n. c cowpea wake 

bětsə̀kā bétsə̀kā n. c rice shinkafa 

bězǔ bezu n. wp bullet alsashi 

bɛ̄ bε n. m large male patas monkey jan biri Erythrocebus patas. also kpɔ̀mgbukpɔ̀n 

bɛ̀ v. to praise one for a good job yabo gu là bɛ̀ zə̄ ywə̄ he cont. praise child his 

bə pron. they, them su 3 rd person plural pronoun. 

bə v. to be decayed, to be rotten ruba Krī nggə̄ bə. My yams are rotten. 

bə̄ loc. with tare Nggə̄ lə sɔ̀n rɛ̄ nde bə̄ gyə̄ . I will stay long with you (pl). Nggə̄ sē 

bə̄ nywεn tûn. I am with five children (I have 5 children) 

bə̀ bə̄ bə̀ n. place, hole (natural), position rami yə̀mē sē bə̀ kpə̄ r this is hole of giant mouse, yə̀mē sē bə̀ mə̀nggə̄ 

this is position my 

bə̀bàrì bə̄ bàri n. i butterfly mallam bude 

littafi 

bə̀bè a. foolish və̄ lɔn mūn ku bə̀bè man that fall foolish. This man is a fool 

bə̀bɛ̀ bə̄ bɛ̀ n. ap tail wutsiya 

bə̀bèbè adv. foolishly kàdə nàn kī bə̀bèbè ənə̀mē yo don’t do things foolishly like this 

bəbə̄ a. decayed, rotten rube krī bəbə̄ mē this rotten yam 

bə̄ bə̄ n. t tree sp. 

bə̀brɛ̀gyùn bə̄ brɛ̀gyún n. h mushroom large brown, edible 

bə̀brɛ̀ywì bə̄ brɛ̀ywi n. i cockroach kyenkeso 

bə̂ rbə̀r bə̂ rbə̀rbə̀r id. describes how a lantern burns the plural describes the continuous burning of the lantern, not 

3



necessarily many lanterns. tə̀təlà là rɛn bə̂ rbə̀r (the) lantern is 

burning 

bər v. to add water to a solid tə̄ là bər nzan we cont. add water to nzan 

bər int. how many? nawa? Yə sē bər? it is how many? 

bər v. to appeal Nggə̄ là bər wə̄ , kàdə tè gyār yo. I am begging you, shouldn't 

make angry not. [I beg you, don’t be angry with me.] 

bə̄ r bə̄ bə̀r n. a farm shelter buka tə̄ sɔn ə bə̀r we sit at farm shelter 

bə̄ r bə̄ bə̀r n. dr hat nggə̄ sɔn bə̀r I wear hat 

bə̄ r bər v. appeal, beg, pray roko Nggə̄ là bər wə̄ , I cont. beg you 

bə̀r bər n. s royal python kasa Python regius 

bə̀r n. m genet cat Genetta genetta 

Bə̀tərē p.n personal name lit. ‘white man’ 

bì v. to be adapted, accustomed to 

kpə nggə̄ ban bì mbɛ̀ my body is already adapted [to the 

the weather 

weather] 

bì bi n. s cobra [Shugbu dial.] cf. Rija jwì 

bǐshī bishi n. bp eye, face, presence idanu, fuska Kə ngwur nggə̄ ə bīshi wə̀. He slapped me in your presence. 

bīshizə̀ bishizə̀ n. bp ankle idon kafa 

blā v. to teach koyaswa, Nggə̄ là ywe tswē blā nywεn I am going to teach the children 

karatu ko 

kuma kirga 

v. to read iya karatu nywεn bla krε the children have finished reading 

v. to count iya kirge tə̄ là bla krī we cont. counting yams 

Blā p.n personal name lit. ‘read’ 

Blāmə̀kə̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘counting houses’ 

blə — v. to be flat, deflated iska ya fita a tayā matò wə̄ blə tyre car your is flat 

taya 

bɔ̌ n. g grass sp. 

bɔ̀n bɔn n. b hawk 

brè brě-brè adj same in height tə tan brê kəywə̀ we tall same with ourselves 

bri n. stomach-ache ciwon ciki nɛ̄ n là bri nggə̀ stomach cont. aching me 

brî brîbrì v. to appear and disappear gu sə kàn brî meme də̀ kan nànsɛn? he just appear and 

disappear now to where? (the plural is a description of the 

frequency of the action) 

brîbrì — adv. twilight, half-light, before da asubayi gu gərù mà tswē kasə̄ sē brîbrī menrīn he went out while it was 

4



sunrise 

still twilight 

brîbrî adv. restlessly wə là te brîbrî mwɔn you cont. make restless too much 

brε mə̀brε n. grave kabari tə̄ là gya brɛ we cont dig grave 

brɛ̀brɛ̀, brɛ̂ brɛ̀ a. weak gu sē brɛ̂ brɛ̄ he is weak 

brɛ̌ krì brεkrī n. y yam heap bunga doya 

brêbrè adv. correctly daidai kān tə̄ gə̄ yə̄ brêbrè let us share it correctly 

bri mə̀bri n. bp lower abdomen, belly sɔn wə̀ndō ywān bri wear trouser cover lower abdomen 

brì brī n. tr ghost aljanu sē nggwɔ̌ wān ngrɛn brì gbàgyə̀r? it-is who see ghost ever? 

brì v. to shuck (maize) bambare Nggə̄ là bri kpəmkpàn. I'm shucking maize. 

brì — v. to be quick hanzari wə̄ la sē wān brì kpə yo you neg be person of quick not 

bu — v. to open bude bǔ nggə̄ nkɔ̀n open me door 

bǔ — n. openness rɛn yə kur bǔ menān the matter it lie openness only 

bū bu n. m aardvark Orycteropus afer 

bū — n. night, darkness dare, duhu bū te night make (it is night) 

bù bu v. to grind yi nika ywē bù tə̄ nzan ə kə̀. go make us nzan at house (of nzan) 

bu bishi — v.p. to be wise, be educated ganewa lit. open eyes. nggə̄ bla mgbāmvū də̀ bu bishi. I read book and 

open eyes (become wise). (idiom) 

bū mə̀sər n. f fish sp. Gymnarchus niloticus 

bubu n. exact spot yə̀mē sē bubu tswēywə̄ this is exact spot place of it 

bǔbù bubù n. bs large basket with lid, basket 

bùbù — n. taste for something, appetite kwadayi gu là te bùbù tan nan he cont has an-appetite to-eat meat 

būbū — n. darkness, early morning asuba 

bùbwɔ̀ — n. petition, pleading hankuri Sē bùbwɔ̀ nggə̄ là te nə gyə̄ . It-is pleading (that) I asp make give 

you(pl). Nggə̄ te wə̄ bùbwɔ̀ ka tè gyār yo. I make you a-pleading 

(you) should-not get angry not. 

Bùbwɔ̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘petition’ 

bùkan n. b giant kingfisher Ceryle maxima 

bwà bwā v. to pour out zuba Kan mə̀sər bwà ə tàr. Let the-water be-poured at the-room. 

bwā bwa v. to fly feriya vəncɛ là bwā (a) bird cont. flying 

bwɛ̂ v. to fetch s.t small cǔ bemkpàn mǎbwɛ̂ cà nggə̄ mān fetch corn reach small bring 

me 

bwɛ̂ v. to watch a person so as to 

bwɛ̂ me nggə̄ lə vūn gu kpaki small-time only I will catch him 

catch him at a later time 

must 

5



bwɛ̂ v. to be gentle 

bwɛ̂ bwɛ̀ a. slow and steady a hankali bwɛ̂ bwɛ̀ me nggə̄ lə kəsū slow and steady only I will reach 

bwə̀ 

bwə, 

n. t fig tree baure used to make arrowheads 

mə̀tərbwə 

bwər — p.n. dc dance of rejoicing tə̄ là bwər we cont. dance of rejoicing 

bwi — n. tr witchcraft maita Nē là te bwi. The persons cont. make witchcraft. 

bwɔ̌ bə̄ bwɔ n. dr pocket aljuhu 

bwɔ̂ bwɔ̄ v. to parboil tafasarwa Mbə̄ do là te nan bwɔ̂ bwɔ̄ Mbə̄ do cont. make meat parboil 

bwɔkì bə̄ bwɔkī n. dr pocket < English? 

C. 

câ conj. together with tare tə̄ sə̄ sē câ kəywə̀… we were together with…. 

cā — n. unfermented wine, sweet 

nggə̄ là sə cā I cont. drink unfermented sweet wine 

wine 

cā — v. to learn koyi nggə̄ là ca blā I cont. learning to write 

Cā ngrɛ̄ n p.n personal name lit. ‘see for the first time’ 

cà — v. to bring to te mə̀sər cà nggə̄ mān fetch water bring to me 

càn can, cān v. to pound or crush (yams or daka Və̄ nggə̄ rin là càn krī Vənggərin cont. pound yam 

palm nuts), pound, mash with 

foot 

càn nyū v.p. Describes s.o about to cry Mgbǔn là càn nyū yə̄ gu gì menān Mgbǔn is about to cry 

Cànkyū p.n personal name lit. ‘press down death’ 

car — v. to write rubuta Swɛ̌ nyū là car Swɛ̌ nyū cont. write 

cā…zu v. to spoil lallacewa rɛn cazu matter spoil 

cε — v. to be mature, grow girma wə̄ cɛ tè vənzɛ̀ you (‘ve) grown to a youth 

cɛ̌ cε n. old age tsufa 

cə̄ cə n. m leopard damisa dim. vəcə̄ 

cə̄ car a. colourful kì mē sē cə̄ car thing this is colourful 

cər v. to stand alone wə̄ là krè cər me mūn? you cont. stand alone only why? 

cə̄ r cər, mə̀cə̀r n. stranger bako cə̄ r nyə bə̄ nggə̀ stranger come with me 

cə̄ r v. to despise s.o., to refuse to wə̄ là cə̄ r mənē kənàn mwɔ̄ n you cont. despising people so 

6



accept s.t.h because it is too 

much, vɛ̄ n mē là cə̄ r lā child this belittling food this 

little, belittle 

cə̀r cər n. m patas monkey jan biri Erythrocebus patas. dim. vəcə̀r 

ci — n. veins jijiya already plural 

ci — n. front, forehead goshi 

cī v. to move gusa cī nə̄ nggə̄ te sɔ̄ n move (shift) let me sit down 

cì ci n. rat bera 

cì cī v. to avoid bə dan de nə̄ nggə̄ cī mə̀nyɛ̀sər they said that let me avoid palm 

oil 

cī v. to squeeze together (people) matsa, gusa cī ywè move away 

on a bench, move, shift, 

squeeze up, give way 

Cìmbə̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘avoid women’ 

Cìncān p.n personal name lit. ‘avoid mud’ 

cincì — n. fried sweet dough, snack cinci < Hausa 

cīncī — n. i fly kuda 

Cìnē p.n personal name lit. ‘avoid people’ 

cìnjǐ cinji n. mi hourglass drum kalangu played for funeral dances 

cīnji cinji a. black beki bàbər nggə̄ sē cīnji motorcycle my is black. Agrees in number 

with the noun is qualifies. 

Cìkyū p.n personal name lit. ‘avoid death’ 

cìta n. c African pepper kimba < Hausa citta. Xylopia aethiopica 

co — v. to sew dinki gu là cō kī he cont sewing clothes 

cɔ̀ v. to get wet tsoma gu kan kəywə̄ cɔ̀ ə mə̀sər he make himself soak in water. cf. zu 

cɔ̀ v. to poke gu là cɔ̀ bə̀ he cont. poking hole 

cɔ̀ v. to cause people to fight wə̄ là cɔ̀ bə mūn? you cont. causing them to fight why? 

cu v. to appoint nada bə cu gu nə̄ gu lwè bə they appoint him let him lead them 

cū — v. to fetch (grass etc.) diba cu jā lə̀lwè cà nggə̄ mān fetch used grass bring me 

cū — v. to choose zaba tə̄ là cu bān nggɔn nggɔn tə̀ we cont. choosing leaders our 

cū — v. to stir motsa Yā là cū lā Yā cont. stir food 

cū — v. to plant shuki tə̄ là cu kpu we cont. plant guinea.corn 

cucu — n. wind iska 

cùcùn(mu) adv. always koyaushe nggə̄ là nyə kə̄ wə̄ cùcùnmu I cont coming house you always 

7



Cudè p.n personal name fetch and leave some behind 

cùmbwɛ̌ cúmbwɛ́ n. large edible fruit found on a 

The seeds are extracted and cooked like beans with guinea-corn 

tree that grows by streams. 

cumgbə̀ — n. aroma, sweet scent kanshi mə̀nyɛ̀n mē cumgbə̀ pomade this sweet scent 

cun cǔn n. forest kurmi 

cūn 

mə̀cùn, n. chief sarki 

mə̀cūcùn 

cūn cun n. la stream rafi nggə̄ là ywe cun I cont. go stream 

cūn v. not to do any work wə̄ là te cūn bə̄ nggwɔ̌ ? you cont. make chief with who? 

Cūnbə p.n personal name lit. ‘their chief’ 

Cūncɔ̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘chief of Ancho’ 

Cūnmwɔ̀cu p.n personal name lit. ‘chief of Mwɔ̀cu’ 

Cūnmgbɔ̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘chief of Kəmgbɔ̀’ 

Cūnndə̄ ywān p.n personal name lit. ‘chief of Ndəywān’ 

cuncwən n. droplets glō là te cucwən rain cont. make droplets 

cundɛ̀ adv. 5 days hence kwana biyar 

nan gaba 

cūn…gwɔn v. to release sake, bari cūn yə̄ ngwɔn leave it 

cūn v. to sigh sake 

lumfashi 

gu kùr də̀ là kpə̄ cūn he lies and cont. receive sigh 

cùn — v. to shake jijiga ngǔn shū də̀ man cùn mənggə̀rō sū nggə̀ climb up and shake 

mangoes put me 

Cūnjə̀ma p.n personal name lit. ‘chief of people’.



D. 

dǎ da n. c guinea-corn head kai dawa nə̄ yə man nan da tē nggɔnggɔn let them then make heads 

become big 

dǎ da n. ai cutlass ada < Hausa ? 

dān mə̀tərdān n. t copaiba balsam tree kadaura Daniellia oliveri 

dàn v. to say, tell gaya dan, dān- dan gu de nggə̄ kre ə sə̄ kànmē tell him that I am 

standing here 

Danbə p.n personal name lit. ‘tell them’ 

dàncà danca n. t tree sp. tààwátsáá Entada abyssinica 

dàncɔ̀ dancɔ n. hard ground (gravels) tswē te dàncɔ̀ the-place make hard ground 

dankū n. t tree sp. 

dankyū n. c sweet potato dankali < Hausa. Also kyūnkyū 

Danrɛn p.n personal name lit. ‘tell talk’ 

Dantsù p.n personal name lit. ‘head of maggot’ 

dar — n. mn lead darma/dalma < Hausa 

dârdār id. describing how s.o is walking gu là zər dârdār mwɔn he is walking faster more than, i.e he is 

always walking faster 

dàtso datso n. b green fruit-pigeon Treron australis 

de conj. that wai gu dan de he said that 

dē — n. tiredness gajiya ... mà dē də̄ te bə tswē zər ... when tiredness if make them place 

walking 

dè — v. to give way, get off ba da hanya doglò dè sə̄ kànmē get up get.off here 

dèbə̀ debə̀ v. to give way bada wuri gyə cī dèbə̀ you move give way 

dètswē detswē v. to give way bada wuri dan bə nə̄ bə dētswē tell them to give way 

dɛ̄ n — v. to cure bada magani bə lə dɛ̄ n gu they will cure him 

dɛ̄ n — v. to press danne dɛ̄ n nggə̄ tər press my waist 

dɛ̄ n … ngan v.p. to press dɛ̄ n gu ngàn press him down 

dɛ̀n dεn n. m large mammal 

dɛ̌ nywɛ̂ n dɛ n. dwarf chicken 

də — v. to be lost bata/bace gu də he is lost 

də̄ conj. when, if bə də̄ nyə nzɛn they if come then 

9



də̀ conj. and, if, when, but wān də̀ kpənyɛ̀n nə̄ gu zǒ ngwɔn who if agrees let him raise 

(his) hand 

də̄ dār mə̀tər də̄ dār n. t fan-palm giginya Borassus aethiopium 

də̄ dārglō — n. rainbow bakan gizo kyɛn də̄ dārglō mū see rainbow that 

də̀dè n. g grass sp. 

də̀dǔn lə̄ də̄ dun lə n. tp flower of locust tree Parkia biglobosa 

də̀gba conj. if not yə də̄ gba sē ənə̀mē yo it if-not be like this 

də̀mgbà rě də̄ mgbà re n. tp palm midrib 

də̀mgbà shɔ́ də̄ mgbà shɔ́ n. beehive 

də̄ mū — n. da calf of cow 

də̄ n — n. boundary tə̄ te də̄ n bə̄ kəywə̀ we make boundary with each other 

də̀n dən n. t tree sp. kálgóó Piliostigma reticulatum 

də̀də̀n n. g grass sp. 

də̀nggàn n. m reedbuck antelope Redunca redunca 

mi side-blown horn from this 

cf. mplɔ̄ n. played together with the panpipes for festive occasions 

antelope 

də̀ntswe n. middle, between, centre tsakiya nggə̄ kre ə də̀ntswe mə̄ nē I stand in the centre or midst of people 

də̌ r dər n. heart zuciya 

də̌ r cīnji v.a lit. heart black’ – to be 

nggə̄ sē bə̄ dər cīnji I be with heart black 

unhappy 

də̀rè n. whitlow (this appears only on dan damina 

the leg) 

cf. ryɛ̄ n. də̀rè là nan Sātī whitlow cont. do Sati 

də̀r — v. to swim pito tə̄ là dər mə̀sər we cont. swim water 

də̌ r kə̄ kla v.a to be happy, joyous lit. ‘heart white’ nggə̄ sē bə̄ dər kə̄ kla I be with heart white 

də̌ r ngàr v.a to be angry lit. ‘heart break’ də̌ r là ngar nggə̀ heart cont. break me 

dərsù dərsu n. b red-eyed dove Streptopelia semitorquata 

də̀sē conj. if idan də̀sē wə̄ lə la nyə̄ yo if you will neg. come not 

də̀tswē conj. so that ... də̀tswē yə man nyə sū tswetswe ... so.that it (pl) then come 

reach quickly 

do mə̀dō n. market kasuwa mbrε sē do Ndəywan tomorrow is market-day Andaha do ywə̄ 

sē sen? market cost is how.much? 

dō do v. to sing yi waka nggə̄ là do sεn I am singing a song 

doglō doglo v. to stand up, to arise tashi doglō krè ndè get up stand upright 

10



dòrù — v. to come out fito dorù nyə̀ sə̄ kànmē come out here 

-dɔ — n. farmer (in compounds) manomi cf. wāndɔ̀ 

dɔ̀ n. t tree sp. 

Dɔ̀hwan p.n personal name farm farm 

dɔn — v. to announce dɔ̀n rɛn sū mənē announce matter put people 

Dɔ̀nbə p.n personal name shout it to them 

Dɔ̀nkyū p.n personal name shout of death 

Dɔ̀nnkɔ̄ n p.n personal name shout of war 

dɔ̀nrεn — v. to shout ihu Titi là dɔ̀nrεn bə̄ Tani Titi cont shouting with Tani 

dū n. history 

dùdu conj. on account of nggə̄ là nan kì mē dùdu wə̀ I cont do thing this on account of 

you 

dùr dur v. to doze ruruma gu là dùr nə̀nə̄ he cont doze sleep 

S. 

ɛ̄ n excl. yes, in response to a question wə̄ re lā mbɛ̄ ? you ate food already? ɛ̄ n. 

L. 

ə loc. at ə̀ Sh. 

ə rə adv. three days hence Nggə̄ lə nyə̄ sə̄ kànmē ə rə. I will come here three days from 

now. 

ənə̀mē adv. like this kwana uku 

nan gaba 

nan ənə̀mē do like this 

(ə)nywī loc. inside cikin nggə̄ sē ənywī tàr I be inside room 

ənywīnywī loc. right inside ciki-ciki gu ban yə̄ nyə̄ r ənywīnywī he took it hide right inside 

ətù loc. atop, about, concerning lit. ‘at head’ - yə̄ sa ətù tsə̄ it put on top pot 

11



F. 

fā — v. to itch kaikayi zə là fa nggə̄ leg is itching me 

fà — v. to be cheap kyauta, bə kan kì mē rɛ̄ wə̄ fà they take thing this sale (for) you free 

araha 

fà — v. to give to s.o. for free kyauta Mgbāmvū kan kìkyɛn mē nə̄ nggə̄ fà Mgbāmvū take bicycle 

this give me free 

fà fā v. to cut more than one thing, as 

grass, harvest, cut 

tə̄ là fa lə̀lwè we cont. cut grass 

fafa a. light, not heavy, light mara nauyi mgbāmvū mē sē fafa leaf this is light 

far v. to bless ... nə̄ kɔn yə man far nyū zəze gyɔ̄ nywεn ywə̄ ... let corpse it 

then fetch mouth good put children of it. ..so that the corpse will 

bless his children.. 

far fār v. to cut, to wrench out yanka fǎr gəga mū cut grass that 

far v. to fetch bān gbù yə far mpə mgbəji gyə̄ r gyɔ̄ ... those village it fetch 

piece bush one put 

Fàvɛ̄ n p.n personal name lit. ‘foolish child’ 

fè v. to lick one’s finger lashe hannu gu tsə tswē fè ngwɔn nggān he know how to lick finger very 

well 

fε — v. to expose, to destroy bude bɛ̄ nyə fε kpəmkpàn kyεn monkeys come expose maize look 

fε bishi v.p. to stare at s.o. as a warning lit. ‘to open eyes’ - wə̄ là fɛ bishi zù nggwɔ̌ ? you cont. open eyes 

point (at) who? 

to concentrate on doing s.t. fɛ bishi də̀ krɛ̀ ndu open eyes and finish the work 

fɛ̀ mvre v.p to make trouble with people Mbwarnɛ̀n là fɛ̀ mvre kənàn mwɔn Mbwarnɛ̀n always makes 

trouble 

fə- pref. small kì mē sē fənyɛn thing this is small 

Fəjə̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘small poverty’ 

fə̀r fər v. to fetch (of solid objects such diba 

as cooked yam) 

fə̀r nə̄ nggə̀ fetch give me 

fəgbɔ̀n a. short guntu nzār nggə̄ sē fəgbɔ̀n hoe my is short 

fəgyə̄ r a. only one gu sē fəgyə̄ r me he is only one only 

fəgyə̀ywə̄ nywεngyə̀r n. comrade aboki gu sē fəgyər nggə̀ he is comrade mine 

Fəmbə̄ p.n personal name dim. small woman 

Fəntàn p.n personal name dim. small skin 

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fənyεn a. small kankani fəvɛ̀n mū sē fənyεn boy that is small 

Fənyεn p.n personal name small (sometimes in strature) 

fənzə nywεnzə n. hi cup kofi 

fə̌ r v. to maltreat s.o. because you 

Mbə̄ rɛn là fə̌ r Ncaka Mbə̄ rɛn cont. maltreat Ncaka 

are more stronger than 

him/her 

fə̌ r v. to come out of a hole (mostly of animals that live in holes) cì to ru fə̌ r rat poke come 

out of hole i.e it came out in a rush 

fərɔ̀n fə̀rɔ̌ n n. hi cup/ladle (calabash) lude 

fətse nywεntse n. village dim. 

fətsɛ̀ a. few, little kadan lā nggə̄ sē fətsɛ̀ food my is small 

fəvɛ̀n nywεn n. p child dim. 

flɔ̀ flɔ v. to tread on yin tafiya tə̄ là zər flɔ tswe we cont. walk tread place 

akan ciyawa 

ko laka 

fɔ̀ fɔ v. to search nima nggə̄ là fɔ wə̀ I cont. searching for you 

Fɔ̀kyɛn p.n personal name lit. ‘search look’ 

Fɔ̀ngrɛ̄ n p.n personal name lit. ‘search see’ 

fɔ̀rεn fɔrεn v. to fight fada Mbə̄ rā bə̄ Dānrɛn là fɔnrɛn Mbə̄ rā with Dānrɛn cont. fight 

Fɔ̀rεn p.n personal name lit. ‘fight’ 

Fɔ̀tswē p.n personal name lit. ‘search place’ 

flɔ̀fi a. useless gu sē flɔ̀fi fà he is useless 

frē fre v. to peel bare frē nggə̄ lèmu peel me orange, frē tè nkan peel it make different 

frēfrè adv. loosely kì mē sē frēfrè me thing this is loosely only 

fū — n. bp lung huhu yə̀mē sē fū kə̀kə̄ this is lungs of a chicken 

fû — n. indigestion kumburi ciki nɛ̄ n nggə̄ kre fû stomach my stand indigestion 

fù — v. to blow up a fire, to smoke hura ko 

kuma shan 

taba 

13 

fù nggə̄ glo nə̄ yə rɛn blow me fire let it talk (flames), i.e fan the 

fire into flames; Tīyà là fù lə̀ta Grand dad cont. blow smoke pipe 

fùkān fukan n. b bird sp. medium-sized red bird seen around streams with big beak 

fùkpə n. s puff adder Bitis arietans 

fù mgbo v.p to blow one’s cheeks as a 

sign of anger 

Bə̀ryo là fù mgbo bə nggwɔ̌ ? who is Bə̀ryo angry with?



G. 

gā mə̀gā n. bp shoulder kafada 

gà mgbān v.p to walk with arms wide as a 

gu là zə̌ r gà-mgbān he cont walk with pride 

sign of pride 

gan n. be too tight wə̀ndō là gàn gu trouser cont. tight him 

gan …kre v.p. to halt, to stop matò gan kan krē (the) car came a halt 

gān — n. feast, party buki nggə̄ lə nan gān ə sε yə̄ mù I will do feast at year that (next year) 

gàn…mkpān v.p. to arrive on time zuwa a 

daidai lokaci 

nggə̄ nyə gān mkpān yə̄ bə de tə̄ nyə I came at the right time 

which they said we should come 

gàn ngwɔn v.p plenty and readily available ayalwace mənē gan ngwɔn people are-plenty 

gǎncɛ̌ n. g grass sp. Brachiaria deflexa 

Gànkɔ̀n p.n personal name lit. ‘too fat to pass through’ 

gantàn gantan n. i brown spider gizogizo 

gar mə̀gar n. to adze gizago 

gàr gar n. i army ant lawano 

gba a. all, only duka, 

iyakaci 

14 

tə̄ dɔ̄ lan yə gba nānrɛ̄ n we farm farm it all yesterday (see kwār) 

gbà adv. not even see also gbā. usually found in la..gba yo. Nggə̄ lə la nan ndu me 

gba yo I will not do this work under any circumstances 

gbā conj. if (in negative sentences) nggə̄ gbā ngrɛ̄ n gu yo I if didn't see him not 

gbǎ gba n. da cock zakara 

gbà v. to rub in, as an ointment shafa nggə̄ là gba mə̀nyɛ̀n I am rubbing in pomade 

gbà v. to crawl, drag yourself along rarafi, jan see ngǎn. Usually followed by a body part. e.g. gbà nɛ̀nɛ̀n drag 

jiki, with stomach 

gbàdò — n. d arthritis gbàdò là Tǒbə arthitis cont do Tǒbə 

gbâgba — a. last na karshe yə̀mē sē yə̀ gbâgba this is the last 

gban — v. to miss out on rasa gu gban lā rīmē he missed food today 

gban — n. bp pubic area vɛ̄ n mē ru mfù gban child this sprout hair pubic 

gbān mə̀gbān n. r frog 

gbàngyə̀r adv. never nggə̄ la re kì mē kyɛn gbàngyə̀r yo I neg. eat this thing never 

gbàr — n. h flower (general) hure 

gbàr — n. bp Adam’s apple Junglō sē bə̄ kwar gbàr Junglō is with Adam’s apple



gbàr v. to confess furta gbàr nə gbǎman dōglò dè wə̄ tu confess so that cock (would) 

leave your head 

gbàrkì gbārkī n. pp flower (general) hure 

gbə̀ v. to discuss bə là te gbə̀ bə̄ kəywə̀ they cont. discussing together 

gbə̀ — n. go gourd vine 

gbə̀cu v. to curse la’ana te gbə̀cu sū wə̀ make curse put you, i.e you are cursed 

gbə̀dàr n. i soldier termite 

gbə̀gbakì gbə̄ gbàkī n. go broken calabash pasashen dim. vəgbə̀gbakì, nywɛ̂ ngbə̄ gbakī 

gbə̄ gbār n. i weevil 

gbə̄ gbə̄ kpm̀ n. red flying insects found 

around kapok cotton 

gbə̀gbə̀zə̀ adv. describes s.t. that happens 

under your nose 

kwarya 

kì mē te gbə̀gbə̀zə̀ nggə̄ də̀ nggə̄ la tsə yo this thing happened 

under my nose but I did not know 

gbə̄ gblǎ — n. brilliance tswē là la gbə̄ gblâ place cont. shine brilliance 

gbəgbrè — a. ripe nuna mənggə̀rō mū sē gbəgbrè mango that is ripe 

gbə̄ gbrē n. i small brown insects that seek 

sweet things 

gbəjā — a. ugly, wicked, bad mumuna, nggə̄ sē gbəjā, nggə̄ sē nē gbəjā I am ugly, I’m a wicked person 

marakyau 

gbəjī gbəji n. steam, evaporation tururi mə̀sər là te gbəjī water is making steam 

gbə̀jikì v. to covet gu là te gbə̀jikì kənànmē he cont. covet too much 

Gbə̀jikì p.n personal name lit. ‘covetousness’ 

gbə̀jimkplɔn gbəjimkplɔn n. i millipede kodon 

duniya 

gbə̄ kpəmkpàn n. corn forest 

gbə̀lāntswē n. g grass sp. 

gbə̀lantswē gbə̄ lantswē n. i cricket gyare dim. vəgbə̀lantswē, nywɛ̂ ngbə̄ lantswē 

gbə̄ mgbɛ̄ ntɔ̄ n n. i false termite flies during the heat of the day 

gbə̄ ntan gbəntan n. da sheep tumaki 

gbə̄ r — v. to drag gbə̄ r bwɔ lə̀lwè mē lwè nyə̀ drag this bundle of grass and bring it 

gbəryūn gbəryun n. bp knee gwiwa 

gbə̀sho n. sneezing atishawa gbə̀sho là te gu sneezing cont. make him 

gbì — v. to pull ja gbì nggūnggwūr mē dèbə̀ pull this vine away 

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gbī mə̀gbī n. hi arrow kibiya 

Gbìn p.n. Rija town 

gbla mə̀gblā n. bm tribal mark zane gu sē bə̄ gbla ə ngà he is with tribal marks on the face 

gbla — v. to weed shema tə̄ là gbla we cont. weed 

gblà v. to announce death 

gu kan gblà he then ‘disappear’ (death), i.e. he is dead 

euphemistically 

gblǎ — n. weeding tə̄ gbla lan yə krɛ nānrɛ̄ n we weed farm it finished yesterday 

gbm̄ mə̀gbm̄ n. canoe jirgi mə̀sər ban gbm̄ water took canoe 

gbm̌ gbm n. sound màtò là gbm car cont. make sound 

gbò v. to remove cire nggə̄ là ywe tswē gbo tər gəga mù I am going place remove tree 

grass that 

gbō te nkɔ̀n v.p. to see somebody off rekiya tə̄ là gbo gu te nkɔ̀n we cont. see him off 

gbō ywe ngə̄ v.p. to marry aure lit. ‘to carry into marriage’ bə là gbo mbə ywe ngə̄ they cont. 

carrying woman to be married 

gbōjūn v. to escape kubuta gu klwe gbojun he ran escape 

gbō rɔ̄ v. to play with s.o as playmate, 

to have a joking relationship 

wə̄ là gbō rɔ̄ you cont. play 

with 

gbōtsū gbotsu v. to break suddenly tsunke mgbənrīn gbotsu rope (is) broken suddenly 

gbɔ̄ n gbə̄ gbɔ̀n n. chunk of wood, log, billet gungumi 

gbɔ̄ nkì gbə̄ gbɔ̀nkī n. log kututuri 

gbɔ̀n gbə̄ gbɔ̀n n. k family na dangi 

daya 

tə̄ sē bān gbɔ̀n gyə̄ r we are of the same family 

gbɔ̀ngbɔ̀ngbɔ̀n id. the sound of a big drum kə̀nggān nggɔ̀n là gì de gbɔ̀ngbɔ̀ngbɔ̀n drum big cont. cry that 

gbɔ̀ngbɔ̀ngbɔ̀n 

gblàkə̀ntsà gblākə̄ ntsà n. f tilapia spp. 

gbre — v. to shiver rawan jiki nggə̄ là gbrě I am shivering 

gbre — v. to ripen mənggə̀rō mē gbre these mangoes are ripe 

gbre — v. to be cooked nuna krī nggə̄ gbre ə glo mbε? yam my be-cooked at fire yet 

gbrē n. shivering kpə nggə̄ ban gbrē te body mine take shivering make 

gbrε mə̀gbrε n. r agama lizard (female) kadangare cf. kpə̄ 

gbrɛ̌ v. to flaunt, show off və̄ nggə̄ mē là gbrɛ̌ tə̄ bə̄ nggwɔ̌ ? who is this girl showing herself 

off with? 

gbrɛ̄ n v. to cut into two snappily gu sar kə̀kə̄ tə̄ gbrɛ̄ n he cut chicken neck snappily 

16



gbrīn 

mə̀gbrīn, n. spirit 

gbə̄ gbrìn 

yə̀mē sē gbrīn this is spirit 

gbrīn 

mə̀gbrīn, n. photo 

gbə̄ gbrìn 

yə̀mē sē gbrīn nggə̀ this is photo my 

gbrīn 

mə̀gbrīn, n. shadow 

gbə̄ gbrìn 

gbrīn nggə̄ ywar wə̀ shadow my block you 

gbrīn 

mə̀gbrīn, n. soul gbrīn nggə̄ la kpə̄ nyɛn bə̄ gu yo soul my neg. agree with you not 

gbə̄ gbrìn 

gbrǔ gbru n. b vulture angulu also kpɔ̄ gbru, kpɔ̄ mkpan 

gbù gbūgbu n. town gari 

gbù gbūgbu n. mountain, hill tudu 

gbùr gbur n. c banana, plantain ayaba 

gbyɛ̌ gbyε n. straight razor wanzami yə̀mē sē gbyɛ̌ this is straight razor 

gbyɛ̄ n excl. be careful! hankali gbyɛn! be careful 

gbyɛ̄ n v. to watch out for, to take care hankali gbyɛ̄ n bə̄ nggagyū mē take-care with these dogs 

gè adv. now mana nan yə̄ gè do it now 

gē conj. or, whether ko cf. kē - nə̄ nggə̄ ban yə̀mē gē yə̀mù? let me take this-one or thatone? 

gə̄ — n. dry season kaka yə̀mē sē mkpān gə̄ this is dry season 

gə̄ mə̀gə̄ n. hu throwing stick used by 

hunters 

nggə̄ sē bə̄ mə̀gə̄ ywā I be with throwing sticks two 

gə̀ gə v. divide, to share out to split, to raba gə̀ lā share the food, gə̀ yə tè ywā divide it into two 

gə̀ v. to snore yin 

minsahri, 

gu là kùr nə̀nə̄ də̀ gə̀ he continued to lie there and snore 

shake ko 

kum 

gəga — n. g grass ciyawa 

gəgə̄ v. to go to tafi nggə̄ gəgə̄ Kə̄ gbə̀ I went Akwanga 

gə̄ grεn gəgrεn a. co red jawur bə̀r nggə̄ sē gə̄ grεn cap my is red 

gə̀lǐmgbə̀ gəlimgbə̀ n. an sugar ant 

gə̄ mē adv. this time gə̄ mē nggə̄ lə la kà wə̄ dɔn yo this time I will not leave you 

gə̀mvə̀r gəmvər n. aeroplane lit. the sound, mvər, divides gə [your attention] 

gə̀mvī gəmvi n. smut on guinea-head that is 

gyə̄ nyə tə̄ ywe kə fɔ̀ gə̀mvī you come we go search smut guineahead 

collected and eaten, either 

17



raw or roasted 

gə̀ncə tù n. d migraine cf. tu ngār 

gə̀nggān gə̄ nggān n. mi barrel-drum beaten with ganga cf. kə̀nggān. Played for festive occasions, played for the 

hooked stick 

initiation cycle 

gə̀ntē gənte n. t false locust tree ˚íryà Prosopis africana 

gə̀ntē gənte n. mi raft-zither made of grassstems 

molo na kara wə̄ tsə ngwùr gə̀nte? (do) you know (how to) play gə̀nte? 

gə̀ntsù gəntsu n. h grass sp. wani irin Pennisetum pedicellatum 

ciyawa 

gər mə̀gər n. p slave bawa gu sē gər nggə̀ he is slave my 

gə̀r — v. to become engaged, to be aure 

betrothed 

gu là gə̀r mbə̄ he cont. betrothing a lady 

gə̀rī gəri, mə̄ gəri n. k co-wife bə sē mə̄ gəri they are co-wives, Mbə̄ cūn sē gə̀ri Làmā Mbə̄ cūn is 

co-wife with Làmā 

gə̀rīncwē n. h plant sp. 

gərù gə̄ ru v. to go out fita kān tə̄ gə̄ ru let us go out 

gi loc. next to abin da ke 

biye da abu 

nggə̄ kre gi wə̀ I am next to you 

gi — n. stealing, theft, robbery bə te nggə̄ gi they make me theft 

gi məgi n. maternal uncle, grand child gu sē gi nggə̀ he is uncle my 

gì — v. to cry, to weep vɛ̄ n là gì (the) child is crying 

gì — v. to settle out (from water) kwanta na 

ruwa 

kà mə̀sər dɔ̀n nə̄ yə̄ gì leave the water let it settle down 

gìga v.a to get up hastily gu giga doglò he got up hastily 

gigi adv. secretly asiri, abin gyə̄ ka nàn kī gigi yo (you) don’t do things secretly 

boye 

gigyə̀r gi num. one hundred dari daya 

gìgyə̀r gìgyə̄ r a. together, equal tare da, 

daidai 

nə̄ tə̄ blā Mada gìgyə̀r let us read Mada together 

gì gyɔ̄ v.p. to blame lit. ‘cry put’ wə̄ lə la gì gyɔ̄ nənè yo mà wə̄ də̀ kpan tu də̀ nàn 

kì mē you will neg. cry put anybody not when you if you insist 

and do thing this 

gigyun — n. h mushroom sp. small, white, edible 

gigyūn adv. quietly tswē kur gigyun kə̄ de kyū te (the) place is quiet as if there is 

18



death 

Gìkyū p.n personal name lit. ‘cry death’ 

Gìmwɔ̄ n p.n personal name lit. ‘cry too much’ 

Gǐndə̄ n p.n personal name lit. ‘cry okra’ 

glà gla n. to axe gatari 

glā gla v. to chase, to drive off glā nggǎgyū mē dèbə̀ drive away this dog 

Glābə p.n personal name lit. ‘chase them’ 

glə̀ glə v. to pass through, to ‘follow’ wuce nggə̄ là glə sə̄ kànmē I cont. pass through here 

glə̀ glə n. r water monitor guza Varanus exanthematicus 

glo — n. fire wuta 

glo — v. dc to dance rawa kān tə̄ ywe tswē glǒ let us go place dance 

glǒkyū v.p. dc funeral dance rawan bə là glokyū they cont. do funeral dance 

mutuwa 

glō — n. wt rain ruwan sama 

goglo a. hot mai zafi te mə̀sər goglo cà nggə̄ mān fetch water hot bring me 

gɔ̄ n mə̀gɔ̄ n n. back, behind, around baya gɔ̄ n là fa nggə̀ back cont. itch me, gu sə̄ sē ə nggà gɔ̄ n he is still 

at behind, 

gɔ̌ n gɔn n. t tree sp. Hexalobus monopetalus 

gɔ̀n gɔn n. bag wani irin 

burgami 

Tīyà klə gɔ̀n ə mgbàn G/father hang bag at armpit 

grě mə̄ gre n. k aunt gu sē grě nggə̀ she is aunt my 

grɛ̌ n grεn v. to be red jawur bə̀r nggə̄ grɛ̌ n hat my is red 

grɛ̀n grεn v. to leer juyawa 

idanu wa 

gu là grɛ̀n nggə̀ he cont. leer at me 

mutum 

grɛ̌ nyū grεnyū n. b bird of medium size with a 

red beak 

grǐ v. to gossip mbə̀mbə̄ mū là grǐ gə̀ri bə women those cont. gossiping their 

co-wife 

grì gri v. to bring kawo te mə̀sər grì nggə̀ fetch water bring me 

grì gri v. to rebuke tsauta wa gyə̌ r gu gri gu nə̄ gu nàn kyūn her mother rebuked her let her 

do well 

grǐgbō n. ground fried corn 

gu pron. him, her, it shi nə̄ bə te nə̄ gu. let 3p fetch give 3s Gə̄ mē bə kan dan gu de nə̄ 

19



gu ngǎnyū this.time 3p then tell 3s that let 3s open mouth nə̄ bə 

man kan yə̄ sū gu ə nyū. let them then take 3pi put 3s at mouth 

gūgu — n. goat akuya 

gūgū mə̀gūgū n. mother-in-law (daughter-inlaw) 

surkwa gu sē gūgū nggə̄ she is my mother-in-law 

gur — v. to be crooked tankwarere nkɔ̀n mē gur road this is crooked 

gūr — n. interior of traditional grave 

gùr num. ten count form. But when referring to time the tone changes. e.g. 

mkpān dan de gur vunga bə̄ nkyɛn time says that ten past with 

half. [It’s half-past ten] 

gùr gur n. granary rumbu 

gurgur a. humble, submissive mbə̄ mē là te gurgur nə̄ lɔnywə̄ this woman is submissive to her 

husband 

gùgwǎ v. to tickle (more of snake-like 

movement) 

wə̄ là te nggə̄ gùgwǎə zə̀ you cont. make tickle me at leg 

gwa n. grey hair, fungus furfura nggə̄ ru gwa I sprout grey hair, nzan tur gwa food push fungi 

gwǎ gwa n. s snake maciji 

gwàr — v. to be noisy surutu nə̄ nggyε nan də̀ tswē sē gwàr mē nàn? what happen the place is 

noisy 

gwarìcī n. s West African house snake Boaedon lineatus 

gwɔ — v. to hear ji magana gu là gwɔ̌ wə̄ tswē rɛn he cont. hear you as you talk 

gwɔ̀ gwɔ n. s African beauty snake (plain 

Psammophis sibilans 

form) 

gwɔ̀nywεnggə̄ nywεngwɔ̀nyw n. African beauty snake (striped 

Psammophis sibilans 

εnggə̄ 

form) 

gwūr n. m dassie, rock hyrax Procavia sp. 

gyà — v. to dig haka (rami) gu là gyà he's digging 

gyàn v. to shake gyàn vəmbǔ mē shake this jar 

Gyànkɔ̀n p.n personal name lit. ‘dig road’ (this is mostly those born during the laying of the 

rails) 

gyàr gyar n. buffalo, bushcow bauna Syncerus caffer 

Gyàr p.n personal name lit. ‘anger’ 

gyār a. see: te gyār wə̄ sē gyār me kə̄ de wə̄ sē shɔ̀ you are just angry as if you are a 

bee 

20



gyε mə̀gyε n. faeces, excrement, manure, kashi 

dung, stool, shit 

gyɛ̀n gyεn n. m cane-rat, cutting grass joji Thryonomys swinderianus 

gyɛ̂ n adv. instead nggə̄ gyɛ̂ n dɔ̄ ban nggà nə̄ mān I instead farm/till take some 

other way 

gyεkū — v. to fall fadi gu gyɛkū he (has) fallen 

gyεn ncār — v.p. to jump up tselle tə̄ là gyɛn-ncār we cont. jumping up 

gyεzē n. g grass sp. 

gyə̌ — v. to mock gu là gyə̌ nggə̀ he cont. mocking me 

gyə̄ pron. you (pl subject) ku gyə̄ là dō sɛn you cont. sing 

gyə̀ pron. you (pl object) sē nə̄ nggyɛ yə̀ bə là nan gyə̀? it is what they cont. do you? 

-gyə̄ r adv. times different prefixes indicate how many times s.t. happened 

gyə̌ r num. one (count form) daya 

gyə̀r num. one (time etc ) daya 

gyə̌ r gigyər n. mother mahaifiya 

gyə̌ r n. mi longest pipe in the four-note 

panpipe 

gyərgyər num. one by one gyə̄ sū ndə nyə̀ gyərgyər you should make line come one by one 

gyəgyərtsò n. i wasp that lives on trees 

gyərndu p.n. Monday 

gyərtsò n. h Sodom apple, swallow-wort tùmfááfììyáá Calotropis procera 

gyə̀ywə̄ n. his/her mother mama shi/ta 

gyɔ — v. to call kira gyɔ̌ nggə̄ Fəntàn call me Fəntàn 

gyɔ̄ — v. to put down ajiye kan njī mē gyɔ̄ take knife this put down 

Gyɔ̌ bə p.n personal name lit. ‘call them’ 

Gyɔ̄ gɔ̄ n p.n personal name lit. ‘put back’ 

Gyɔ̌ jə̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘call poverty’ 

Gyɔ̌ kɔ̄ n p.n personal name lit. ‘call to war’ 

gyɔ̀n mə̀gyɔ̄ n n. m hare zomo Lepus capensis. dim. vəgyɔ̀n 

gyɔ̀n n. starvation rashin abinci gyɔ̀n là te mə̄ nē mē starvation cont. make people these 

gyɔ̄ zə v.a to start a journey nggə̄ là sə gyɔ zə ji wə̀ I cont. fut. start journey wait you 

gyūn n. dizziness gyūn là te nggə̀ dizziness cont. make me 

gyǔn gyun n. shade inuwa tə̄ sɔn ə gyǔn we sit at (under) shade 

21



Gyǔnggɔ̀n p.n personal name lit. ‘big shade’ 

gyùn ngwɔn v.p to swing one’s hand ready to 

gu là gyùn ngwɔn yə̄ gu lə ngwur nggə̀ he cont. swing hand 

hit s.o. 

which he will hit me 

Gyǔnka p.n personal name lit. ‘shade of fig tree’ 

Gyǔnkə̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘shade of house’ 

gyùr — v. to deceive Shɛ̀tan là gyùr mə̀nē Satan cont. deceive people 

gyǔr gyur n. i bedbug kudin cizo 

Gyùrbə p.n personal name lit. ‘deceive them’ 

Gyǔnrɛ̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘shade of mahogany tree’ 

Gyǔnrē p.n personal name lit. ‘shade of palm tree’ 

gywār — v. to rush into, enter suddenly farat cì klwe nyər bə̀ gywār rat run enter hole in a rush 

H. 

hǎ excl. expresses some form of 

shock at the way s.o. 

hǎ, kàdə rɛ̀n ənə̀mē yo hǎ, do not speak like that 

expresses themselves 

negatively 

hân? excl. expresses surprise in a 

question 

hân, sē ənə̀mē gyə̄ nan rɛn yə? is that how you settle the issue? 

hen excl. expresses disgust hen, sē nə̄ nggyɛ yə̀ wə̄ là nan sə̄ sānmenàn? what is it that you 

are doing like this? 

hm̀ excl. expresses relief hm̀ , dər sù nggə̄ nān hm̀ , I am now comfortable 

hɔ̄ v. to be frightened by s.o. razana nggə̄ kan kū hɔ̄ I then became frightened 

hū hūhū a. wide fadi nkɔ̀n sē hū the gate is wide. kə̄ nkɔ̀n sē hūhū the gates are wide 

hùhwàr n. b crowned crane gauraka cf. lə̀ngā. Balearica pavonina 

hwà mə̀hwà n. bunch, cluster demi yə̀mē sē hwà kpəmkpàn this is bunch (of) maize 

hwā — v. to press down, to massage a 

nywɛn là hwa kpu children cont. pressing down g/corn, Wuzà là 

dislocated part of the body 

hwā Bùbwɔ̀ zə Wuzà cont. massaging Bùbwɔ̀’s leg 

hwān mə̀hwān n. bush, farm daji 

hwàr hwar n. b stork sp. 

hwə n. f fish sp. 

hwə mə̀hwə n. moon, month wata 

22



hwə — v. to be drunk, to be intoxicated buguwa Ləyà là hwə̌ Ləyà is drunk 

hwə̌ — n. intoxication hwə̌ là te gu intoxication cont. make him 

hwə̀n v. to roast maize in the husk Būkí là hwə̀n kpəmkpàn Būkī is roasting maize 

hwɔn — v. to hatch kyenkeshe kə̀kə̄ nggə̄ hwɔn nywɛn gur my chicken has hatched ten chicks 

hyàr hyār v. to chat hira tə̄ là hyar rɛn we cont. chatting 

hyε hyεhyε a. narrow mai kunci nkɔ̀n mē sē hyɛ me this door is very narrow 

Hyɛ-nyū p.n personal name narrow mouth 

hyɛ̄ n — v. to pluck fruit tsunke tə̄ là hyɛn lə̄ we cont. plucking locust bean fruits 

hyɛ̄ n hyεn n. t camwood rubbed on the body during dances. 

hyī hyi n. f fish (generic) kifi 

hyuhyur a. close (objects) kusa kī mē sē hyuhyur bə̄ kəywə̀ things these are close to each other 

hyūn v. to make haste tə̄ kan te hyūn ywe mān we then make haste go there 

hyur a. close (people) kurkusa tə̄ sē# hyur bə̄ kəywə̀ we are close to one another 

hyur v. to approach a lady for love on tuni na mace 

behalf of s.o else 

nggə̄ là te hyur gu zwe vɛ̄ n nggə̀ I cont. approach her for my son 

hyūr v. to block tarye da kǎn ngwɔn hyūr bring up your hand to block it 

hannu 

hyūr tɔ̄ n v.p. to listen attentively sa kunne da 

kyau 

hyūr tɔ̄ n də̀ man gwɔ̌ kì yə̀ nggə̄ lə dan wə̀ listen attentively and 

hear what I will tell you 

I. 

ishìì excl. expresses disappointment at 

s.o’s sluggishness 

itsàr excl. expresses disgust at s.o doing 

s.t. dirty 

ishìì, sē nə̄ nggyɛ yə̀ wə̄ là nan kə̄ de wə̄ la tè mə̀gì yo nàn? what 

is it that you are doing as if you don’t have blood? 

itsàr, kà kì gbəjā mē dɔ̀n leave this bad thing that you are doing 

23



J. 

jàn n. t tree sp. 

jǎn v. to rebuke s.o. junior nggə̄ jan gu ətù kì yə̀ gu nan I quarreled him on what he did 

jan id. s.t. not completely ripe e.g. 

mənggə̀rō mē te jǎn mango these make ripe (not completely) – 

mango 

the sense is understood 

Jànbə p.n personal name lit. ‘rebuke them’ 

jàjà adv. at first jàjà, nggə̄ la sə̄ tsə rɛn yo at first I did not know 

Jākī p.n personal name lit. ‘bad things’ 

jɛ̀ n. m civet cat Civettictis civetta 

jə̄ — n. suffering, poverty talauci jə̄ là te nggə̄ poverty cont. has me 

jə̀ — v. to urinate, to fan liquid, 

waterfalls 

24 

yin fisari, 

fifita abu 

zafi, ruwa na 

sauka a 

gangara 

gu là jə̀ mgbə̀nrǐn he cont. urinate, nggə̄ là jə cā I cont. fan 

sweet local brewed beer, mə̀sər là jə̀ ə ywār water is falling 

(waterfalls) 

Jə̄ krɛ p.n personal name lit. ‘poverty finish’ 

Jə̄ nē p.n personal name lit. ‘poor person’ 

jən v. to lower down jən nggūnggū lwè nyə̀ sər lower dish bring come down 

ji jǐ n. mortar turmi 

jǐ adv. weak, feeble kpə là ji nggə̀ body mine cont. weak me 

ji — v. to flow down, climb down, gangarawa, ji nyə̀ climb down, nggə̄ là ji ban sər fətsɛ̀ I cont. going down 

slump 

sauka small 

jì — v. to wait jira jì nggə̄ ə sə̄ kànmē wait for me here 

jijà nywεn jijà n. b long-tailed shrike Corvinella corvina 

Jìme p.n personal name lit. ‘wait only’ 

jìmə̀ v. to make local beer te nggə̄ là jìmə̀ yə̀ tō mgbīr father my cont. make local beer for 

burning bush 

Jìngrɛ̄ n p.n personal name lit. ‘see unexpectedly’ 

jəgule — n. t horseradish tree zogale < Hausa. cf. mkpən kyə̀gbò. Moringa oleifera. The leaves are 

eaten as soup. 

jū jǔ n. c water yam sakata Dioscorea alata 

jūjū mə̀jūjū n. hole in ground (dug by a 

person) 

rami 

cf. wɔnki - tə̄ là gya jūjū we cont. dig hole



jun v.pl. to fall (plural), fall, shed (of fadowa 

leaves) 

mənggə̀rō jun kəkərɛ̄ mangos fall pour-down 

jūn — v. to remove, to pick out cire jūn gəga mē dètswē remove grass this give way 

jùn n. crowd 

jǔnglō — n. thunder hadari nggə̄ gwɔ jǔnglō I heard sound thunder 

Jǔnglō p.n personal name lit. ‘thunder’ 

Jùnnē p.n personal name lit. ‘crowd of people’ 

jwè n. s black cobra Naja melanoleuca 

jwɛ̀ nywεn jwɛ̀ n. m fat mouse Steatomys caurinus 

K. 

kā v. to separate (as two people fighting) gu ka bə fɔ̀nrɛn he spearate them from 

fighting 

kà ka n. cr crab kaguwa 

kà ka v. to refuse ki gu là kà rɛn nan ndu yə he cont. refuse to do the work 

kà…dɔ̀n v. to leave, not to do bari kà yə̄ dɔ̀n leave it kà rεn Tə̄ rmvū dɔ̀n leave talk (of) Hyena 

leave nggə̄ ka gu dɔn ə nkɔ̀n I left him on the road 

Kàbə p.n personal name lit. ‘reject them’ 

kàbǔ n. sand yashi 

kāca kaca n. m hedgehog Erinaceus albiventris 

kàdɛ̀n n. biggest size of winnowing 

basket 

yə̀mē sē kàdɛ̀n this is big winnowing basket 

kādə v.aux don't cf. kàsə. kàdə tè nggə̄ dər ngàr yo don’t spoil my heart 

. 

Kadɔn p.n personal name lit. ‘die leave as orphan’ 

kagbɔ̄ n kagbɔn n. r tortoise kunkuru also vəkagbɔ̄ n pl. nywεnkagbɔn 

kāgbm v. to go home tafi gida nggə̄ là kagbm I am going home 

kàkū kaku n. tp palm nut kwara 

kakùr kakūr v. to lie down kwanta kakùr ə sə̄ kànmē lie down at here 

Kàlā p.n personal name lit. ‘refuse porridge’ 

kāləbā kaləba n. bottle < Hausa 

25



kambàn kamban n. an ant sp. kwankwanbi 

shi 

Kàmə̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘reject local beer’ 

kan v. to burp nggə̄ là ywe tswē kan I cont. go place burp 

kan v. to twist juya gu kan nggə̄ ngwɔn he twisted my hand 

kǎn bishi v.p. not to recognise s.o easily wə̄ kan nggə̄ bishi I can’t recognise you 

kan…gyɔ̄ v. to put down ajiye kan krì gyɔ̄ ə mə̀mē take yam put at ground 

Kancānkī p.n personal name lit. ‘mixture of dirty things’ 

Kànē p.n personal name lit. ‘reject people’ 

kǎnjàr kanjar p.n. friendly but deluded spirit It comes to play with humans whenever a special music is played 

for it. Kadɔn là ngwur kǎnjàr gə̀ntē Kadɔn cont. play deluded 

spirit zither 

kan kə̄ v. to fence danga bə là kan kə̄ they cont fencing house 

Kànkə̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘fence’ 

kan ngàn v.p. to put together hada kan wə̀ndō ngàn bə̄ lə̀gā put together trousers and shirt 

kān n. parts of an animal assigned to 

the first person who spotted 

it, after it is killed 

cin rabo 

nama 

nggə̄ re kān yə I eat part it 

kān n. v forest vine sp. used in making roofs 

kǎn n. burp gyatse kǎn là te nggə̄ burp is doing me 

kàn conj. then gu kàn dàn de he then said that 

kàn kan n. rim, steering wheel sitiyari, kàn matò can gu ə dər steering vehicle fall at (his) heart 

garegare 

kancɔn n. sweet thing abu mai zaki 

kànggǔ kanggu n. mi musical bow played solo by men to express sadness, at funerals, for example 

kǎnggù n. cr crab (very big) 

kan ngwɔn sà tu idiom Euphemistic way of saying a 

lit. take hand put head. Cūnjə̀mǎkan ngwɔn sà tu Cūnjə̀mǎtake 

person is dead 

hand put head 

kanjùn n. fr cashew kashu < English? 

kankərɛ̄ v. to throw out cf. karε, gu kan mə̀sər kànkàrɛ̄ he threw water away 

kankrè v. to stop tsaya gu kankrè jì nggə̀ he stopped wait (for) me 

Kànzan p.n personal name lit. ‘refuse local appetising drink’ 

kaprɛ̄ kaprε n. b nightjar Caprimulgus sp. 

kar mə̀kǎr n. p prostitute karuwa, cf. kilakī 

26



karuwanci 

kàrà kārà n. fo bean-cake kosai < Yoruba 

karε v. to pour away, to spill zubar cf. kankərɛ̄ . wə̄ kan mə̀sər kàrε mūn you make water pour 

away why? 

Kàrɛn p.n personal name lit. ‘reject matter’ 

kàsə v.aux don't cf. kādə. kàsə nàn sə̄ sānme nàn yo don’t do like that. 

. 

kasə̄ sē v. to continue doing har yanzu, bān kə̀ tə̄ kasə̄ sē nǎn cā those house our continue doing sweet 

kan yi wine 

Kasē p.n personal name lit. ‘still to come’ 

Kàwu p.n personal name lit. ‘refuse medicine’ 

kē conj. or, whether also gē, gu. nan yə̄ kē gu la nàn yo he did it or he did not do it 

kə- pref. indicates the number of times 

wə̄ nan kì mē tè kəywā mbɛ̄ you did thing this two times already 

s.t. is done 

kə — n. thought kə tsɔ kū nggə̄ nɛ̀n thought drop fall me stomach 

kə pron. him, her, it (archaic) modern form gu 

kə — v. to borrow, lend bada bashi, kə nggə̄ mgbāmvū tar loan me Naira three 

ara 

kə̄ v.aux marks infinitive (archaic) 

. 

kə̄ mə̀kə̀ n. house gida 

kə̄ kə v. to scratch sosa kə̄ nggə̄ gɔ̄ n scratch my back 

kəbū n. one kobo < English. Kobo are no longer in use 

kə̀bǔ kəbu n. pathway 

Kə̀bunyān p.n personal name lit. ‘horse pathway’ 

kə-mù adv. next time kə mù wə̄ lə ywē nān next time you will go 

kə̀cɛ̀ n. s boomslang snake Dispholidus typus 

kə̄ de a. like, about kama Sonia sē kə̄ de tə̀ywə̄ Sonia is like father her 

kə̄ dè n. s.t. remaining yə̀mē sē yə̀ kədè this is what remains 

kədè v. to remain bān kədè mān those who remained (left behind) 

Kə̄ gbə̀ p.n. Akwanga town Akwanga 

cikin gari 

kə̄ gbù kə̄ gbu n. m baboon gogo Tsɛ̄ ncun ngun kə̄ gbù Tsɛ̄ cun has killed a baboon 

27



kəji n. bs box, covered basket 

kə̄ jī — n. money kudi 

kə̀jì — n. love potion asirin mata bə ban kə̀jì te və̄ nggə̄ mē they take love potion make girl this 

kə̀kə̄ kə̄ kə̄ n. da fowl, hen kaza 

kə̀kə̄ gbù kə̄ kə̄ gbu n. black birds that move in fives 

lit. ‘chicken of hills’ 

found around the hills 

kə̄ kla a. white fari cf. tsa. kə̀kə̄ nggə̄ sē kə̄ kla hen my is white 

kələ n. age mate 

kə̀lànzər — n. kerosine kalanzer < English 

kə̀mbə̄ kə̄ mbə̄ n. calabash kwarya 

kəmù pron. myself kaina 

kə̀mvrè ngwɔ̀n kə̄ mvrè ngwɔn n. bp finger yatsan hannu 

kə̀mvrè ngwɔ̀n 

nggɔ̀n 

n. bp thumb babar yatsar 

hannu 

kə̄ nfə̀ — n. bp claw, finger nails kumba 

kə̀ndà adv. maybe kə̀ndà gu lə nyə̄ ə mbrɛ maybe he would come tomorrow 

kə̀nggān kə̄ nggān n. mi barrel-drum ganga cf. gə̀nggān 

kə̄ nkā v. to make a mistake kuskuri nggə̄ can wə̄ zə kə̄ nkā I march your feet by mistake 

kənvər n. d disease that cuts the nose 

(caused by man) 

kəgyə̄ r adv. once sau daya Likita nyə sə̄ kànmē kəgyə̄ r Likita was here once. N.B. different 

prefixes indicate the number of times s.t. happened. cf. -gyə̄ r. 

kəkə̀rɛ̄ kə́kə̀rɛ̄ v. to pour out kyɛn pre là kəkərɛ look kunu cont. pouring out 

kəkan…də̄ — v.p. to forget manta kəkan nggə̄ də̄ I have forgotten 

kəklà — n. f small fish farin kifi 

kəklàmfu n. f fish sp. Heterotis niloticus 

kəkrɛ̄ — n. fireplace 

kə̀mbə̀ mə̀sər kəmbə mə̀sər n. h water-lettuce Pistia stratiotes 

kəmē adv. this time also kəyə̄ mē. sē nggə̄ wān lə nan kəmē nān it-is I who will do-it 

this time around 

kəmù pron. I, myself 1 st singular reflexive pronoun. nggə̄ n kəmù me nggə̄ lə ywē 

hwan sε mē, I myself only, I will go-to farm this year 

kənàn a. many, much dayawa kə̄ kə̄ nggə̄ sē kənàn chickens my are many 

28



kənànme a. plenty dayawa glō ku kənànme rain fall plenty 

sosai 

kə̀ndàrǐ kə̄ ndàri n. b bird sp. 

kə̀nkabān nywεnkabān n. b Abyssinian roller Coracias abyssinica 

kə̀nkabān hwan nywεnkabān n. b swift Apodidae 

hwan 

kənka adv. 5 days hence kwana biyar 

daga nan 

kənkɔ̀n kə̄ nkɔ̄ n n. way 

k#ənkulwe — n. h herb sp. plant with a single stem that grows in the bush and has small, 

black, edible fruits 

kə̄ ntə n. sesame, beniseed Sesamum indicum 

kəntsə̄ r — n. wall bango 

kə̀nyūjε n. s snake sp. 

kəsàn — n. side ganga nggə̄ ta brεkrī ə kəsàn nē I make heaps at side of river 

kə̀tà kəta n. hat 

kətar a. s.t. that divides into two e.g. a 

crossroad 

yə̀mē sē kətar nkɔ̀n this is a crossroad 

kətɔ̄ n — n. edge gyefe nggə̄ kre ə kətɔ̄ n nkɔ̀n I stand at edge road 

kəyə̄ mē adv. this time sau wanna also kəmē. nggə̄ lə tsē wə̄ kəyə̄ mē I will beat you this time 

kəywā num. twice, two times 

kə̌ ywǎ kəywa n. cave 

kəywē n. yourself da kanka kǎn yə̄ lwè kəywē take it carry yourself 

kəywε n. g Bahama grass, dogstooth 

Cynodon dactylon 

grass 

kəywə̄ nkəywə̄ pron. him, her, it (reflexive) sē gu wān nan kəywə̄ it-is he who do for himself 

kəywə̀ kəywə̄ pron. they (reflexive) sē bə bān nan kəywə̀ it-is they those do for themselves 

kə̀zēnyān n. g itchgrass Rottboelia cochinchinensis 

kə̀zəlaba kəzəlaba n. b wild duck agwagwan 

sama 

kì kī n. thing 

kì yə̀ sǎ n. vehicle, car, truck lit. ‘thing to climb on’ 

kìkì — n. suffocation, shortness of 

breath 

kìkì là te nggə̀ suffocation is catching me 

29



kìkɔ̀n kīkɔ̄ n n. weapon kayan yaki 

kìkyε kīkyε n. bicycle kyekye < Hausa 

kilakī — n. prostitute, prostitution karuwa, cf. kar, te cucu. < Hausa 

karuwanci 

kīnɛ̀n — n. guts kayan ciki 

kìnkyɛ̀n n. skewer 

kīnzɛ̀ n. clothes for masquerade 

kìrē kīrē n. food 

kìyə̀wɔ̀ kīyə̄ wɔ̀ n. domestic animals, livestock kayan kiwo 

klǎ kla n. m monkey biri 

klā kla v. to fry tuya Tìti là klā krī Titi is frying yams 

klà…bàn v. to grab fyauce nggə̄ kla yə̄ ban I grabbed it 

klà…doglò v.a To get up hastily gu kàn klà…doglò he got-up hastily 

klàmkpā adv. a young person tries to do 

what older people do 

vɛ̄ n mē là klàmkpā kənànme this boy is always trying to do 

things as elders 

klə̄ klə n. fruit 

klə̄ v. to hang gu lwe kəywə kə̄ klə̄ ə shū he carry himself hang on tree 

klò nywεn klo n. m bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus 

klwe v. to run gudu gyə̄ vu klwe nyə̀ you (people) should run come here 

kɔ̀mitì — n. committee < English 

kɔn n. corpse gawa 

kɔ̄ n mə̀kɔn n. war yaki bə là ta kɔ̄ n ə Lebano there is a war in Lebanon 

kɔ̄ n vɛ̄ n kɔ̄ n nywεn n.p. bp umbilical cord na cibi 

kpǎ kpa n. roof tanka 

kpā n. shout of joy tə̄ là ta krī də̀ te kpā we cont. make yam heaps and make shout 

kpà a. dot 

kpàcɔ̀ n. d sickness like smallpox 

kpàgə̄ kpāgə̄ n. long hooked stick for getting 

down fruits such as mangoes 

30 

also known in NE as ‘go to hell’ 

Kpakə̀ p.n. personal name lit. ‘roof of house’ 

kpaki — n. necessity lalura sē kpaki nggə̄ re lā? is it a necessity I fut. eat food? 

kpàkì kpākì n. stick sanda 

kpakiki v.aux you must abin da an sa kpakiki wə̄ lə rē lā it is necessary you fut. eat food



ka dole kayi 

kpǎkpǎ id. describes laughter gu là mlǎkpǎkpǎhe cont. laugh…. 

kpakpm̄ kì kpakpm̄ kī n. tree bark bawon itace 

kpàkrīn — n. round thing abu mai sifar 

kwallo 

kpàlo kpalo n. m tree pangolin sha zuma Phataginus tricuspsis 

kpǎmə̀ n. the surface of local beer 

Kpamə̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘the surface of local beer’ 

kpān kpə̄ kpàn n. friend 

kpàn v. to pound dabbe Mbə̀mbə̄ là kpàn tswē women cont pound place 

kpàn — v. to tie, ripen daura kpān yə̄ tie it 

Kpānbə p.n personal name lit. ‘tie them’ 

kpàn də̌ r v.p. to be courageous lit. ‘tie heart’. gu kpan də̌ r də̀ ywe he took heart and went 

kpáncá n. r small lizard 

kpǎncun excl. expresses wish for a bad 

thing to happen again 

kpǎncǔn, tɔ̀nzɛ ənə̀mē gba me it is good for you like that 

kpandɛ̄ n. c tiger-nut aya Cyperus esculentus 

kpānε n. t tree sp. 

kpǎnjūn kpanjūn n. go largest type of gourd Cucurbita maxima 

kpànjǔn n. t snuffbox tree kóókón biri Oncoba spinosa 

kpànjùn kpanjun n. t tree sp. has edible fruit 

kpàn mgbo v.a to be sour (more of an unripe 

kǎnjùn mē kpàn-mgbo cashew this is sour 

fruit) 

kpàr n. open space tswē yə̄ tə̄ kre sē kpàr me the-place which we stand is open 

space only 

kpǎr kpar n. cr snail kodi 

kpār — adv. openly frē rɛn yə gyɔ̄ bē kpār peel the matter put outside openly 

kpar mə̀kpǎr n. bottom part of yam 

kpar a. abusive word kalma zagi kpar mə̄ bottom buttocks 

kpàtì kpātì n. box akwati < Hausa 

kpə kpə̌ n. shoe takalma cf. zəkpə 

kpə n. bp body 

kpə a. thick abu mai wə̀ndō mē te kpə trouser this make thick 

31



kauri 

kpə̄ mə̀kpə̄ n. r small agama lizard cf. gbrε 

kpə̀ v. to receive karba kpə̄ yə̄ receive it 

kpə̀cawù n. r brown lizard seen during the rains 

kpə̄ kà kpə̄ ka v.p. to disagree lit. ‘receive refuse’ nggə̄ kpə rɛn yəmē kā I disagreed with him 

kpəkpà n. b bird sp. with big beak 

kpə̌ kpǎkpǎkpǎ id. chirping of kpəkpà kpəkpà là gì de kpə̌ kpǎkpǎkpǎ(the) bird kpəkpà chirps that…. 

kpə̀kpalaywī kpəkpalaywī n. i red centipede seen only in the rainy season. When children come home with 

skin broken between the toes, it is attributed to this centipede 

kpəkpalə̄ gà — n. v sword-bean planted for the large pods which are used by women as rattles. 

Canavalia ensiformis. 

kpəkpə — n. cloud girgije 

kpə̀kplǎ n. b bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus 

kpə̀kplə̌ a. lazy kpə̀kplə̌ là te nggə̀ lazy cont make me, gu là te kpə̀kplə̌ he cont 

make lazy 

kpə̄ kplɔkplɔ̄ id. describing too much of noise 

making which prevents others 

from talking 

32 

wə̄ là rɛn kpə̄ kplɔkplɔ̄ nggān mwɔ̄ n you cont. talk too much 

noise 

kpəkpɔ a. old və̄ lɔn mē cɛ tè kpəkpɔ man this grow make old 

kpəkpɔ̀ n. b finch Estrildae spp. 

kpə̄ kpɔ̀ — n. shrine yə̀mē sē kpə̄ kpɔ̀ this is a shrine 

kpəkprɛ̄ kpəkprε n. b blue-breasted kingfisher Halcyon malimbicus 

kpə̀kprɛ̀ — n. catarrh, phlegm, smallpox tari, majina kpə̀kprɛ̀ là te nggə̀ catarrh is doing me 

kpə̀kprɛ̀ sɔ̌ n — n. d tuberculosis tarin fuka cf. ywùywǔ 

kpə̄ kpri kpəkpri a. complete, whole, round cikake krì mū sē kpə̄ kpri yam that is complete 

kpəmkpan n. exact position yə̀mē sē kpəmkpan tswē yə̄ kì yə̄ te this is the position place 

which thing it happen 

kpəmkpàn n. c maize masara 

kpəmkpi n. d epilepsy farfadiya kpəmkpi là nan gu epilepsy cont. do him 

kpəmkpūn a. short guntu və̄ lɔn mū sē kpəmkpūn man that is short 

kpə ngār n. d arthritis (caused by man) 

kpəntàn kpə̌ ntān n. bp skin fata 

kpə̄ ntɛ̀n — a. thick kauri (cf. kpə) nzār mē sē kpə̄ ntɛ̀n hoe this is thick



kpə̄ nyɛ̀n kpənyεn v. to agree, accept, trust amsa, yarda, nggə̄ kpənyεn bə̄ gu I (have) trust with him kpənyεn, kpənyɛ̀n, 

amince kpə̄ nyεn 

kpə̄ nyìn n. g grass sp. 

kpə̀r n. fool wawa wə̄ ku kpə̀r? you fall fool (are you a fool) 

kpə̄ rɛ̀-kpə̄ rɛ̀ id. describes a thick liquid that horohoro 

has been diluted 

gu te prē kpə̄ rɛ̀-kpə̄ rɛ̀ he make gruel dilute 

kpə̀tàn n. b barbet Lybius spp. 

kpətεglā nywεn n. m bushbaby, galago Galago senegalensis 

kpətεglā 

kpətεnyān nywεn n. ai small weeding hoe fartanya < H. 

kpətεnyān 

kpə̀tùr-kpə̀tùr id. describes a very thick liquid Njumā la kàmù mē kpə̀tùr-kpə̀tùr Njumā make pap this very 

thick 

kpə̄ wu v. to burn kə̄ Bàkūntān kpəwu Bakuntan’s house is burnt down 

kpî a. pitch dark bakin kirin tswē te bū kpî place make dark pitch 

kpǐr kpir n. duiker (it runs & blows its horn) 

kpla — n. p batchelor mara aure və̄ lɔn mū sɔ̀n kpla man that stays batchelor 

kplā — n. haste hanzari nə̄ gu man tè kplā let him then make haste 

kplā kpla v. to prepare, as a masquerade, 

bə kpla njwe zwē they prepare masquerades keep 

set up 

kplà v. to beat the floor mbə̀mbə̄ là kpla tār tə̀ women cont. beat the floor room our 

kplabē — n. courtyard waje (na 

cikin gida) 

kplà mgbo v.p. ??? 

kplà nyū v.p. s.t. that one eats that is not 

wə̄ là kplà nyū kənàn mwɔ̄ n you cont. eat mouth too much 

much in the mouth, or eating 

s.t. that is sweet 

kplɔ adv. entering at high speed gu kulwe nyəř kə kplɔ he ran enter house hastily 

kplɔ glə v. to make noise not 

wə là kplɔ glə mwɔn you make noise too much 

comprehensively, angrily 

kplǒ id. the sound of eating food 

hastily 

kpm v. to wear 

33 

(as swallowing) gu kan lā mrè de kplǒ he swallowed food and it 

made the sound… 

gu kpm lə̀gà cīnji he (is) wearing shirt black


̌ 


kpm̄ v. to thresh with sticks buga dawa nggə̄ là kpm kpu I cont. threshing guinea-corn 

kpm̄ v. to fold cloth, fold nade kaya vu kī mē kpm nggə̄ yə carry clothes this fold me them 

kpm̀ kpm n. t kapok tree rimi Ceiba pentandra 

kpm̀ kpm v. to turn over soil in the rufe zaga (na gu là ngār ryə də̀ bān kə̀ gu là kpm zwe gu mān he cont. make 

process of making ridges, noma) ridges and those of his house are covering following him 

ridge 

kpɔ̄ kpɔ n. bag jaka 

kpɔ̀cūn kpɔcun n. grove, cluster of trees 

kpɔ̄ gbru kpɔgbru n. b vulture angulu also gbrǔ, kpɔ̄ mkpan 

Kpɔ̄ kə̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘big house’ 

kpɔ̀mgbukpɔ̀n kpɔ̄ mgbukpɔ̀n n. m large male patas monkey jan biri Erythrocebus patas. also bɛ̄ 

kpɔ̄ mkpan kpɔmkpan b b vulture angulu archaic 

kpɔ̌ n a. stylish gu là kpɔ̌ n kəywə he cont stylish himself 

kprɛ̄ kpə̄ kprɛ̀ n. bp lower leg, calf kafa 

kpǔ kpu n. c guinea-corn, sorghum dawa 

kpukpà n. b grey plantain-eater Crinifer piscator 

kpùkpə kpukpə n. t tree sp. tààkàlmín cf. təkpə̄ 

biri 

kpūmkpār — n. m fruit-bat jamage Epomophorus gambianus 

kpūr kpur n. m giant rat Cricetomys gambianus 

krè v. to stand, stay, stop krè jì nggə̄ mān stay wait for me, kan krè stop 

krè gɔ̄ n v.p. to support nggə̄ là kre gu gɔ̄ n I cont. stand him back 

krè nɛ̄ n n.p. d swollen stomach kumburi ciki gu là lə lələ krè nɛ̄ n he is sick the sickness of swollen stomach 

krɛ̌ mə̄ krε n. k uncle kawu wān̄ mē sē krɛ̌ nggə̄ he (one-this) is my uncle bānmē sē mə̄ krε 

nggə̄ they (those-this) are my uncles 

krɛ̀ krε v. to finish ya kare tə̄ nan ndu krɛ we do work finish 

krε nyər v.p. to be short ngwɔn gu krɛ nyər his hands are short 

kri v. to be clean abu mara nggə̄ kri I am clean 

deti 

krì kə̄ krì n. c yam doya Dioscorea rotundata 

krǐ kri v. to gleam, shine as a result of jiki na 

rubbing lotion in the skin walkiya 

nggə̄ gba mə̀nyɛ̀n də̀ kri I rub pomade and (am) shining 

kru — n. p barren woman bakarare 

34



krǔ v. to gather s.t. that is scattered tə̄ là kru sə̄ sān ə lan we cont. gather cornstalks on the farm 

krushə̄ krushə n. s night-adder Causus rhombeatus 

ku v. to become dry, dry up, bushe mpā nggə̄ ku sore my is dried up 

dessicate 

kū ku v. to fall fadiwa (na glō là kū the rain is falling 

ruwan sama) 

kū ku v. to follow gyə̄ lə kū də̀ mān ywē kə̄ . you will fall(follow way) and there go 

home 

kū ku v. to include tə̄ gə kīyə̄ rē kū bə nə̀nàn we divided (the) food included them 

also (shared with them) 

kū ku v. to be menstruating mbə̄ là kū the woman is having her period 

kùcī — n. beginning, start, inception farko yə̀mē sē kùcī ndu yə̄ tə̄ nan this is the beginning work which we 

did 

kūci — v. to be first, be ahead of, be 

nggə̄ kuci wə̀ I first you (I came before you) 

before 

kūcici — v. to lead, to go ahead na farko gu kucici nyə̀ he lead come (came first), gu kucici an tə̄ sə zwē 

mān he took the lead and we followed 

kùcūn kucun n. mi ocarina made from a dried fruit-shell of Oncoba spinosa and played only 

by masquerades or men only during the Rínnzē festival. 

kūjì — v. to get down kūjì dè tər mənggərō get down from that mango tree 

kukā mə̀kukā n. t baobab kuka Adansonian digitata. < Hausa 

kuku — n. bone kashi 

kukù — a. dry busheshe tərkì mē sē kukù tree this is dry 

kūkū — a. old tsoho lə̀gā nggə̄ sē kūkū shirt my is old 

kùkù — n. reed grass, arrow shaft iwa 

kùku v. to forget to deliver a message 

because of a distraction on 

the way 

35 

bə te nggə̄ ndu də̀ nggə̄ kpə yə re kùku they make me message 

and I receive it eat forget 

kuku adv. guiltily wə là kǎn kuku me mūn? You cont. walk guiltily this why? 

kukukì kùkukī n. stick 

kùkùkpur kukukpur n. mi transverse clarinet made from guinea-corn stem. Played by young men at harvesttime. 

kuku-kùrǔkùkù the chirping of bush pigeon ywudə̀ là gì kuku-kùrǔkùkù bush pigeon is chirping…. 

kū-kukurukû the crowing of a cock gbǎlà to de kū-kukurukû cock is crowing that…



kukushār nywεn n. r jumping frog 

kukushār 

kǔkukuku id. chirping of cicì cicì là gì de kǔkukuku cicì cont. cry (chirp) that…. 

kūkwɔ̌ a. small, young kankani yə̀mē sē kūkwɔ̌ this is small. kukwɔ can also agree directly with 

a noun in an associative construction; thus mbú kúkwɔ́ small 

mat. In this case it takes its tone from the noun. 

kūkwār adv. completely duka tə̄ swε kpəmkpàn kūkwār we shuck maize finish 

kùlwè v. to imitate gu là kpə̄ kùlwè tə̀ywə he is imitating his father 

kumfə v. to feel hungry jin yunwa nggə̄ kumfə I am feeling hungry 

kùngga n. t tree sp. kúrdíí Burkea africana 

kunkur n. firewood itace 

kùr v. to lay down, lay kwanciya gu kùr ə tàr he lies in the room 

kurkpə v. to catch when s.t. is thrown cafke gu nan kurkpə he well catch (it) 

kūsar v. to cross a path tə̄ kūsar vəkə̀bǔ nkɔ̀n we cross pathway 

kùtsɔ — n. d hepatitis, jaundice, ‘yellow 

kùtsɔ là nan gu hepatitis cont. do him 

fever’ 

kūwà n. dn game played by girls mə̄ nggə̄ là kuwà girls cont. make game 

kwakwà — n. fr coconut kwakwa



kyɛn nggə ma! excl. calling attention expresses 

kyɛn nggə̄ man, nggə̄ la kpə̄ nyɛn bə̄ kì yə̀ wə̄ là nan mē yo 

disapproval 

look at me, I do not accept what you are doing 

kyə̀nkɛ̀n n. h plant sp. 

kyə̄ r kyər v. to pound daka Mbə̄ rɛn là kyər bentsu Mbərɛn cont. pounding acca 

kyîîn? excl. expresses surprise sē sə̄ sānmenàn gyə̄ nan yə̄ , kyîîn? was that how you did (the 

thing?) 

kyō kyo v. to gather tatara gyə̄ kyō kī sɔ̀n zwè ə tswē gyə̄ r gather the seats in one place 

Kyōnē p.n personal name lit. ‘gather people’ 

kyōntàn mə̀kyōntàn n. t karaya gum tree kûkúúkì Sterculia setigera 

kyōte v. to gather in a group (people) mə̄ nē kyote mgbɔ̀ tswē kyɛn Gbrīn yə̄ Yɛsò people gather in 

group to watch Jesus’ Film 

kyu tsu v. to die mutuwa kyū də̄ te ə kə̄ nə̄ mān nzεn death if occur at house someone now 

kyù kyū n. death də̄ gwɔ kyū yə when (they) hear (of) death the 

kyù kyu n. r land monitor damo Varanus niloticus 

kyūn kyun v. to gather, prepare kyūn kī mē nàn zwè gather these things keep properly, kyūn 

anrɛ̀n ə mbrɛ tə̄ lə ywē Jos prepare because tomorrow we will 

be going to Jos 

Kyūnē p.n personal name lit. ‘person’s death’ 

kyūngwɔn n. f fish sp. Auchenoglanis occidentalis 

kyūnkyū n. sweet potato dankali < Hausa. also dankyū 

kyūntu n. cooperation 

kyūnkyūntɛ̀ n. c rizga rizga Plectranthus esculentus 

kyūte n. death kyūte bə̄ tə̄ death has occurred with us 

L. 

la v. to give or take credit, loan, karban bashi nggə̄ kpə mgbāmvū tar bə̄ wə̄ la I received naira three with you 

borrow 

ko kuma credit 

bayar 

la v. to separate bad seeds from 

gu là la bekī he is sorting seeds 

good 

la v. to be harmed ji rauni gu la nggə̀ he has harmed me 

la..yo v.aux not babu nggə̄ lə la ywē yo I will NEG go not 

37



. 

la…gba yo adv. definitely not nggə̄ lə la nan ndu mē gba yo I will my neg. do work this even 

not. [I definitely won’t do my work] 

lā mə̀lā n. food, porridge tuwo 

lǎ v. to be mad haukace fəvɛ̀n mū là lǎ boy that is mad 

lǎ n. madness hauka lǎ là te nggə̄ madness has me 

lǎ v. to be bright tswē là la (the) place is bright 

là v.aux continuous marker bān nə̄ mān là ryun lā də̀ la prē those others HAB cook la and 

. 

prepare pre Sh. 

là v. to help taimako tekə, yə̀ gu sē bə̄ yə̄ , lə sē yə̀ la mān fətsɛ̀ ... thinking, which he 

is with it, will be of helping then small ... 

ladi n. Sunday Lahadi < Hausa rīmē sē rì Ladi today is day (of) Sunday 

lāhyε n. s snake sp. 

Lākpu p.n personal name lit. ‘to add sand to guinea corn’ 

Lākrɛ p.n personal name lit. ‘food is finish’ 

làmgbà lāmgbà n. r male agama lizard 

làmǔ n. fr orange lemu < Hausa 

lamukā n. d typhoid ? < Hausa 

lan mə̀lǎn n. farmland gona 

lan v. to shine hwə là lan nggān me moon cont. shine plenty only 

lan kyɛn adv looking unsettled, confused kyɛn gu tswē lan kyɛn məgyə̀r see the way he is looking 

(confused, unsettled etc) 

lan ngglan adv. shinily, gleamingly walkiya zə̄ mū là lan ngglan iron that is bright shinily 

lān n. s red-lined snake Bothopthalmus lineatus 

làndār landar n. cow sa, saniya nggyān (Ancho), ndō (Rija) 

laru adv. transparently abinda da 

idanu ke iya 

lə̀gā nggə̄ là laru shirt my is bright transparently 

zar 

Làtswē p.n personal name lit. ‘help place’ 

Lāywi p.n personal name lit. ‘food squeezed’ 

laywī n. place where harvested acca is wurin da ana 

lə̄ lə v.aux 

. 

threshed 

buga acca 

will, shall nggə̄ lə ywē do mbrɛ I will go to market tomorrow 

38



lə̄ lə n. t locust bean tree dorowa lə̄ mē sē yə̀ te nggə̄ locust bean tree this is father my. Parkia 

biglobosa 

lə̄ v. to spread (for drying), spread shanya kan bemkpàn lə̄ nə̄ yə man ku take maize spread let it – dry 

lə̄ lə v. to ache, be ill, to be sick, to zafi ko ciwo gbəryūn là lə nggə̄ the knee is paining me. 

pain 

lə̀basā — n. c onion albasa < Hausa 

lə̌ dē lədē n. da pig alede < Hausa 

lə̌ dē hwan lədē hwan n. m bushpig Potamochoerus larvatus 

lə̀gā lə̄ gā n. shirt riga < Hausa riga 

lə̀gə̀r adv. aside vu kī mē zwè lə̀gə̀r pack these things keep aside 

ləgū lə̌ gū n. c cassava rogo < Hausa ywē jūn ləgū cà nggə̄ go remove cassava bring me 

lə̄ kə ləkə n. age-mate wanda 

shekarun su 

tə̄ sē bān ləkə gyə̄ r bə̄ Susan we are age-mates one with Susan 

yazo 

ləla v. to reciprocate ramako nggə nan ywan ləla kì yə̀ gu nan nggə̀ I did pay back what he 

did to me i.e. I take revenge 

lə̀lǎ — n. mi iron clapper-bell played during the panpipe dance. 

ləlà n. upper palate or roof of mouth 

lə̀lān lə̄ lān n. i scorpion kunama 

lə̀lān kəkə lə̄ lān kəkə n. i centipede kunaman it curls up when touched. Does not sting 

kaza 

lələ — n. d sickness, disease ciwo lələ là nan Tsɛ̄ ncun sickness is doing Tsɛ̄ ncun (T. is sick) 

lə̀lə̄ lələ a. cracked tsage tār mē ngar lə̀lə̄ room this is-broken cracked 

lə̀lɔ̀ — n. c cocoyam gwaza Colocasia esculenta. cu lə̀lɔ̀ sùr nggə̄ yə̄ fetch cocoyam boil 

lə̄ lɔn mə̄ lə̄ lɔn n. p man namiji 

lə̀lwè — n. g thatching grass Hyperthelia dissoluta but probably applies to other thatching 

grasses. də̀ shun bwɔ lə̀lwè gyər gyər ... and bring out thatch one 

one ... 

lə̀mgbɔ̀ ləmgbɔ̀ n. i dung-beetle gongora 

kashi 

lə̀ndūr ləndur n. b bird sp. 

Lə̀ndūr Ləndur n. tr masquerade appears only once every five years. drives away the Rínnzē. 

lə̀ngā lənga n. b crowned crane gauraka cf. hùhwàr. Balearica pavonina 

lənggə mə̄ lənggə n. enemy abokin gaba gu sē lənggə nggə̀ he is enemy my, tə̄ sē mə̄ lənggə bə̄ Nkɔ̀nryān 

39



we are enemies with Nkɔ̀nryān 

lənggə̀ v. to groan (in pain) gu là gə̀ lənggə̀ he is groaning in pain 

lə̄ nkū bān lə̄ nkū n. senior person na gaba ko 

mafi girma 

gu sē lə̄ nkū nggə̄ he is senior my 

lə̌ sō ləsō n. da pig cf. lə̌ dē Sh. 

lə̄ sur v. to refuse to help s.o. with 

your possessions 

lə̀ywǎ ləywa n. i stink-ant cinaka 

lō v. to plait, weave kitso ko 

kuma saka 

lit. lə̄ ‘to be sick + sur ‘kidney’. Mbə̄ ncān ləsur kī kənànme 

Mbəncān always refuses to help 

cf. mər - bə là lo mbə̄ nggə̄ tu they are plaiting my wife’s head 

lo ngàn lo ngan v.p. to stick lə̀gā lo ngàn gu kpə̀ shirt sticked his body 

lɔ̂ lɔ̀ — n. warm water 

lɔn mə̄ lə̄ lɔn n. k husband miji gu sē lɔn nggə̄ he is husband my 

lùmù lumu n. i mud-wasp Belenogaster griseus 

lùmvù lumvu n. i beetle that flies at night kwaro 

lunkpùr lunkpur n. m hartebeest Alcelaphus bucephalus 

lwe n. load kaya gu là lwě lwe he cont. carry load 

lwe nɛ̄ n v.p. to be pregnant rike ciki mbə̄ nggə̄ lwe nɛ̄ n wife my is-pregnant (carries belly) 

lwè lwe v. to carry rike nggə̄ lwe nzār ə ngwɔ̀n I carry hoe at hand 

lwē — n. c garden egg gauta, yalo 

M. 

ma — v. to meet saduda tə̄ ma bə̄ kəywə̀ we met with each other 

ma…nkɔn v.p. to meet on the road tarbe ywe kə mâ bə̄ gu ə nkɔ̀n go meet with him on the way, i.e to 

welcome 

ma — v. to reach, be okay ya isa tə̄ dɔ ma mān nān we farm reach now 

mā — n. p sorcerer wizard maitanci cf. wānkwār 

mā v. to wrestle kokuwa Kpàtù bə̄ Ntānmə̄ là ma Kpàtù with Ntānmə̄ cont. wrestle 

mà — v. to measure awo Njumā là mà bekī Njuma cont. measure seeds 

màdār n. i wasp zozonko 

Màdo p.n personal name lit. ‘measure market’ 

40



màgbyɛ̌ n — n. t blood-plum Haematostaphis barteri. Fruits edible 

Magwa p.n personal name lit. ‘meet snakes’ or ‘wrestle snakes’ 

màjǎn n. b fire-crowned bishop bird Euplectes hordeacea 

mākī n. one who is believed to be 

using magical powers to steal 

people’s crops 

və̄ lɔn mē sē wān mākī man this is one-who takes away people’s 

crops 

Mākpu p.n personal name lit. ‘measure corn’ 

Mālā p.n personal name lit. ‘measure food’ 

Mamān p.n personal name lit. ‘it is okay’ 

màmfɛ̄ n. crocodile tears wə̄ là te màmfɛ̄ fà me you cont. make crocodile tears for nothing 

only 

màmgbyɛ̀n māmgbyɛ̀n n. i mason wasp rina 

Màmgbyɛ̀n p.n personal name lit. ‘mason wasp’ 

màmpùr a. fresh unripen groundnut etc. bencwē mē sē màmpùr me g/nut these is just unripen only 

man conj. then, so as to kan tə̄ nan man dètswē ə sə̄ kànmē let us do then leave this 

place 

mān loc. there gu sə sē mān ə tswēywə̄ he was there also 

màn man v. to nurse, suck mai reno vɛ̄ n là màn child cont. sucking 

màn mgbo v.p. to lick the mouth as a result 

lit. ‘suck cheek’. gu là màn mgbo he cont. suck cheek 

of s.t. sweet eaten 

màndē adv. until sɔ̀n màndē gu də̀ mə̀rtu ngā sit until he returns 

māndɛ̄ — n. tp immature palm-fruit edible 

màmgbān adv. insisting on one doing s.t. gu te nggə màmgbān he made me insist 

Mankɔ̀n p.n. personal name lit. ‘to meet on the way’ 

Mǎshi p.n personal name 

matò n. vehicle < English via Hausa 

mbàn mban n. b black kite shirwa 

mbǎnrìn excl. questioning expression with 

hands palm up, bafflement 

mbǎnrìn v. to dive into water nggə̄ ku mbǎnrìn I fall deep inside water 

mbàr n. t false shea, meni oil tree kùjééméé Lophira lanceolata 

mbàr n. tr leaves for ceremonial head wani irin 

dress made from mbàr ganye da ake 

sa a kai a 

41 

Danrɛn kan nànsɛn, mbǎnrìn? Danrɛn take do where (where 

has Danrɛn been all this while)? 

leaves are used in a peace-making ceremony in families where 

accusations of witchcraft may be made and to make a charm to 

put on farms to stop the land from yielding. Also placed on



lokacin mango trees to prevent people from stealing the fruit. 

rawan 

gargajiya 

mbe fà adv. refers to a past event mbe fà anrīn gu sə nyə̀ time later before he came 

mbɛ̄ adv. already ko, rigaya nggə̄ gbla wə̄ kpəmkpàn mbɛ̄ . I weeded (for) you maize already 

mbɛ̄ mbə̀mbɛ̄ n. to sprout, shoot, germinate toho yə̀mē sē mbɛ̄ kpu. This is a guinea-corn sprout. 

Mbɛ̄ kī p.n personal name lit. ‘sprout of things (crops)’ 

Mbɛ̄ kpu p.n personal name lit. ‘sprout of guinea-corn’ 

mbɛ̄ nō adv. sometime in the 

wani lokaci mbɛ̄ nō nggə̄ lə ywē ə America. Sometime I will go to America. 

indeterminate future mai zuwa 

mbɛ̄ tan int. When? yaushe mbɛ̄ tan wə̄ lə nyə̄ ? When will you come? wə lə ngā mbɛ̄ tan 

when will you return? 

mbə̄ mbə̀mbə̄ n. p woman, wife mace, mata 

mbə̄ ngǎn kwɔ̀ mbə̀mbə̄ ngǎn n.p. widow gwamruwa 

kwɔ̀ 

Mbə̄ bàr p.n. personal name lit. ‘woman of touch’ 

Mbə̄ bū p.n. personal name lit. ‘woman of night’ 

Mbə̄ cā p.n. personal name lit. ‘woman of sweet wine’ 

Mbə̄ cūn p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of chief’ 

Mbə̄ dān p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of copaiba balsam’ 

Mbə̄ do p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of market’ 

Mbə̄ gəga p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of grass’ 

Mbə̄ gì p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of cry’ 

Mbə̄ glā p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of chase’ 

Mbə̄ glə̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of noise’ 

Mbə̄ glō p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of rain’ 

Mbəgribə p.n personal name lit. ‘woman who gossips them or brought to them’ 

Mbə̄ gyār p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of anger’ 

Mbə̄ gyànkɔ̀n p.n. personal name lit. ‘woman of digging road’ 

Mbə̄ gyə̄ r p.n personal name lit. ‘one woman’ 

Mbə̄ gyūn p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of dizziness’ 

Mbə̄ hwan p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of farm’ 

Mbə̄ jə̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of poverty’ 

42



Mbə̄ jìmə̀ p.n personal name 

Mbə̄ kàbu p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of sand’ 

Mbə̄ kə̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of the house’ 

Mbə̄ kə̄ jī p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of money’ 

Mbə̄ kə̀jì p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of love potion’ 

Mbə̄ kɔ̄ n p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of war’ 

Mbəkyūbe p.n Personal name lit. ‘woman who die forever’ 

Mbə̄ lā p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of food’ 

Mbə̄ kru p.n personal name lit. ‘woman barren’ 

mbə̄ kwɔ̀ mbə̀mbə̄ kwɔ̀ n. daughter-in-law Gwanje dial. 

Mbə̄ kyū p.n. personal name lit. ‘woman of death’ 

mbəlanzān n. r small lizard which makes 

holes in farm ridges 

mbə̄ lò mbəlò n. f elephant-snout fish spp. Mormyrus spp. 

Mbəmbàr p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of false shea’ 

mbə̀mbɔ̀ n. i termites that surround the 

queen 

mbə̀mbrɛ̀cə̄ n. early morning asuba mbrɛ̀, mbrɛ̀cə̄ , mbə̀mbrɛ̀mbrɛ̀ cf. būbu 

mbə̀mbrɛ̀mbrɛ̀ n. throughout the morning also mbrɛ̀, mbə̀mbrɛ̀cə̄ , mbrɛ̀cə̄ 

Mbə̄ mbrī p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of shield’ 

mbə̀mblə̄ kì mbə̄ mblə̀kī n. a gutter 

mbə̀mbwàr n. unthickened food (tuwo) 

Mbə̄ mə̀shi p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of tears’ 

Mbə̄ mkpàn p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of maize (corn)’ 

Mbə̄ mkpūn p.n personal name lit. ‘short woman’ 

Mbə̄ ncān p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of mud’ 

Mbə̄ nggɔn p.n personal name lit. ‘big woman’ 

Mbə̄ nyān p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of horse’ 

Mbə̄ rā p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of dream’ 

Mbə̄ rāntān p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of dream skin’ 

Mbə̄ rɛ̀do p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of buying market 

Mbə̄ rɛ̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of selling’ (i.e. she was born during slavery) 

mbə̄ r mbə̀mbə̄ r n. remains, dregs yar raguwa 

43



dalaki 

mbə̄ r v. to turn around suddenly nggə̄ kan gyɔ̄ gɔ̄ n mbə̄ r I then turned around at once 

Mbə̄ rmə̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘man of dregs of wine’ 

mbə̄ r mpà mbə̀mbə̌ r mpà n. scar, scar tabo lit. ‘remains-sore’ 

mbə̌ r mbər n. g lovegrass Eragrostis tremula 

Mbə̄ rɛn p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of talk’ 

Mbə̄ rì p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of God’ 

Mbəsanga p.n Personal name lit. ‘woman who sits on the cheek’ 

Mbə̄ səlè p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of 10 kobo’ 

Mbə̄ sər p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of exchange’ 

mbə̄ suswɛ mbə̀mbə̄ suswɛ̀ n. blue insect it appears only in Oct/Nov. after the rains 

Mbə̄ swē p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of bath’ 

Mbə̄ tɔ̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of sacrifice’ 

Mbə̄ wànggwe p.n personal name lit. ‘Hausa woman’ 

Mbə̄ wu p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of medicine’ 

Mbə̄ wushi p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of joy’ 

Mbə̄ ywan p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of flat stone’ 

Mbə̄ zə̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of iron’ 

Mbə̄ zə̄ r p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of walk/tree species’ 

Mbə̄ zəze p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of good’ 

mbə̄ zē mbə̀mbə̄ zē n. p daughter-in-law 

Mbə̄ zè p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of keep’ 

Mbə̄ zō p.n personal name lit. ‘woman of fresh wine’ 

mblə̄ mbə̀mblə̄ n. la stream rafi 

mblɔ̀n mblɔn n. r skink kulba 

mbɔ̄ n. s.t. rotten yə̄ bə tè mbɔ̄ ywə̄ it rot make rotten of-it 

mbɔ̄ kə̄ jī n.p. too much money 

Mbɔ̄ kī p.n personal name lit. ‘rotten things’ 

Mbɔ̄ nē p.n personal name lit. ‘rotten person’ 

mbrε adv. tomorrow gobe 

mbrɛ̄ vē n. day 

n. morning cf. mbrɛ̀cə̄ , mbə̀mbrɛ̀cə̄ , mbə̀mbrɛ̀mbrɛ̀ 

mbrɛ̀cə̄ n. morning mbrɛ̀, mbə̀mbrɛ̀cə̄ , mbə̀mbrɛ̀mbrɛ̀ also būbu 

44



mbrī — n. charcoal, soot formed after garwashi 

the bush has burnt 

mbrī n. d fibroids 

mbrī mbri n. wp shield 

mbrì mbrī n. fr fruit tree large tree but small golden fruit 

mbū mbūmbù n. bp gum (mouth) gibi 

mbù nyə̄ r mbū nyər n. tooth gap lit. ‘gum teeth’ 

mbu mbǔ n. mt mat asabari 

mbǔ mbu n. po narrow-necked pot tulu women hoist it on their shoulders to carry water 

mbùmbɔ̀ n. small termites that destroy 

wood 

mbumburɛn mbumbu n. small speeches 

mə̀rɛ̌ n 

Mbumburɛn p.n personal name lit. ‘small talks’ 

mbwà zə̀ mbūmbwà zə n. foot tafin kafa 

mbwār n. ritual food 

mbwàr mbùmbwàr n. watery food lā ku mbwàr food fall watery 

mbwɛ̌ wùyà n. a kind of zither 

me adv. only, just like that kawai wə̄ cu fətsɛ̀ me? you fetch small only? 

mē adv. now yanzu lwě njī cà nggə̄ mān me yə bring me the knife now 

mē dem. this mbə̄ mē woman this 

mε n. season fasali 

shekara 

yə̀mē sē mɛ̄ yə̄ glō this is season of rain 

mɛ̄ mε v. to build gini Gyɔ̄ gɔ̄ n là mɛ̄ vərà Gyɔ̄ gɔ̄ n cont. build small granary 

mēmē adv. at once yanzu-yanzu cf. mē. gu de nə̄ wə̄ nyə̀ mēmē he said should you come nownow 

menrīn adv. still nggə̄ kasə̄ sē nan yə̄ menrīn I am still doing it 

mə̄ — n. buttocks duwawu 

mə̄ — n. secret kpān wān tsə mə̄ gu friend who knows secret his 

mə̀ n. beer giya 

mə̀ a. wonderful yə̀mē sē kì yə̀ mə̀ this is wonderful 

Mə̀bàn p.n personal name lit. ‘take the last’ 

mə̄ bə pron. theirs 

45



mə̀cī mə̄ cici n. p father-in-law siriki man speaking to a woman 

mə̀cī mə̄ cici n. p ancestors kakani 

Mə̀cùn p.n personal name lit. ‘chiefs’ 

Mə̀da Məda p.n. Mada 

mə̀gàn n. sap ruwan itace 

(danko) 

tərkì mē te mə̀gàn tree this make sap 

məgē, məkē conj. maybe gu lə nan yə̄ məgē he will do it maybe 

mə̀gì — n. blood jini 

mə̀gìmbə‹ mə̄ gìmbə‹ n. h plant about 1 m. high. The leaves are very smooth 

Mə̀gìnē p.n personal name lit. ‘blood of people’ 

mə̀gu mə̄ gu p.a. his kì mē sē mə̀gu thing this is his kə̄ yə̄ mə̄ gu house of his 

mə̀gyə̄ p.a. yours (pl.) kì mē sē yə̀ mə̀gyə̄ thing this is of yours 

Mə̀kì p.n personal name lit. ‘beer of thing’ 

mə̀krì n. sweat zufa nggə̄ là ku mə̀krì I cont fall sweat "I am sweating" 

mə̀kpǎ n. top part of a settled liquid e.g. nzan, pre etc. 

Mə̀kwɔnē p.n personal name lit. ‘deserted settlement’ 

Mə̀kyū p.n personal name lit. ‘liquid of death’ 

mə̀lεka mə̀lεkū n. angel malai-ka/-ku < Hausa 

mə̀mān — n. salt gishiri 

mə̀mān kancɔn — n. sugar sukar ‘sweet salt’ 

məme — a. bad abu mara kì mē sē məme thing this is bad 

kyau 

mə̀mē — n. earth, ground, soil, land kasa 

Mə̀mērebe p.n personal name lit. ‘ground eat good’ 

mə̀mɛ̄ - n. dew raba 

Mə̀mɛ̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘dew’ 

mə̀mə̀ mə̄ mə̀ n. liquid 

mə̀mgbān v. persistence wə te mə̀mgbān rɛn mwɔn you make persistence talk too-much 

mə̄ mi shɔ nywεnywεn n. i bee larva 

shɔ 

mə̀nǎn — n. bean cake kosai 

mə̀ncà — n. pp yam root 

məncamənca id. sound of s.o. chewing kàdə tàn kī məncamənca yo do not chew food making the sound 

46



….. 

Mə̀ncakì p.n. personal name lit. ‘beard of things’ 

Mə̀ncàkpu p.n. personal name lit. ‘beard of guinea-corn’ 

mə̀ncεrɛ̀ v. to tickle jakulikuli wə̄ là te nggə̄ mə̀ncɛrɛ̀ you cont. tickling me 

mə̀ndɛ̀rɛ̀ a. tender vəgbə̄ ntan mē sē mə̀ndɛ̀rɛ̀ me this calf is so tender 

mə̄ nggə̀ p.a. mine kì mē sē yə̀ mə̀nggə̄ thing this is mine 

mənggə̀rō — n. fr mango mangoro



mə̄ tə̀ pron. ours kì mē sē yə̀ mə̀tə̄ thing this is of ours 

mə̀tɔ̀ — n. potash kanwa te mə̀tɔ̀ gyɔ̄ lā ə glo fetch potash put food at fire 

mə̀tù — n. pity tausayi gu te mə̀tù nggə̄ he have pity on me 

Mə̀wu p.n personal name lit. ‘liquid of medicine’ 

mə̀ywè — n. ap grease, fat, lard kitse 

mə̀ywɛ̀ mə̄ ywɛ̀ n. sh shrub tumfafiya Sodom apple, swallow-wort. The stems are used to make rafters. 

mfè n. one-eyed blind person 

mfə — n. hunger yunwa mfə là te nggə̄ hunger is doing me 

mfə̄ — n. foam kunfa 

mfə̀r r mfə̄ n. bp vagina duri 

mfɛ̀n v. second element of 

tsɛ̌ n…mfɛ̀n to trip s.o. 

gu tsɛn nggə̄ mfɛ̀n he cut me leg to fall me 

mfù n. bp hair gashi 

mfùbrì n. g grass sp. Digitaria gayana 

mfucì mfuci n. b Senegal coucal ragon maza Centropus senegalensis 

mfùgban — n. bp pubic hair 

Mfùnan p.n personal name lit. ‘hair of animal’ 

mfùrukpm̀ — n. kapok cotton audugan 

rimi 

mfùrūrū — n. cotton wool auduga 

mfùtù — n. bp hair gashin kai 

mgbà mgbā n. t fig tree gámjì Ficus platyphylla 

mgbà mgbā n. hi sling 

mgbādār n. c edible leaf 

mgbākī — n. c green leaves for making soup ganye miyan 

mgbākī nggwār — n.p. c sesame leaves karkashi 

mgbākī ngə̀ — n.p. c food made from sesame and 

leaves 

mgbāmgbān adv. firmly vūn gu nàn lwè mgbāmgbān catch him carry firmly 

mgblamgbla adj looking tough gu là kyɛn mgblamgbla me he cont. looking tough only 

mgbāmvū mgbāmvū kī n. leaf, paper money, letter, 

book 

48 

ganye, 

takardan 

kudi



mgbāmvū blā — n. reading book takardan 

karatu 

mgbāmvū car — n. paper, book takardan 

rubutu 

mgbāmvū gywi n. sharp leaf for wrapping a 

kind of food 

mgbāmvū Rì — n. Bible Litafi mai 

tsarki 

mgban mə̀mgbǎn n. bp armpit hamata 

mgbân a. very cool (emphatic), cool mai sanyi 

sosai 

mə̀sər sù mgbân water cool very much 

mgbān mgbə̄ mgbàn n. ap wing hamata, 

fukafiki 

mgbǎntə̄ mgbantə n. stone dutse dim. və̄ mgbantə̄ , nywɛ̂ nmgbantə 

mgbāntur n. h bitterleaf shiwaka Vernonia amygdalensis 

mgbārəhū n. c waterleaf allayaho Amaranthus caudatus 

mgbàsàn n. side of a hill or sea gefe 

mgbāshε — n. c roselle, sorrel yakuwa Hibiscus sabdariffa. 

mgbě adv. wide open wə̄ bu nkɔ̀n gyɔ̄ hū mgbě you opened door put wide 

mgbě hyô v.p. to flicker tə̄ r là te glo mgbě hyô evil light make fire on/off 

mgbāngə̄ n n. g grass sp. (local curry) 

mgbə̄ — n. mi panpipe Has four/five pipes. Used for festive occasions. Played in large 

sets of up to twenty instruments 

mgbə̀ mgbə̀mgbə̀ n. aroma kanshi 

mgbədē adv. thanks nggə̄ te mgbədē bə̄ gyə̀ I am thankful to all of you 

mgbəga — n. grass (generic) ciyawa 

Mgbəga p.n personal name lit. ‘grass’ 

mgbəgɔ̀n n. local handbag made of fanpalm 

leaves 

mgbə̀glò mgbəglo n. r toad kwado 

mgbə̀hwà a. wide and big s.t., an abusive word describing the mouth. kyɛn sē yə̄ nyū gu sē 

mgbə̀hwà see how his mouth is wide 

mgbəjə̀ mgbə̀jə̄ n. cane, walking-stick tsumagiya 

mgbə̀jī mgbəji n. bush, wilderness, uninhabited 

49



place 

mgbəlà — n. t tree sp. gáúÎè Gardenia aqualla. Used to symbolise a deserted compound. 

People say ban mgbəlà gyɔ̄ nkɔ̀n take a Gardenia and put it over 

the entrance 

mgbə̀là mgbə̄ là n. wooden board for carrying 

loads on the head 

mgbəlan n. t tree sp. 

mgbə̀lantù n. t termite with large head 

mgbəlɔkì mgbə̀lɔkī n. log gungumi 

mgbə̀mgbàn mgbə̀mgbànkī n. sour thing tsami 

mgbə̀mgbàn n. sickness (caused by man) 

mgbə̄ mgbār n. g grass sp. Loudetia arundinacea 

mgbəmgbə̀r n. t fig tree dúrùmíí Ficus polita 

mgbə̀mgbə̀r mgbə́mgbə̀r n. bp navel cibi 

mgbəmgblan n. t tree sp. 

mgbə̄ mgblān — n. fo pepper barkonu 

mgbəmgbrè — n. world duniya 

mgbəmgbrɛn __ n. bumps, small gravel, small 

lumps in pap 

mgbə̄ ncī mgbə̀ncī n. chair (modern type) kujera 

mgbənjan mgbə̀njǎn n. pp silk or beard of maize, corn gyemun 

silk 

masara 

Mgbənjan p.n personal name lit. ‘beard of masquerade’ 

mgbə̀nwɔ̄ n mgbə̄ nwɔ̄ n n. i fly that buzzes around ears attracted to sweat 

Mgbə̀nyūglo p.n personal name lit. ‘fire log’ 

mgbərɛ n. bp intestine 

mgbərɛ kəkla n.p. to be guiltless lit. ‘intestine white’. nggə̄ sē mgbərɛ kəkla I be intestine white (I 

am not guilty of the offence) 

mgbərīn mgbə̀rǐn n. rope igiya 

mgbə̀rīn mgbə̀rǐn n. bf urine fisari 

Mgbərìngan p.n personal name lit. ‘the roots have stuck’ 

mgbə̄ rìnkī mgbə̀rīnkī n. tp root saiwa 

Mgbə̄ rìnkī p.n. personal name lit. ‘root things’ 

mgbərìnrìn id. describes roots completely gbǒ tərkì mē mgbərìnrìn remove tree this with its roots 

50



removed 

mgbə̄ rɔ̄ n mgbərɔ̄ n n. stool kujera 

mgbərshi mgbəmgbərshi n. c Bambara groundnut gurjiya 

mgbəryàn — n. fish (generic) kifi 

mgbə̀ryɔ̀ mgbə̄ ryɔ̀ n. bp throat makogoro 

mgbə̌ shi n. c egusi melon agushi < Hausa? 

mgbə̌ shò mgbəshò n. speargrass tofa Imperata cylindrica. yə̀mē sē mgbəshò this is spear grass 

mgbətsā mgbə̌ tsā n. spoon (metal or wood) cokali 

mgbī mgbi n. needle, injection alura 

mgbīmgbī v. to greet someone properly nan nggə̄ tə̀ywē zɛ̀ mgbīmgbī greet your father properly for me 

mgbyīr mgbə̄ mgbyìr n. tr bush patch sunkuru When an old man dies, a piece of bush is reserved for the end of 

the dry season. It is then burnt and the hunters of the community 

go out, catch as many animals as possible and give them to the 

household of the dead man. 

mgblàn n. b crag chestnut-winged starling Onychognathus morio 

mgblarì n. noon (hot sun), noon tsakar rana 

mgblè mgbəmgble n. la upward slope, embankment 

mgbo mə̀mgbō n. bp cheek (inner part) 

mgbò mgbo n. yc bush yam doyan gona 

mgbomgboyo adv. never at all, never samsam nggə̄ la nan kì mē mgbomgboyo neg. did thing this never 

mgbōn n. b African golden oriole Oriolus auratus 

mgborεn mgbòmgbǒrεn n. word kalma lit. ‘piece of talk’ 

magana 

mgbɔ̄ mgbə̄ mgbɔ̀ n. fo rice and beans cooked dafa duka 

together 

mgbɔ̀ mgbə̄ mgbɔ̀ n. la swamp, fadama 

mgbɔ̀ — n. ball, group 

mgbɔ̀ v. to gather at a place a tatare bə kyote mgbɔ̀ ə tswē gyə̄ r they gather group at place one 

mgbɔ̌ n mgbɔn n. bp stomach tumbi 

Mgbɔ̀nē p.n personal name lit. ‘group of people’ 

mgbɔ̄ npər n. b tooth-billed barbet Libius bidentatus 

mgbrêmgbrē — n. strength karfi 

mgbrǐn adv. tightly kankan nggə̄ vun gu lwe mgbrǐn I caught him carried hold tightly 

51



mgbǔ n. to be suffering 

mgbù mgbu n. go gourd for palm-wine 

mgbǔnmgbǔnm 

id. sound of liquid being poured 

kan mə̀re jūn sū mgbǔnmgbǔnmgbǔn take palmwine remove 

gbǔn 

from a bottle, gourd or jar 

put ……. 

miyāūmiyāū id. miaow, sound of the cry of a 

məsà là gì de ….. cat cont. cry that 

cat 

mkpān — n. time lokaci 

mkpàn n. ap buttocks (of monkeys) 

mkpān fa n. harvesting season lokacin girbi 

mkpān mvri n. harmattan lokacin 

sanyi 

‘time of coldness’ 

mkpān nə̄ mān adv.p 

. 

sometime (near future) 

mkpān sɔ̄ n n. planting season lokacin 

shuki 

mkpànē mkpânē n. old person baban 

mutum 

52 

baya dan 

lokaci kadan 

mpar nyū n. f elephant-snout fish Mormyrus spp. 

Mkparū p.n. sky, God sama, Allah 

mkparyə̀ n. i pond-skater 

mkpəlà mkpəla n. b black kite shirwa Milvus migrans 

mkpəlàshū — n. sky sararin sama 

mkpən kyə̀gbò n. t horseradish tree zóógálágánd 

ì 

mkpə̀nǎ n. t tree sp. 

mkpə̀ryò v. to become weak (to become 

paralysed due to a sudden 

fright) 

mkpān nə̄ mān ə nggà bishi nggə̄ lə nyə̄ sometime in front I will 

come 

nggə̄ sē mkpànē I am elderly person 

cf. jəgule. Moringa oleifera 

nggə̄ kan kū mkpə̀ryò I then became weak (paralysed) 

Mkpə̄ ryòkī p.n personal name lit. ‘weak things’ 

mkpə̀ywɛ̀ mkpəywɛ̀ n. r frog sp. small, sits on leaves, not edible 

mkpi n. bundle (mostly of guineacorn) 

mkpǐr n. g grass sp. 

mkpìr mkpə̄ mkpìr n. bp hip kwatangwal



o 

mkpīr mə̀kpīr n. ap gizzard kundu 

mkpītɔ̄ n, 

n. deaf person kurma 

mkpɔntɔ̄ n 

mkplǔn mkplun n. small spherical object kwaya e.g. palm nut, eye ball, ball 

mkpūlɔ̄ tù mkpulɔtu n. bp skull kwalkwalon 

kai 

mkpm n. bundle, bunch 

mkpɔn n. bp body 

mkpɔ̌ n n. fatness kiba və̄ lɔn mū te mkpɔ̌ n man that has fatness 

mkprìshì mkprishì n. m shaggy rat Dasymys incomptus 

mkpumù pron. oneself (archaic) kanka nggə̄ ryun lā mkpumù I cooked food myself 

mkpun v.c. end tə̄ nan du yə krε mkpun we did work it finish end 

mkpūn mə̀mkpūn n. bridge gada 

Mkpūnmbə̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘short woman’ 

mkpyɛ̀n v. knock on the head rankwashi nggə cu gu mkpyɛ̀n I fetch him knock (that is, I gave him a 

knock) 

mla mə̄ mla n. relation 

mla mlǎ v. laugh dariya nggə̄ là mla I cont. laugh 

mlā a. left hagu 

mlā v. to press forcefully danne mlā lə̀ywa mū ngǔn press black ant that kill 

mlà mə̀mlǎ n. first-born haifuwan 

farko 

mlə̀ mə̀mə‹mlə̀ n. groping in darkness 

mò n. lie karya mò la ma wə̄ yo lie neg. fit you not 

mò v. to lie wə̄ là te mò you cont. make lies 

mpā mpə̄ mpà n. sore, wound miki 

mpə n. cover, as for the access hole marufi cf. mpə̌ nkɔ̄ n 

to a granary, lid, piece rumbu 

mpə̄ mpə̀mpə̄ n. go calabash kwarya 

mpəmprε mpə̄ mprɛ̌ n. sheet 

mpənkɔ̀n mpə̌ nkɔ̄ n n. door 

mpəryō mpə̄ ryò id. describes a colourful (and gu ngrɛn nənè gu krè də̀ car kpə mpəryō mpə̄ ryò he saw 

53



frightening design) on s.o.’s 

somebody stand and has designed his body colourfully 

body 

mplǒ id. describes the sound of a stone 

dropped inside water 

mplomplomplo id. sound of water in one’s 

mə̀sər là tar cū ə nɛ̀n mplomplomplo water cont. move at 

stomach as he/she runs 

stomach ……. 

mplɔ̄ n mplɔn n. ap horn 

mplɔ̄ n mplɔn mi side-blown horn cf. də̀nggàn. made from a cow's horn. played together with the 

panpipes for festive occasions 

mpù mpūmpù n. bp thigh cinya 

mpǔr mpur n. bm blister bororo 

mpǔr mə̀ a. tasteless local beer mə̀ mē ku mpǔr wine this fall tasteless 

Mpǔrmə̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘tasteless local beer’ 

mpūr mpūmpùr n. e fear tsoro mpūr là te nggə̄ fear cont. make me 

mpwǎrkədān n. h plant sp. 

mre — v. to swallow hadiye kan là mrè take food swallow 

mren v. to drown nutsewa gu kan də̄ mren he take lost drown 

mren n. fingerling-like bush yam 

mū(n) loc. there can gu sē ə mun he is at there 

mūcā — n. stirring stick used to make 

kunu 

mùmū — n. flour gari 

mūmūn — n. i maggot found in cow-dung 

mūmùn — n. winnowing tray matankadi 

mùmwɔ̀n — n. shame, shyness, modesty kunya mùmwɔ̀n là te nggə̄ shyness is doing me 

mūn int. Why? sabo da 

menene 

munyàn adv. probably, perhaps watakila munyàn te tə̄ lə ngā nzεn maybe our father will come in 

sometime 

mur adv. completely nggə̄ nan krɛ mur I do finish completely 

mvān mvānmvān n. disgusting, dirtiness, not 

good 

mvē mve n. g sedge (generic) Cyperus spp. 

mvə̄ r n. i red spider-mite 

54



mvlɔ̌ n mvlɔn n. t custard-apple gwándàn Annona senegalensis 

dààjìì 

mvre mə̀mvrě, mvrě n. bp nose hanci 

mvri — n. cold sanyi mvri là te nggə̄ cold cont. has me (I’m feeling cold) 

mvu v. to be greedy gu là te mvu kənàn mwɔ̄ n he cont. make greediness much 

mvumvu — n. greed 

mvūmvùmvūn id. describes how vehicles or 

people pass each other 

tə̄ vun kəywə̀ nga mvūmvùmvūn we catch ourselves passed fast 

fast 

mwāmwār a. naked tsirance 

mwə̀n v. to not to get anything wə̄ lə la mwə̀n yo you will neg. get nothing 

mwə̀n v. to rebuke nggə̄ mwə̄ n gu nānrɛ̄ n I rebuked him yesterday 

mwēshɔ n. t tree sp. 

mwetso n. b black-crowned tchagra Tchagra senegala 

mwɔ̀ mwɔ v. to start/kindle fire, kindle hura wuta ywē mwɔ̀ glo go make fire 

mwɔ̌ mwɔ n. bp enlarged testicle, hydrocele gwaiwa Dantsu ru mwɔ̌ Dantsu has an enlarged testicle 

mwɔn v. to be more than, surpass mafi babba nggə̄ mwɔn wə̄ I surpass you 

myô id. describes how lush green s.t. 

is 

lan kpəmkpàn mē sər myô farm maize this black greenish 

N. 

nà v. to pass the night gu kàn nà he then pass the night 

nà v. to copulate, to have sex yi barbara Danrɛn bə̄ Mbə̄ rɛn là na kəywə̀ Danrɛn with Mbə̄ rɛn cont. 

having sex 

nàgyə̀r — num. thousand dubu 

nàn nan v. to do yi gu là nan ndu she cont. do work 

nan ngwɔn v.p. to eventually die lit. ‘do hand’ gu ka də̀ nan ngwɔn he/she ‘refused’ and still gave 

up 

nan mə̀nan, nǎn n. flesh, animal 

Nangrɛ̄ n p.n personal name lit. ‘see properly’ 

Nànggwe p.n personal name lit. ‘the doing of a Hausa man’ 

nan hwān mə̀nan hwān n. bush animal, animal naman daji 

55



Nankrè p.n personal name lit. ‘stand firm’ 

Nankyɛn p.n personal name lit. ‘let’s just do it and see, see well’ 

nānrɛ̄ n adv. yesterday jiya nggə̄ ywe hwān nānrɛ̄ n I went farm yesterday 

nanrεn — n. bp tongue harshe also rərεn 

nanrεn glo — n. flame harshen 

wuta 

nanrεn gyàr n. t tree sp. 

nanrɛ̀n adv. recently (not yesterday) kwananan tə̄ rɔ̄ nanrɛ̀n we dance recently 

Nansɔ̀n p.n personal name lit. ‘sit properly’ 

nār nar n. m mongoose Ichneumia albicauda [?] 

nār — n. wt lightning wulkiya cf. nlyɛ̄ 

nàr nar v. to watch closely, watch kumu cf. nùwàr. nàr nggə̄ gūgu mū ambush/watch me goat that 

Nàrcūn p.n personal name lit. ‘struggle for chief’ 

ncā mə̀cə̄ ncà n. yam hut 

ncà adv. once upon a time.. used to recall former times. ncà tə̄ sə̄ sē nywɛnzɛ̀ one time we 

were youth 

ncà n. c yellow-fleshed tuber grown 

bitter and sweet types 

in gardens 

ncà brī n. c yellow-fleshed tuber found in 

inedible 

the bush 

Ncaka p.n personal name lit. ‘the sound of a trap catching an animal’ 

ncān n. b bird sp. 

ncān — n. mud laka 

Ncān p.n personal name lit. ‘mud’ 

ncancùn mə̀ncancùn, n. story tatsuniya 

ncǎncūn 

ncar v. to cry out with pain, shriek fəvɛ̀n là ngār ncar child this cont. break shriek 

ncār v. to make a disapproving click 

wə̄ ta nggə̄ ncār mūn? you throw me click why? 

of the tongue 

ncàr n. palm-wine 

ncàwǔ v. to hang, swing tə̄ là klə ncàwǔ we cont. hang 

ncɛ̄ ncε n. t tree sp. ján yáárò Hymenocardia acida 

ncɛ̀làdān ncɛ̄ ladan n. gecko 

ncɛ̄ zə̄ zə̄ ncɛ̄ zəzə n. i caterpillar dodon kadai found on the shea-tree 

56



ncə mə̀ncə n. ap tail wutsiya 

ncə̄ ncə n. h witchweed wutawuta Striga hermonthica 

matsakanci 

saurayi da ta 

mace a 

shaānin aure 

ncə̀ryɛ̌ n n. c herb sp. single stem with edible green leaves. Corchorus sp. 

ncə̀kpū n. p intermediary between the boy 

and girl’s house for marriage, 

go between 

nci ncīnci n. traditional district yankin 

hakimi na 

gargajiya 

57 

tə̄ sē bān nci gyə̄ r bə̄ Likita we are those district one with Likita 

ncìgǎn — n. c bean plant with edible tubers both tubers and beans are eaten 

ncikla n. m pygmy mouse Mus minutoides 

ncikrè n. m dormouse Graphiurus sp. 

ncinrin a. small – (particles) nggə̄ la fɔ ncinrin rɛn yo I neg look for small matters not 

nciryεn n. t tree sp. danfara 

ncìryɛ̄ n n. substance for protection of 

fire 

ncɔ̀ n. a game of hiding a stone in 

one hand and asking s.o. to 

guess 

tə̄ là rɔ ncɔ̀ we cont. play hide…… 

Ncɔ̀cūn p.n. Ancho town 

Ncɔ̀mishɔ̀n p.n. Ancho mission < English 

ncɔ̂ n a. straight mikeke nggā mə̀nggə̄ sē ncɔ̂ n pole my is straight 

ncū mə̀tərncū n. t black plum tree dinya Vitex doniana. edible fruit and leaves 

ncùkùryɔ̄ — n. fo fufu sakwara nggə̄ re ncùkùryɔ̄ I eat fufu 

ncwə̄ n n. grass sp. used for demarcating boundary between portions of land. nggə̄ se 

ncwə̄ n ə də̄ r lan nggə̄ bə̄ Nggyàrɛn I plant this grass at 

demarcation land mine with Nggyàrɛn 

ncwə̄ r — n. t thorn 

ndān — n. stupor, speaking inaudible 

words 

ndasan n. t tree sp. 

ndē a. tall, for a long time dogo, 

jimawa 

gu là rɛn ndān he cont. speak inaudible words



ndèndè v. to stand upright abin da ke 

mikake 

doglò krè ndə̀ndè get-up stand straight 

zuwa sama 

ndə̄ a. in line nyān su ndə horses put being in line 

ndə̀ n. f fish sp. Mormyrus rume 

ndə̄ ndɛ̀ — n. bp chin 

ndə̀ndɛ̀n n. sloppy area 

Ndənē p.n personal name lit. ‘line of people’ (possibly as they were being carried away as 

slaves) 

ndə̀r ndə̄ r n. c okra kubewa Abelmoschus esculentus 

ndō ndo n. cow sa cf. làndār 

ndɔ̀ — n. t tree sp. 

ndu ndū n. work, message aiki, aika Tīyà te nggə̄ ndu Grandfather make me message 

nē mə̄ nē n. person mutum, teku 

nē — n. river, sea rafi 

Nēgyə̄ r p.n personal name lit. ‘one person’ 

Nēkrɛ p.n personal name lit. ‘people are finished’ 

nēnə̄ mān pron. some other people, somebody 

else 

něnjì mə̄ nenjì n. human being mutum 

nε n. t wild date palm kájínjíríí Phoenix reclinata 

nɛ̄ n mə̀nɛ̀n n. bp belly, stomach ciki 

nə̄ nə v. to give, let bayar kan yə̄ nə̄ nggə̀ give it to me 

nə̀ v. to straighten out mike nə̀ kì mē straight out my legs 

nə̀ kpə v. to stretch out one’s body nggagyū là nə̀ kpə dog cont. stretch out body 

nə̄ mān n. others 

nə̀mē dem. like this nan nə̀mē do like this 

nə̄ nə̄ mə̀nə̄ nə̄ n. grinding stone dutsen nika 

nə̀nə̄ — v. to sleep barci gu là kùr nə̀nə̄ he cont. lie sleep 

nənè pron. somebody 

nə̀nə̌ r adv. year or so ago, some time ago tə̄ rɛn rɛn mē nə̀nə̌ r we talk matter this sometime ago 

nə̄ nggyε nənggyɛ̀ int. What? agrees with plural objects 

nə̄ nlyɛ̄ n. an biting ant 

58



nə̄ nlyɛ̄ cinjǐ n. an biting ant sp. 

nə̄ nlyɛ̄ səmban n. an biting ant sp. 

nə̀r nər v. to try, attempt kokari gu là nə̀r he cont. try 

njār mə̀njàr n. nest gidan 

tsuntsu 

njàrkpà njārkpà n. male cricket 

njārrr id. sound of a door bell kì yə̀ nyūlənkɔ̀n là gì njārrr thing of door cont. cry ….. 

njə̀r njər n. i worm tsutsan ciki, applied to both earthworms and intestinal worms 

tana 

njī njīnji n. knife wuka yə̀mē sē njī this is a knife 

njì n. forever har abada nggə̄ lə ywē sɔ̀n ə Kə̄ gbə njì I fut. go sit at Akwanga forever 

njì n. g grass sp. 

njìlàdān njiladan n. r gecko Ancho dial. 

njīmgbàn mə̀njīmgbàn n. wp sword takobi 

njìnjà — n. c beniseed, sesame cultivar brown. See běntə 

njìnja nkùlwè njīnjà nkulwe n. piece of cloth from a wrapper 

njìnjakì njīnjàkī n. rag tsuma 

njìnjɛ̄ v. to drag issues 

njìnjì — n. truth 

njo mə̀njǒ n. bp penis bura 

njò njūnjo n. ap horn kaho 

njɔ — n. whip 

njūn — n. a space beneath a granary 

njùn n. g grass sp. Scleria verrucosa 

Njùwàci p.n personal name ?? 

njwě njwe n. tr masquerade dodo nggə̄ ngrεn njwě I saw a-masquerade 

njwě hwākī — n. tr masquerade dodo appears during the funeral dance 

njwě shīshā — n. tr masquerade dodo appears during the funeral dance 

njwɛn a. interest njwɛn là te nggə bə ndu mē interest cont making me with work 

this 

njwɛ̂ n int. maybe, perhaps gu lə sē kə̀ njwɛ̂ n? he will be home perhaps 

nka adv. 4 days hence 

nkā nka n. t fig tree cediya Ficus thonningii 

59



nkan nkânnkān adv. differently, separately daban daban vu kī mē tè nkânnkān put these things separately 

nkan n. g gamba grass gamba Andropogon gayanus 

nkan a. dried abu wanda kwɔ la kù nkan mbɛ̄ yo guinea-fowl is yet to be dried 

ya bushe 

nkan nan n. dried meat busheshen 

nama 

nkan ntàn n. dried skin busheshen 

fata 

nkanka adv. proudly gu là sa mənē rɛn nkanka me he answers people talk proudly 

only 

nkarɛ̀n nkarεn n. po very large pot resting in a hole in the ground 

nkə̄ n. v cow-itch kararawa Mucuna pruriens. A vine with hairy pods that sting badly 

nkə̀gbò nkəgbo n. fr pawpaw gwanda 

nkə̂ nkə a. rough (surface) 

nkí n. t tree sp. 

nkinē pron. something wani abu nggə̄ la nan nkinē yo I neg. do something not 

nklaglo n. burning charcoal garwashin 

wuta 

nklambrī — n. charcoal gawayi gu cu nklambrī sū ə glo yə̄ he put charcoal in the fire 

nklān — n. black substance made from 

Mashi là gbà mūmù nklān Mashi cont. rub w/basket ….. 

locust pods used to seal 

winnowing trays 

nkɔn kə̄ nkɔ́n n. elbow, ankle gwiwan 

nkɔ̀n nkɔ̄ n, 

nkɔ̄ nkɔ̄ n, 

mə̀nkɔ̀n 

hanu 

n. door kofa 

nkɔ̀n kə̄ nkɔ̀n n. road, way hanya 

Nkɔ̀ncɔ̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘road to Ancho’ 

Nkɔ̀nggwe p.n personal name lit. ‘road of the Hausa’ 

Nkɔ̀nkyū p.n personal name lit. ‘road to death’ 

Nkɔ̀nrɛ p.n personal name lit. ‘road is long’ 

Nkɔ̀nryān p.n personal name lit. ‘road to hunt’ 

nkɔ̀n tsɔ̌ n. tarred road hanya 

60



kwarta 

Nkɔ̀nyān p.n personal name lit. ‘the road of horses’ 

nkɔ̄ nzə̀ nkɔ̄ nzə n. bp heel 

nkɔ̀n zə̄ kə̄ nkɔ̀n zə̄ n. railroad, railway 

nkrē n. scales 

nkrētəgya nywεn n. m sand fox yanyawa Vulpes pallida [identification uncertain; perhaps the jackal] 

nkrētəgya 

nkrǐn nkrin n. t tree sp. 

nkrǐn — a. round kewayeye tār yə̄ yā sē nkrǐn room of my-mother is round 

nkrù nkrū n. da male sheep, ram rago 

nkū n. s file snake Mahelya poensis 

nkǔ n. break (in rainfall) glō sa nkǔ rain put break 

nkulwe nkùlwè n. cloth yadi 

nkūr nkur n. r crocodile kada 

nkūr nkur n. t sausage tree rahaina Kigelia africana 

nkùwu nkuwu n. b owl mujiya 

nkwār n. h kenaf rama Hibiscus cannabinus 

nkwɔ̄ nkwɔ n. t tree sp. baushe Terminalia spp. 

nkyə̄ r nkyə̄ nkyə̀r n. group kungiya nkyə̄ r nē group (of) people 

nkyεn nkyεnnkyεn n. remaining part yə̀mē sē nkyɛn ywə̄ this is the remaining part of it 

nkyɛ̄ n — n. bp fist kyɛn nkyɛ̀n yə̀ nggə̄ lə ngwùr wə̄ mē see the fist which I will hit 

you this 

Nkyɛnnē p.n personal name lit. ‘remainder of people’ 

nlyɛ̄ — n. lightning wulkiya cf. nār 

nlyɛ̄ num. four hudu 

nlyɛ̄ ndu n. Thursday 

nlywe v. to kill (pl.) kashe cf. ngūn. nggə̄ nlywe mə̄ nē tar I killed people three 

nrìnmē nrinme n. today 

ntan — n. argument gardama gyə̄ là rē ntan de nə̄ nggyε? you cont eat argument that give what 

(why?) 

ntàn ntān n. bp skin fata 

ntān n. wrinkles 

ntənntən a. smooth mai sumul gɔ̄ n tsə̄ mū sē ntənntən outside pot that is smooth 

61



ntǎr n. a slap on the back gu te nggə̄ ntǎr ə gɔ̄ n he slapped me on the back 

ntēn v. to fix one’s eyes on s.o. or s.t. 

kyɛn gu ntēn nə̄ gu man ka gbladə̄ yo look him intently let him 

so as not to miss it 

should neg. disappear not 

ntɛ̄ — n. bf saliva miyau 

ntɛ̀ ntɛ̄ n. bp testicle koda 

ntɛ̀ ntɛ̄ n. d hydrocele, swollen testicle 

ntεn — n. a back yard 

ntεn v. to go out and defecate nggə̄ là shun ntɛn I cont. defecating 

ntə̄ nāntsò ntənantso n. r chameleon hawainiya 

ntanntan — a. thin mara kauri lə̀gā nggə̄ sē ntanntan shirt my is thin 

Ntànrin p.n personal name lit. ‘skin for masquerade’ 

ntə̄ r — n. clay yumbu 

ntə̀ywàn nywɛ̂ n n. m ground squirrel Euxerus erythropus 

ntəywan 

ntɔ̄ — v. to swing on a rope lilo gu là klə ntɔ̄ he cont. hang swing 

ntsē n. t strawberry tree tafashiya Nauclea diderrichii 

ntsɛ n. ‘unripe’ bad odour karni və̄ nggə̄ mē nyɔn ntsɛ girl this smell bad odour; nggə̄ là gwɔ ntsɛ 

mgbəryàn I cont. ‘hear’ bad odour of fish 

ntsɛ̄ — n. sk star tauraru 

ntsɛ̄ kì ntsɛ̄ kī n. bm pimples, body spots kazuwa, 

62 

ntsɛ̄ kì sa wə̄ ə ngà pimple is-on you at cheek 

karami kurji 

ntsεn n. b saddlebill stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis 

ntsɛn n. arrows made of wood 

ntsər — n. purity 

ntsə̄ r v. to spit saliva straight gu sar nggə̄ ntɛ̄ ntsə̄ r he cut me saliva straight 

ntsū — n. i maggot tsutsa 

ntswa n. whip 

ntswē ntswe n. i burrowing locust gyare 

nùwàr v. to lay ambush kumo nggə̄ là nuwar vɛ̄ n mē də̀ man kyɛn kì yə̀ gu lə nan I cont. 

ambush boy this and see thing which he will do 

nvər ideo descrbing look on one’s face sē sɛn də̀ wə sɔn nvər menàn? It is how you are looking tough 

like that? (no smiling) 

nvɛ id. lit. ‘to tie or hold oneself’ gu kpan tər nvɛ̄ he tie waist tightly vūn nɛ̄ n grì nvɛ catch



stomach hold tightly 

nvɔ̄ kī adv. hidden corners tə̄ klwe kə nyə̄ r ə nvɔ̄ kī we ran go hide at corners 

nvyūūng id. the sound of a motorcycle 

gwɔ gì bàbər mūn məgyə̀r hear (the) sound of that motorcycle 

speeding 

nwə̄ nzàn n. t tree sp. 

nwɔ̄ n n. m slender mongoose Herpestes sanguinea 

nwɔ̌ n n. v rubber vine cììwóó Landolphia owariensis, Saba florida 

nyàn nyān n. horse doki 

nyàn mə̄ nyinyàn n. people who share maternal 

uncles 

63 

Rìdan sē nyàn nggə̀ Rìdan shares maternal uncle with me 

nyàn mkparu n. i praying mantis dokin Allah 

nyānmē loc. here nan nyə nyānmē come here 

nyàr nyar n. i louse kwarkwata 

nyâr n. sameness of height daidai tsai mə̀tərkī mē krè nyâr trees this stand the same 

nyɛ̀n nyɛ̄ n n. tick kaska 

Nyɛ̌ nme p.n personal name lit. ‘love still’ 

Nyɛ̌ nnē p.n personal name lit. ‘love people’ 

nyɛ̂ nnyɛ̄ n — a. very small kankanana kī mē sē nyɛ̂ nnyɛn things these are very small 

nyεn v. to love, to embrace runguma gu là nyεn nggə̄ he is loving me 

nyεn v. to roll up nadi nyɛ̌ n mbu mē roll up this mbu 

nyɛ̄ n n. small insects, talks gu là tān nyɛ̄ n rɛn mwɔ̄ n he cont. pick small talks much 

nyə̀ v. to come zo nyə nggə̄ kyɛn come (let) me see 

nyənyə̀r — n. raw danye krī mē sē nyənyə̀r yam this is raw 

nyə̄ nyɔ̄ n nyə̀nyɔ̌ n n. leather thong made of dorina 

goatskin, grass whip 

nyə̀nyǔn — n. g grass sp. 

nyər — v. to enter shiga nyə̌ r nyə̀ enter come 

nyər — v. to thank godiya nggə̄ nyər Mkparu I thank God 

nyə̄ r — v. to hide, deceive boye gu klwe kə̄ nyə̄ r he ran go hide, nggə̄ là nyər wə̀ I cont. deceive 

you 

Nyərèrè p.n personal name lit. ‘come slowly’ 

nyə̄ r rin v. to circumcise kaciya bə là nyər gu rin they cont. circumcise him 

nyə̌ r nyər n. bp tooth, teeth hakori



nyi v. to roll nadi 

(ciyawa) 

nyǐ lə̀lwè mē roll up this grass(as roofing grass) 

nyì nyi n. s python mesa Python sebae 

nyī nyi n. m elephant giwa 

nyìnyī nyīnyī n. soup miya 

nyɔ̄ n mə̄ adv. to leave s.o.’s presence in 

kyɛn ywe yə̀ gu lə ywe nyɔ̄ n mə̄ nān see go which he will go 

shame, walk rigidly 

nyɔ̄ n v. to rub to cool off a pain 

caused by the sting or bite of 

an insect 

with shame 

nyɔ̄ n nggə̄ zə rub me leg 

v. to scrub s.o’s back nggə̄ là nyɔn mbə̄ kə̀ nggə̄ gɔ̄ n I cont. scrub wife my back 

v. to thresh acca without sticks tə̄ là nyɔn ntsu we cont. thresh acca 

nyɔ̌ n — n. odour, smell tswē nyɔn the place is smelling 

nyɔ̂ n-nyɔ̀n v. to walk lazily kàsə zər nyɔ̄ n-nyɔ̀n nə̀mē yo don’t walk lazily like that not 

nyū mə̀nyū n. mouth baki 

nyūlə̄ nkɔ̀n mə̀nyə̄ lūnkɔ̄ n n. door, doorway kofa 

nyūrεn mə̀nyūrεn n. language yare 

nywār-nywār v. to leave s.o.’s presence in 

embarassment because he/she 

refused to grant a request 

nywī n. inside ciki cf. mīn 

nzan — n. food made from boiled bunza 

guinea-corn 

nzān — n. sunrise hantsi 

nzār nzàr n. ai hoe garma 

nzě — n. hiccup shakuwa gu là te nzě he cont. make hiccup 

nzɛ̄ — v. to dress up, fit ado gu te nzɛ̄ he make dress up 

nzɛ̌ nywɛ̂ n nzε n. b plantain-eater Corythaeola spp. 

nzɛ̌ nywɛ̂ n nzε n. m rat sp. 

Nzɛmwɔ̀n p.n personal name lit. ‘dress fit much’ 

nzɛ̂ n(mē) n. now, nowadays, presently anjuma, a mkpān yə̄ nzɛ̂ nmē time of nowadays 

yanzu haka, 

a zamani 

nzεn n. later on nzɛn wə̄ man nyə̀ later on you should come 

64 

gu kàn kà tswēywə̄ dɔ̀n nywār-nywār he then left the place 

with embarrassment



nzənze n. ululation nzənze mū sē yə̄ nə̄ nggyɛ? ululation that is for what? 

nzə̀nzɛ̀ — n. g grass sp. Hyparrhenia involucrata 

nzə̄ nzɛ̄ — n. chain sarka 

nzə̄ nzɛ̄ tə̄ — n. necklace abin wuya və̄ nggə̄ mū klə nzə̄ nzɛ̄ tə̄ girl that hang necklace 

nzə̀nzər — n. partition of room 

nzɔ̄ n — p.n. dc festive dance rawan baya involves shaking the back. Played for weddings etc. The 

mə‹nggla iron clapper is used. 

nzɔ̌ adv. again kuma gu nan yə̄ nzɔ̌ he do it again 

nzɔ̂ a. a few kima tə̄ sē nzɔ̂ me we are few only 

Nzɔ̌ me p.n personal name lit. ‘again’ (emphatic) – possibly the baby is either a boy or girl 

who is following another one 

nzu — n. p cripple kuturu 

nzu — n. evil wind 

nzū — n. t tree sp. Pteleopsis suberosa 

NG. 

ngā — n. i sweat-fly bargiya 

ngā mə̀ngà n. bp jaw kumatu 

ngā nga v. to tear down, pull down yage tār nggə̄ nga room my is broken 

ngā — v. to return gu ngā kə̄ he return home 

ngalā — v. to yawn yin hamma gu là ngalā he cont. yawn 

ngǎn — v. to crawl rarafe vɛ̄ n là ngǎn child cont. crawl 

ngàn ngan adv. together tare da tə̄ kan ngan bə̄ bə we take together with them 

ngàn ngān v. to report rohoto nggə̄ ngan rɛn yə sū bə I report the matter to them 

Ngànsūbə p.n personal name lit. ‘tell them’ 

Ngārɛn p.n personal name lit. ‘tear talk’ i.e. one who addresses issues bluntly 

ngàr ngār v. to break (as a bottle), smash pashe kə̀mbə̀ ngar the calabash is broken 

Ngārgbù p.n personal name lit. ‘break rocks’ i.e. to devastate a city (as in war) 

ngarmpwà v. to make desolate bə ngarmpwà they make desolate, mə̀sər ngarmpwà water 

make desolate 

ngə̄ n. t tree sp. tunya 

65



ngə̄ — n. marriage aure 

ngə̀ v. to press cloth guga gu là ngə̀ nggə̄ kī he cont. press my things (clothes) 

ngə̀ v. to mix beniseed with leaves eaten raw as a food – Yā là ngə̀ mgbākī mother cont. mix leaves 

ngə̀ v. to rub, scrub goge gu là ngə̀ zə he cont. rub legs 

ngəganmə n. b hammerkop Scopus umbretta 

ngə̀ngǎn n. hotness, heat zafi ngə̀ngǎn là te nggə̄ hotness is doing me 

Ngə̀ngǎn p.n personal name lit. ‘heat’ 

nggā ngga n. ladder, forked pole, river fork tsani 

nggā — n. fornication zina və̄ lɔn mē là te nggā man this cont. make fornication 

nggà ngga n. side gyefen gida 

Nggabē p.n personal name lit. ‘outside of the village’ 

nggà bishi n. front side gaba, fuska 

nggà gɔ̄ n n. behind baya 

Nggarē p.n personal name lit. ‘side of palm trees’ 

nggà rùglò n. west yamma 

nggà sə̀r n. south kudu 

nggà shū n. north arewa 

nggà nzān n. east gabas 

nggǎgyū nggagyū n. da dog kare nggə̄ tse nggǎgyū I beat the dog 

nggǎgyū hwān nggagyū hwan n. m jackal dila Canis adustus 

nggǎgyū mə̀sər nggagyū n. m otter karen ruwa 

mə̀sər 

nggākì mə̄ nggàkī n. tp branch of tree resan itace 

Nggampwar p.n personal name lit. ‘side that is desolate’ 

nggān adv. greatly, intensively lə̀lān là tǎr ràn nggān scorpion cont. sting pain greatly 

nggaswε — n. twins tagwaye 

nggɛ̌ mə̀nggɛ̌ n. dc ornamental axe gatari 

66 

held up during the panpipe dance and for bwər rejoicing. 

(domin ado) 

nggə̄ pron. I 

nggə̀ pron. me first singular object pronoun 

nggə̀bān nggəbān n. thatch roof top 

nggə̀r nggər n. axe, hatchet gatari 

ngglan adv. brilliantly tswē lan ngglan place shine brilliantly



ngglàn ngglan n. b purple glossy starling Lamprotornis purpureus 

nggɛrɛnggɛrɛng id. the sound of bicycle bell kìkyɛ là te kə̀rārāwā de ….. bicycle cont. make sound that….. 

nggɔ̀n nggɔnnggɔn a. big buba 

nggɔn n. big, leader, authority shugaba gu sē nggɔn he is leader 

nggre n. local hanger for hanging meat 

Tīyà kan nan sū ə nggre də̀ kan klə̄ ə kəkrɛ̄ G/dad take meat put 

by fireplace (basket-like) 

nggrεn v. to make fun of, refusal to do zolaya 

s.t when asked to do so 

nggrū n. wrinkles nggə̄ cu nggrū I fetch wrinkles 

nggu a. ability, 

nggù mə̀nggù n. feather fukafiki 

nggūnggū — n metal dish kwanu 

nggūngwūr mə̀nggūngwūr n. s emerald snake Gastropyxis smaragdina 

nggūngwūr mə̀nggūngwūr n. v vine (general) 

nggwɔ̌ — int. who wanene sē nggwɔ̌ ? it is who? 

Nggwě Nggwe p.n. Hausa man bahaushe 

nggyə̄ r v. to look without blinking eyes, 

to look straight 

67 

inside hanger and take hang at fireplace 

gu là te nggrɛn tswē nan ndu yə he is refusing to do the work, 

Mbə̄ glā là nan Vəncɛ nggrɛn Mbə̄ glā cont. do Vəncɛ fun 

wə̄ là kyɛn kī nggyə̄ r mwɔ̄ n you cont. look things without 

blinking much 

nggyɛ̌ int. what menene nggyɛ̌ là nan wə̄ ? what cont doing you 

nggyɛ̀ rεn — v.p. proverb kari magana gu là te nggyɛ̀ rɛn he cont. make proverb 

ngla — v. to wash wanke gu là ngla kī he cont. wash things (clothes) 

ngrě v. to separate different items ngrě krī mē tè nkānkān separate yams these make different 

ngre v. to add weight kara kiba wə̄ ngre sū you add weight put 

ngrě v. to roll over and fall gu ngre gyɛkū ətù kì sɔ̀n he roll over fall from thing of-sitting 

ngrɛ̄ n ngrεn v. to see gani nggə̄ là ngrɛn wə̀ I cont. see you 

ngrin — v. to give birth haifuwa mbə̄ ngrin woman give birth (deliver) 

ngrin — v. to roll up nadi 

(taburma) 

as a mat – ngrin mbu man bàn zwè tàr roll up the mat and take 

it keep in the room 

ngun v. to climb hawo gu là ngun shu he cont. climb up 

ngūn nlywe v. to kill kashe bə ngun və̄ lɔn gyə̄ r they killed one man, tə̄ nlywe kwɔ tun we 

killed five quails 

ngūn v. to scoop out water kwashe ruwa tə̄ là ngun mə̀sər we cont. scoop water 

ngǔnsū — v. to add to wə̄ bla ngǔnsu you cont. add to



v. to do s.t. excessively nggə̄ kur nə̀nə̄ ngunsu I lay sleeping too much 

ngwɔn ngwɔ̌ n, n. bp hand, arm 

mə̀ngwɔn 

Ngwɔnrì p.n personal name lit. ‘hand of God’ 

ngwār v. to filter tsiyaye Yā là ngwār mə̀sər Mother cont. filter water 

ngwur — v. to hit, ring, pluck reed buga, molo 

instrument, pluck 

ko karfe 

nggə̄ là ngwur gə̀ntē I cont playing the zither 

ngwur — v. to skin an animal fid da fatan tə̄ là ngwur gūgu we cont. skin goat 

dabba 

ngwur ngār v.p. to circulate, spread bazuwa (na rɛn kan ngwur ngār tswē matter then break round place 

magana 

ngwur ngār v.p. to break into pieces gu ban kə̀mbə̄ ngwùr ngār he take calabash break pieces 

P. 

pàr par n. wp spear mashi 

pə̄ pə n. bp upper arm 

pə̀làpəle — n. oar filafili < Hausa 

pə̄ mpān — n. tin can gongoni 

pə̌ r v. to crush dry leaves (usually 

Mbə̄ cā là pə̌ r mgbākī kukù Mbə̄ cā cont. crush dry leaves 

for making soup) 

pə̀r a. very sour shǔn mənggə̀rō mē pə̀r mgbo fruit mango this very sour cheek 

pə̄ rkì pərkī n. cane 

pîpī a. heavy black baki kirin və̄ lɔn mūn sə̌ r kpə pîpī man that black body blackness 

plò plôplò v. to lavish pomade on the body 

kyɛn sē yə̀ wə̄ vu mə̀nyɛ̀n plò kpə see how you carry pomade 

(the plural is for emphasis) 

lavish your-body 

pɔ̄ mpɔ̄ n id. sound of the horn of a train or 

gbm là te gì de pɔ̄ mpɔ̄ n train cont. make sound that …. 

lorry 

pɔ̄ mpuu id. sound of the horn of a 

gu là te kìkyɛ gì de … he cont. make bicycle cry that … 

motorcycle bell (rubber type) 

prē — n. drink made of guinea corn kunu nggə̄ là sə prē I cont. drink prē 

pûrpùr a. tender and freshness of 

budding flower 

tərkì mē tɔ mgbā pûrpùr tree this bud leaves tender and fresh 

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pwə̂ adv. carelessly (talk) gu ban rɛn mē dān pwə̂ me he took matter this say carelessly 

only 

pwɔ̄ — num. eleven goma sha 

daya 

pwapwa id. sound of clapping hands gyə̄ tsē gu ngwɔn pwapwa you beat him hands … 

pwà a. undeveloped, referring to 

peanuts 

gyada wanda 

babu 

kwayanta a 

cikin 

bencwē ku pwà groundnuts fell undeveloped 

pwâr adv. brightly fari fat bishi nggə̄ tsa pwâr face mine shown brightly 

pyâr v. to be chilled mai sanyi mə̀sər mē sù dər pyâr water this cool heart chill 

zuciya 

R. 

ra — v. to be bald mai sanko və̄ lɔn mū ra tu man that is-bald (of) head 

ra v. to ceremonially give bayarwa irin 

na gargajiya 

vun kə̀kə̄ ra nggə̄ catch hen give me 

rā ra n. dream mafalki Tsɛ̄ ncun ra rā yə̄ tɔ̀ yo Tsɛ̄ ncun dreamed a-dream of good not 

nggə̄ ra rīn bū I dreamed this night 

rà — v. to lick gyə̄ ka vu nyìnyī rà krɛ̀ yo you neg. carry soup lick finish not 

ràn ran n. da castrated goat fidiyayyiyar 

rago 

ràn v. to pain s.o. sharply, to be zafi 

very painful 

Kə̀mvrè ngwɔ̀ là ràn nggə̄ . finger cont. pain me 

rànkpə v. to be difficult mai wuya və̄ lɔn mē rànkpə this man is not very easy 

re v. to be, is sān nggə̄ re Barau my name is Barau 

re v.a. to be bitter daci mə̀sər re water is bitter 

re v.a. to be sharp kaifi njī wə̄ re knife your is sharp 

rē re n. t oil-palm kwara 

rē v. to eat ci nyə tə̄ re lā come we eat food 

rē v. to defeat, to win, conquer ci nasara tə̄ re bə ə kɔ̄ n we defeated them in war 

rē be v.p. to enjoy lit. ‘eat forever’. wə̄ là rē be you cont. eat forever (enjoying) 

69



rē ntan v.p. to argue yin gardama gyə̄ là rē ntan de nə‹nggyε? you cont. eat argument that - why? 

rērè adv. slow hankali ywē rērè me go slowly 

rε n. thirst kishi (na rε là te nggə̄ thirst cont. has me 

ruwa) 

rε v. to be long nisa, dogo nkɔ̀n Ndə̄ ywān rε road Andaha is-long mgbərīn mē rε rope this 

is-long 

rɛ̄ mə̀rɛ̄ n. front of the house kofan gida tə̄ sɔn ə rɛ̄ we are sitting at the front of the house 

rɛ̄ rε, mə̀tər rɛ̄ n. t sasswood gwaska Erythrophleum guineense 

rɛ̄ v. to be applied to 

rɛ̀ rε v. to buy/sell saya ko 

sayar 

70 

nggə̄ là kə rɛ̀ wu I cont. (go) to-buy medicine nggə̄ là kan wu rε 

I cont. take medicine sell 

rɛ̄ kə̀ n. enclosed area around granary daki da ke 

kewaye da 

rumbu 

rεn v. to speak yi magana nggə̄ dān rεn yə̄ Rì nānrɛ̄ n I told word of God yesterday 

Rɛ̀nē p.n personal name lit. ‘buy people’ (possibly during slavery) 

rεn mə̀rεn n. matter, issue mə̀rɛn te jùn matters are plenty 

rεn mə̀rεn n. talk rɛn mē tɔ̄ nzɛ̄ talk this-is good 

rɛn n. stump of an over-used hoe or 

anything iron 

nzār nggə̄ rɛn krɛ hoe my ‘talk’ finish (i.e it only remains a 

stump) 

rɛ̀n rεn n. po large water-pot babban 

tukunya 

rɛ̀n mū sē yə̀ nggwɔ̌ ? pot that it-is of who? 

Rɛnkrɛ p.n personal name lit. ‘the matter is settled’ 

rɛ̂ n nggyε int. why saboda (see mūn) Tsɛ̄ ncun ngwur wə̄ rɛ̂ n-nggyε Tsɛ̄ ncun hit you why? 

menene 

rεndē adv. for a long time da dadewa, 

jimawa 

nggə̄ lə sɔ̀n rεndē bə̄ gyə̄ I will stay long-time with you 

rεnrεn n. tongue harshe rεnrεn nggə̄ te mpā tongue my has a-sore 

Rɛnshāmān p.n personal name lit. ‘the matter still exist’ 

Rɛnsər p.n personal name lit. ‘matter has changed’ 

Rɛnshū p.n personal name lit. ‘matter is up’ 

Rɛnmwɔ̄ n p.n personal name lit. ‘talk too much’ 

rə adv. three days hence Nggə̄ lə nyɛ̄ rə. I will come three-days-from-now. 

rə̌ rə n. da castrated goat



rə̀demə̀ n. b tiger bittern Tigriornis leucolopha 

rə̄ hyε — n. c mistletoe kauci Loranthus and Tapinanthus spp. 

rə̀kyε n. c sugar-cane reke < Hausa 

rə̀mgbyìr rəmgbyir n. m house-bat lives in caves and hunted for food 

rə̌ ncε n. i grasshopper fara 

rərè — a. bitter daci mə̀sər mē sē rə̄ re water this is bitter 

rərɛ̄ — a. long dogo mgbərīn mē sē rərɛ̄ rope this is long 

rərεn n. bp tongue harshe also rεnrεn, nanrεn 

ri adv. dirty mai dauda gu sər ri he-is black dirty 

rì rīrī n. day, sun, God rana, Allah rì yə̀ rīmē sē nggyɛ̌ ? day of today is what? 

rì gyə̀r n. one day wani rana dān nggə̄ rì gyə̀r yə̀ wə̄ nyə̄ tell me day one which you (will) 

come 

rì ri v. to ask tambaya nggə̄ là ri wə̄ rɛn I cont. ask you question 

rìbū — n. night 

rìcī rīcī n. m musk shrew dodon bera Crocidura spp. 

Rìdan p.n personal name lit. ‘God has said’ 

rìglò — n. evening 

Rìgwɔ p.n personal name lit. ‘God has heard’ 

Rījà p.n. Rija 

rìjī rījī n. sickle lauje < Hausa 

Rìkyɛn p.n personal name lit. ‘God is seeing’ 

Rìla p.n personal name lit. ‘God has helped’ 

rìmū — n. day before yesterday shekaren 

jiya 

Rìnan p.n personal name lit. ‘God has done it’ 

rin n. oath rantsuwa gu shə rin he took oath 

rīn v. to clean out (as a soup dish), lashe kwano rīn nyìnyī ə nggūnggū clean out soup in the-dish 

wipe off 

miya 

rīn v. to extinguish fire, quench kashe wuta ywē rīn glo ə tàr go extinguish the-fire in the-room 

Rìnə p.n personal name lit. ‘God has given’ 

Rīntān p.n personal name lit. ‘quench leather’ 

Rín-zē p.n. tr masquerade potoshi mai 

zuwa bayan 

masquerade which appears every five years. 

71



shekaru 

biyar 

Rín-zē initiation cycle for young boys 

Rin-zè p.n personal name lit. ‘masquerade of keep’ 

rintu v. to go out of sight abin da ka 

kasa gani 

domin 

tsanani nisa 

72 

nggə̄ kyεn və̄ lɔn mū mâ ndē gu rintu I looked-at man that until 

long-time he went-out-of-sight 

riri a. thin, slender person siriri ? < H. mgbərīn mē sē riri rope this is thin 

ririmə̀ n. s Smyth’s water-snake Grayia smithii 

Rìsēbə̄ tə̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘God is with us’ 

Rìsēnggɔn p.n personal name lit. ‘God is big (i.e more than any problem)’ 

Rìsēnyɛn p.n Personal name lit. ‘God is love’ 

Rìshāmā p.n personal name lit. ‘God is present or exist’ 

Rìtɔ̀nzɛ̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘God is good’ 

Rìtsə p.n personal name lit. ‘God knows’ 

ro v. to cross water haye ruwa tə̄ ro nē we cross river 

rǒ v. to be heavy mai nauyi mgbantə̄ rǒ mē stone heavy this (this heavy stone) mgbantə̄ mē 

rǒ stone this is heavy 

rō n. boil (on body) maruru 

rôrō n. soft and succulent səsə̄ və̄ nggə̄ mē sē rôrō breasts girl this is succulent 

rɔ̄ — v. to play wasa tə̄ là ro we cont. play 

rɔn v. to make ridges yin noma nggə̄ là rɔn I am farming 

rù ru, rū v. to come out, emerge, 

resemble 

fito, fita gu ru wə̄ he resembles you. kwɔ ru kwɔ, tse ru tse bush fowl 

resembles bush fowl, guinea-fowl... (like father, like son) 

ru gbàr v.p. d goitre lit. ‘come out of the throat’ - və̄ lɔn mē ru gbàr man this have 

goitre 

runcə̄ id. fast running of water as at a 

heavy rain 

mə̀sər runcə̄ water is-running fast 

fitowa ruwa 

a dalilin 

ruwan sama 

rur, rər n. t tree sp. 

ruru v. to raise alarm kururuwa ruru mū sē yə̄ nə̄ nggyɛ? alarm that it-is for what? 

rūrū n. thread zare 

rūrū n. fishing-net



rūrū gantàn n i spider web zare 

gizogizo 

rūrūlə rùrūlə n. b pied crow hankaka Corvus albus 

ryan n. chicken droppings vǔ ryan kə̄ kə̄ mē dèbə̀ pack dropping of chicken this give-way 

ryān v. to hunt farauta Bān Mə̀da sē bān là ryan kənàn me. Mada be cont. hunt many. 

ryǎncū n. g grass sp. 

ryǎngwɔn n. reward nggə̄ kpə ryǎngwɔn nggə̀ I have received my reward 

ryārkī n. fibre-like dirt (all kinds) 

inside water 

nggə̄ kə kū ə tswē ryārkī I take follow at place of fibres (inside 

water) 

ryàr v. to persuade, convince lalashe nggə̄ là ryar gu I am trying to persuade him/her 

ryə̀n id. describes going backward - 

backsliding 

ryɛ̄ n. ridge gada 

ryɛ̀ v. to dig s.t. out of sand tə̄ là ryɛ krī we cont. dig yams 

ryɛ̀ v. to take s.t. by force from s.o. kwace nggə̄ ryɛ gu də̀ kpə kə̄ jī I force hands his and receive money 

ryɛ̄ n n. d whitlow dan damina 

ryò n. m antelope sp. 

ryò ryǒryò v. to roast (tubers) under coal gu là ryò fəkrì ə tə̀ntɔ̄ n glo he is roasting small yam in ashes of 

fire 

ryôryō n.d. soft laushi mə̀mē sē ryôryō the ground is soft 

ryɔ̂ id. describing how s.o is looking 

gu là kyɛn nggə̄ ryɔ̂ he/she is looking at me innocently 

with an innocent face 

ryɔ̄ — n. d eczema 

ryɔ̌ — n. fo pounded yam 

ryɔryɔ a. describing how narrow a path 

is 

nkɔ̀n mē sē ryɔryɔ me this path is just too narrow 

ryɔryɔ̀ id. describes a loose animal 

gu su nggǎgyū də̀ yə zwe gu mān ryɔryɔ̀ he loosened the dog 

following sheepishly 

and it followed him sheepishly 

ryùn v. to cook, to extract oil by dafa, yin mai bān kə̀ tə̄ là ryun mə̀nyɛ̀n sə̄ r those house (people) ours cont. 

cooking 

iri ta extract palm oil. ywē ryun nggə̄ lā go cook (for) me food 

gargajiya 

ryùn v. to bury bizne nggə̄ là ywe tswē ryùn kɔn kə̀kə̄ I cont. go place bury carcass 

chicken 

ryùn-kyɛn v. to look at s.o with suspicion wə̄ là ryùn nggə̄ kyɛn mūn? you cont. look-at me suspiciously 

73



why? 

S. 

sà sa v. to put on, retain, sit on mān klā yə sà tè vē tāmgbā də̀ mān sə̄ vū there fry 3pi retain 

make days seven and there past carry.away 

sà sa v. to answer amsa sa gu rεn yə̄ gu là rεn bə̄ wə̄ answer him which he cont. talk 

with you 

Sàbərɛn p.n personal name lit. ‘answer them talk’ 

sàn san n. basket kwando 

sàn v. to mix termites with beniseed Mbə̄ dān là sàn begywī ə kə̀ Mbə̄ dān cont. mix termites at home 

sān mə̀sān n. name suna 

sān — n. ribs, side of body, stalks hakarkari 

sanga adv jokingly lit. ‘put cheek’ yə̀mē sē nggə là sanga me lə this is I cont. just 

joking only now 

sa…nkū v.p. to leave s.t.hing for someone 

nggə̄ kan sa wə̄ nkū I take it put on you because of seniority 

based on seniority 

Sà-ntān p.n personal name lit. ‘put skin’ 

sàpə̌ r sapər n. soap sabulu < Hausa 

sar — v. to be slippery sansi tswē là sar the-place cont. slippery 

sar v. to slaughter (pl.) yanka abu cf. ywa. sǎr kə̄ kə̄ mē tə̄ cut chickens these necks 

dayawa 

sàr v. to comb hair nggə̄ là sar tu I cont. ‘cut head’ - comb 

sàzwē v. to be the next following in ma biye da 

order of birth 

Mbə̄ do sazwē Mankɔ̀n Mbə̄ do followed Mankɔ̀n 

se adv. until sai < Hausa. se mbrε until tomorrow 

sē v. to be, is, are ne nywεn nggə̄ sē ywā children my are two 

sē v. to plant, transplant dasa nggə̄ là ywe tswē sē kpu I cont. go place transplant guinea corn 

sε sɛ̌ n. year shekara yə̀mē sē sε yə̄ gyər nggə̄ ə Jɔ̀s this is year of first I (am) at Jos wə 

se sε sε tàr tun you years are years three five [you are 35] 

sɛ̀ bər int. how long? how much? wə̄ rε kpɔ̄ mē kə̄ jī sɛ̀ bər? you buy bag this money much how? 

wə̄ ban sε bər də̀ là nan ndu mē you take years how many and 

cont. do work this? [How long have you been doing this work?] 

74



sɛ̀ tàr num. thirty sε nggə̄ sē sε sɛ̀ tàr years I am years thirty 

sɛ̀ tāndà num. eighty nggə̄ sē bə̄ brɛ krī sɛ̀ tāndà I be with yam heaps numb. eighty 

sεn mə̀sɛ̄ n n. song waka nggə̄ là ywe tswē dō sεn I cont. go place sing song 

sɛ̌ n int. how? yaya wə̄ sē sεn you are how? 

sɛ̀n v. to filter liquids, to strain tatse və̄ nggə̄ là sɛ̀n prē girl is filtering kunu 

Sɛnmgbə̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘dance flute’ 

sə v.aux progressive tense marker 

. 

gu lə sə̀ nan ndu yə he will be doing the-work 

sə̄ v.aux past tense marker gu sə̄ nàn ndu yə he did the work 

. 

sə̄ sə v. to drink sha gu là sə̄ mə̀sər he cont. drink water 

sə̀ v.aux progressive past 

. 

gu sə̀ sē wāndɔ̀ he cont. be farming 

sə̀kā n. c rice shinkafa < Hausa 

səka n. gravel sakuwa Yā de wə̄ cu səka cà gu mān Mother (said) that you fetch gravel 

bring her - 

sə̄ kànmē loc. here nan kə̄ nggə̄ sē ə sə̄ kànmē house my is here 

sə̄ kànmū loc. there can ywē bàn dǎ ə sə̄ kànmū lwe nyə̀ go take cutlass at there carry 

come 

sə̄ mban a. red jawur bə̀r wə̄ sē sə̄ mban cap your is red 

sə̌ n n. c cowpea plant wake 

sən v. to be smooth mgbantə̄ mē sən kpə stone this is smooth 

sər v. to change canji, canja sə̌ r nggə̄ lə̀gā mē change (for) me shirt this 

sər v. to be black beki və̄ lɔn mū sə̌ r man that is-black 

sə̀r prep. beneath, under karkashi mə̀sər glə sə̀r mgbantə̄ water passed under the-stone 

sə̀sàn n. h herb sp. laxative used to treat children 

sə̄ sān part. as gu nan sə̄ sān tə̄ kyun zwē he did as we gather keep 

sə̄ sān — n. pp cornstalks karan dawa nggə̄ là ywe tswē tān sə̄ sān I cont. go place collect corn-stalks 

sə̄ sānmenàn part. like that tə̄ kyun sə̄ sānmenàn we gather like that (i.e we arranged like 

that) 

səsemgbɔ̀ n. b red-headed lovebird Agapornis pullaria 

sə̀sɛ̀ adv. in the past kə gyə̄ r sə̀sɛ̀ one time in the past 

sə̀sɛ̀mu adv. long ago zamanin da gu kyu sə̀sɛ̀mu he died long-ago 

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sə̄ sɛ̀n — n. bs beer filter yə̀mē sē sə̄ sɛ̀n this is beer filter 

sə̀sɛ̄ n — n. d large swelling large swelling that can appear under the armpits or on the breast. 

Filled with pus, it is usually drained by piercing with a hot iron 

səsə̄ səsə n. bp breast mama 

shā v.i. to be present abin da ke gu shā he is-present 

nanan 

Shākwɔ p.n personal name lit. ‘quails are present’ 

shāmān v. to be present cf. shā. gu shāmān ə kə̀ he is-present at home 

shàn shān v. to fetch water from a stream diba shàn mə̀sər shɛ̄ tsə mē fetch water fill these pots 

shǎn v. to despise wə̄ shan kī mwɔ̄ n you despise things too much 

shān n. c acca cultivar brownish, and swells when cooked 

Shǎnnē p.n personal name lit. ‘despise people’ 

shār shar n. r small frog known for its powerful jumps 

shàr v. to invite gayata shàr nē tə̄ man ywe glā kwɔ invite people we - go chase bushfowls 

Shāyo p.n personal name lit. ‘does not exist’ 

shàzə adv. tiptoeing 

shε — n. fo locust-seed cakes, ‘local 

maggi’ 

Shɛ̄ kə̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘fill house’ 

shε kpàn, shɛ njì n. fo fermented cakes made from 

sorrel seeds 

shɛ̄ v. to fill cika mə̀sər shε tsə̄ water filled the-pot 

shɛ̄ v. to fullfil nggə̄ shɛ rɛn yə̄ nggə̄ kan zwē I fullfil talk which I take keep 

shɛ̄ v. to patch up a/thing rubber nggə̄ là shɛ zəkpə I cont. patch up my shoes 

shɛ̄ mə̀shɛ̄ n. ht fish-trap conical valve type 

shεn v. to wake up falka nggə̄ shɛn nə̀nə̄ I wake sleep 

Shɛ̄ ngwɔn p.n personal name lit. ‘fill hand’ (one who will help the parents) 

Shɛ̌ nnē p.n personal name lit. ‘people multiply’ 

Shɛ̄ rɛn p.n personal name lit. ‘fulfill the promise’ 

shə̄ shə n. mi iron clapperless bell kuge beaten during the funeral dance 

shə̀r v. to emaciate, grow thin, lean və̄ nggə̄ mē shər girl this emaciate 

shə̄ rin v.p. to swear, to take oath rantsuwa Jalà shε rin Jalà took an-oath 

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shə̄ r tɔ̄ n v.p. to pay close attention bada hankali (lit. listen ears) shə̄ r tɔ̄ n bə̄ nggə̄ pay-close-attention with (to) me 

shə̄ shàrε shəshàrε n. b weaver bird Ploceus cucullatus 

shī — v. to peel, carve bare, goge Mbə̄ cūn là shī krī Mbə̄ cūn cont. peel yams 

shī n. t tree sp. 

shì — n. d leprosy 

shì a. coolness of room foundation 

due to excessive rainfall 

shisha n. leftover husks of acca, 

groundnut 

shishà a. someone who looks pale 

because of intoxication from 

gu sə mə̀ də̀ sē shishà gu me he drank wine and is pale him only 

wine or drugs 

shishar — n. junior kani gu sē shishar nggə̄ he is junior my 

shishɛ̄ n — n. life rai 

shīshī — n. bm boil maruru shīshī ru nggə̄ boil comes-out (of) me (I have a boil) 

shīshī n. c black beniseed, sesame Sesamum radiatum 

shɔ̌ nywεn shɔ n. da calf of cow Ng. dialect 

shɔ̀ shɔ n. i honey, bee kudan zuma shɔ̀ tar Bàbā bee stung Father 

shɔ̀ shɔ n. m porcupine beguwa 

Shɔ̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘porcupine/bee’ 

shū prep. up, above sama kə̀kə̄ sa ə shū hen perched at up 

shùn shun v. to bring out, defecate yin kashi nggə̄ là shun ntɛn I cont. defecate 

shǔnkì shunkī n. fruit yayan ice 

Shùnkī p.n personal name lit. ‘collect from people small portion’ 

shǔr v. to wander aimlessly yawon banza vɛ̄ n nggə̄ là shǔr ə Jɔ̀s child my cont. wanders at Jos 

shushù a. wet, green fresh jikakke, kore gəga sē shushù the-grass is green 

sɔ̂ adv. straight, upright mikeke tərkì mē kre sɔ̂ tree that stands straight 

sɔ̀ n. t tree sp. àdùrúúkù Newbouldia laevis 

sɔn v. to cough yin tari Māme là sɔ̌ n kpə̀kprɛ̀ Māme cont. cough catarrh 

sɔ̀n sɔ̄ n v. to sow shuki Mbə̄ rɛn là sɔ̄ n kpu Mbə̄ rɛn cont. sow guinea-corn 

sɔ̀n sɔ̄ n v. to sit, stay zauna, jira te sɔ̀n ə sə̄ kànmē sit down at this place 

sɔ̀nsù n. holiday, vacation, rest-day hutu lit. ‘sit-rest’ mbrε sε sɔ̀nsū tomorrow is a-holiday 

sssp-sssp id. describes sipping a hot liquid nggə̄ là vun mə̀sər gloglo de sssp-sssp I cont. catch water hot is 

77



ssp-ssp 

su v. to unroll, unfold, untie kwance sǔ mgbərīn mē untie rope this 

su v. to be cool sanyi mə̀sər sù mgbân water is-cool much 

sū su v. to put, reach sa shàn mə̀sər sū ə tsə̄ fetch water put in container 

sūr v. to have diarrhoea yin zawo nggə̄ là sur I cont. run (of diarrhoea) 

sūr — n. d diarrhoea zawayi sūr là te nggə̄ diarrhoea cont. has me 

sūr — n. bp kidney koda 

sūr sur n. da hen kaza yə̀mē sē sūr kə̀kə̄ this is a hen 

sùr v. to boil dafa sùr nggə̄ mə̀sər boil (for) me water 

sùr v. to judge sharia Tīyà là sùr Tsɛ̄ ncun rεn Father cont. judge Tsɛ̄ ncun talk 

sùr — n. i small, destructive termites gara 

sǔrkə̄ — n. h medicinal, scented plant used to cure headaches 

susù — a. well, cool kalau nggə̄ sē susù I am well 

susur — n. bp liver hanta 

sūswē n. g feathergrass Loudetia annua 

suswɛ̀ a. new sabo lə̀gā nggə̄ sē suswɛ̀ shirt my is new 

sūswɛ̌ — n. mi ankle rattles made from trees seeds on strings. Anyone can put them on to 

dance for the funeral dance glǒkyū. 

swàà a. descries s.o full up and 

satisfied lying down 

swǎ v. to be sour mai tsami nyìnyī swa soup (is) sour 

swē swe v. to bathe wanka gu là swē he cont. bathes 

swε v. to clean share swε nggə̄ gɔ̄ n clean (for) me (my) back 

swɛ̌ v. to peel (maize) bare tə̄ là swɛ kpumkpàn we cont. peel maize 

Swɛ̌ mə̀shi p.n personal name lit. ‘clean tears’ 

Swɛ̌ nyū p.n personal name lit. ‘clean mouth’ 

Swɛ̌ zə p.n personal name lit. ‘clean legs’ 

kyɛn kùr yə̀ gu lə kùr swàà nān məgyə̀r see how he is lying 

satisfied and full up 

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T. 

tā ta v. to throw jefa ban mgbantə̄ tā take stone throw 

tā gyɔ̄ v.p. to throw away, to throw yar kan yə̄ tā gyɔ̄ take it throw away 

down 

Tābə p.n personal name lit. ‘shoot them’ 

tàcù tacu n. t tree sp. 

Tākə̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘shoot house’ 

takī — n. fertilizer < Hausa 

tāki — n. owner 

tākikə̀ taki mə̀kə̀ n. house owner mai gida 

Tākpir p.n personal name lit. ‘shoot antelope’ 

tāmgbā num. seven bakwai tāmgbā nggə̄ rīmē nggə̄ la re lā yo seven I today I neg. eat food 

not (this is the seventh day that I haven’t eaten) 

tāmgbā ndu p.n. Sunday Ladi 

tambrishɔ n. worm-like insect which 

inflict wounds on people’s 

feet esp. during the rainy 

season 

79 

probably hookworm or pinworm. yə̀mē sē tambrishɔ this is 

tambrishɔ 

-tan int. interrogative formant cf. wāntan, yə̀tan, mbɛ̄ tan 

tān v. to collect, to pick up tsine (kama 

na kwashe 

kara) 

nggə̄ là ywe tswē tān sə̄ sān I cont. go place collect corn-stalks 

tāncà v. to agonise Tīyà là tāncà G/father cont. agonising 

tàn v. to be tall tərkì mē tan tree this-is tall 

tàn v. to chew ci (kama na nggə̄ là tan nan I cont. chew meat 

nama) 

tan…nyər v.p. to bite cizo tan yə̄ nyər chew it teeth (bite it) 

tǎn nyər nyər v.p to regret lit. ‘chew teeth’ which is a sign of regret. gu là tǎn nyər nyər 

fàfà me he/she is chewing teeth for nothing, i.e his/her regrets is 

of no effect 

tāndà num. eight takwas tə̄ sē ə hwə yə̄ tāndà we are at the-month of eight 

tāndō n. tin ? < English 

Tānē p.n personal name lit. ‘shoot people’



Tǎnnē p.n personal name lit. ‘eat people’ 

tānnɛ̀n num. six shida yə̀mē sē hwə yə̄ tānnɛ̀n this is month of six (June) 

tangganrang id. sound of broken plates nywɛ̂ n nzə kəkərɛ də̀ ngar tangganrang glass cups fell down 

and broke into pieces 

Tānyān p.n personal name lit. ‘shoot horses’ (this is during intertribal wars) 

tàprě tapre n. mi cruciform whistle played solo for funerals 

tar adv. firmly gu nan vūn tār he do catch firmly 

tar num. three yə̀mē sē krī tar these are yams three 

tar v. to shoot, be shot at harba, harbe wə̄ tar nggə̄ mūn? you shoot-at me why 

tar v. to mix, move gauraya, tǎr mə̀sər ə prē mix water at (with) pre 

gusa 

tàr num. three (in compounds) uku cf. tar 

tār mə̀tàr n. room daki yə̀mē sē tār this is a room 

tàr tar v. to shoot, kick gu kàn zo zə yə̄ ywā tàr gu he took raised leg of two (2nd leg) 

kicked him 

tǎr num. third 

tǎrcū id. sound of someone searching 

for something 

sē nggwɔ̌ là tǎrcū ə tàr? it-is who cont. moving at (in) the-room 

tarnggə̄ (n) mə̀tarnggə̄ (n) n. b Hadada ibis Bostrychia hagadash 

tārtār v. to follow/chase closely bi abu aguje wə̄ là zwē nggə̄ tārtār mwɔ̄ n you cont. follow me too closely 

tārwu mə̀tàrwu n. clinic dakin lit. room-medicine. te nggə̄ ywe ə tàrwu father my went at (to) 

magani the-clinic 

tashɛ̀n v. to awaken from death, to tashiwa daga Yεsu kyu də̀ tashɛ̀n Jesus died and (was) resurrected. This verb 

resurrect 

mattatu was previously applied to dying animals but now has a Christian 

connotation 

tātsu tatsu n. s amphisbaenid snake, blind 

Typhlops punctatus 

snake 

te v. to have, own, possess malaka, nggə̄ te bàbər I possess a-motorcycle 

auku, diba 

te v. to occur kyū te a death has occurred 

te v. to make bə te nggə̄ ndu they make me message 

te gyār v.p. to be angry haushi nggə̄ là te gyār I am making anger 

te tē v. to become nggə̄ kan te wān rɛ̀ do I then become one-who sells 

te v. to fetch (water) te mə̀sər nə̄ nggə̀ fetch water give me 

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te v. to pack tə̄ lə te kpu yə̄ kə̀ tə̄ mbrε we will pack (into the granary) 

guinea-corn of house ours tomorrow 

te…cucu v.p. to be a prostitute lit. ‘to make wind’ - və̄ nggə̄ mē là te cucu girl this cont. ‘make 

wind’ (prostituting) 

te…dē v.p. to be difficult, to be tired mai wuya və̄ lɔn mē de yə te gu dē man this (said) that it make him difficult 

te…do v.p. to bargain, to be costly yin ciniki wə̄ là te do lə̀gā mē? you cont. bargain (for) shirt this? 

te…gi v.p. to steal sata və̄ lɔn mū te nggə̄ gi ndō man that did me stole cow (...stole my 

cow) 

tè…kə vp. to think tunani te kə kyεn mû, sē nggwɔ̌ wān ban krì think see - it-is who onewho 

took the-yam 

te ngà v.p to be unconcerned wə̄ là te ngà bə̄ nggwɔ̌ ? why are you so unconcerned about me 

like this? 

te…ngwɔn v. to wave kada hannu sē nggwɔ̌ wān te wə̄ ngwɔn it-is who one-who make you hand 

(...who waved to you) 

te nka v.p to be playful gu tsə tswē te nka kənàn me he knows how to be playful very 

much 

te…nzɛ̄ v. to decorate yin ado wə̄ te tār wə̄ nzɛ̄ ? you make room your decorated? 

te…sɔ̀n v. to sit zauna nyə tè sɔ̀n ə sə̄ kànmē come sit down at here 

tè te, tə̄ te n. father baba 

tekpm̄ v. to squat tsuguna tekpm ə sə̄ kànmē squat down here 

tɛ̀kpǔ tεkpu n. c cornstalk kara 

tə v. to fetch (honey) diba Də̀ kəgyɔ̄ Kagbɔ̄ n de nə̄ bə ywē kə tə shɔ and put to tortoise that 

let them go to fetch honey 

tə v. to be rusted, rusty tsatsa nzār nggə̄ tə hoe my is-rusted 

tə̄ pron. we, us mu 

təbà n. c tobacco taba < Hausa. wə̄ ywe kàn təbà nə̄ gu? you went took tobacco gave 

him? 

təkpā tsə̄ təkpa tsə n. po potsherd used for frying 

tə̀kpàn təkpan n. mt tubular mat enclosing the 

made from palm leaves and woven in strips 

body of a corpse 

tə̀kpə̌ təkpə n. t tree sp. tààkàlmín cf. kpukpa 

biri 

tə̀kpǒ n. g grass sp. Heteropogon contortus 

tə̀là mə̀sər n. muddy water yə̀mē sē tə̀là mə̀sər this is muddy water 

81



Tə̌ ndè p.n personal name lit. ‘break leave part’ 

təndur n. d sunstroke təndur là nan gu sunstroke cont. do him 

tə̀ndǔr n. t tree sp. 

tə̀ntàn n. stammering mai anana gu là ngan tə̀ntàn he cont. break stutter (he’s stuttering) 

tə̄ ntɔ̄ n. c aerial yam doyam sama Dioscorea bulbifera 

tə̀ntɔ̄ n n. ash toka 

tə̀ntùr matò n. c tomato tumatur < English 

təntùr adv. remotest past, time 

immemorial 

təntùr sə̀sɛ̀ mu long ago time past 

tər — n. bp lower back, waist baya 

tər — v. to deny gu là tər rɛn nggān me he cont. deny talks very much 

tə̄ r mə̀tə̄ r n. light indicating presence of wutan dare 

witches 

tə̄ r v. to break karya vūn kukukì tə̄ r catch stick break 

tərbwə̀ n. t fig tree 

tərkì tərkī, mə̀tərkī n. t tree itace 

tərkyū adv. struggling with death gu là tərkyū he cont. struggling with death (about to die) 

tə̄ rmgbù tərmgbu n. s snake sp. wani irin 

maciji 

tə̄ rmvū tərmvu n. m hyena kura, siyaki Hyaena hyaena 

tə̄ rtswē — v. to start out at daybreak, get samako nggə̄ lə tə̄ rtswē nzεn də̀ ywe kə̄ I fut. get-up-early later and go 

started early 

house 

tə̄ tə̄ mə̀tə̄ tə n. bow baka ywē bàn tə̄ tə̄ ə tàr cà nggə̄ mān go take bow at room bring me 

tə̄ tar ywə̀ num. three of them 

tə̄ tē tə̄ te n. p father, elder kaka 

tə̀tɔ̀ part. maybe watakila tə̀tɔ̀ Mbə̄ do lə nyə̄ mbrε maybe Mbə̄ do will come tomorrow 

tə̀təlà tə̄ təlà n. lantern, lamp, light fitila < Hausa 

tə̀tə̌ r a. rough, careless, untidy barkatai mfùtù wə̄ sē tə̀tər hair your is untidy 

tə̀tur — n. whirlwind guguwa tə̀tur là te the-whirlwind cont. happen (there’s a whirlwind) 

tīyà — n. father kaka cf. tə̄ tē 

tīyār — num. nine tara sε nggə̄ sē tīyār years my are nine 

tǒ v. to say s.t. that hurts s.o. gu dan nggə̄ rɛn yə̄ tǒ də̌ r he said s.t. to me that hurt me 

tō v. to burn cu glo tō tswē fetch fire burn place 

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tō to v. to pierce chara gu ban njī to nggə̀ he took knife pierce me 

tō to v. to crow gbǎ là tō the-cock cont. crows 

Tǒbə p.n personal name lit. ‘pierce them’ 

tɔ adv. quietly kan zwè tɔ me take keep quietly only 

tɔ̀ tɔ̄ v. to be good mai kyau kì mē tɔ̀ thing this is-good 

tɔ̄ mwɔ̄ n excl. expresses the wish for s.o bad 

tɔ̄ mwɔ̄ n sə̄ sānmenàn me it is good like that, i.e. there is no 

to occur again 

problem with what has happened 

tɔn v. to drip diga (digon 

ruwa) 

mə̀sər là tɔn water cont. dripping 

tɔ̄ n mə̀tɔ̄ n n. bp ear kunne 

tɔ̀n v. to sift (using winnowing tankade Gyùrbə là tɔ̀n mùmu ə kə̀ Gyùrbə cont. sifting corn powder at 

basket) 

home 

tɔ̄ n shɔ n. honey ruwan zuma nggə̄ là ywe tswē rɛ̀ tɔn shɔ I cont. go place buy honey [of] bee 

tɔ̄ ntàn mə̀tɔ̄ ntàn n. t karaya gum tree kûkúúkì Sterculia setigera 

tɔ̀nzɛ̄ tɔ̄ nzɛ̄ n. goodness, beauty və̄ nggə̄ mē tɔ̀nzɛ̄ girl this beautiful 

Tɔ̀nzɛ̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘it is good’ 

tsa tsǎ v. to be white fari zə wə̄ tsa leg your is white kə̄ kə̄ nggə̄ tsa hens my are white 

tsa tsǎ v. white, more especially of 

tu gu tsa head his white 

fibrous things (hair, cloth) 

tsa v. to be high tswē mē zo tsa place this is raised high 

tsànì n. b malachite kingfisher Alcedo cristata 

tsàr tsar v. to show, teach nuna tsar nggə̄ kə̄ gyə̀ show me house your 

tsàr kə̀dərirî excl. expression belittling s.o tsàr kə̀dərirî, wə̄ sē nggwɔ̌ shishɛn? common, who are you? i.e 

this is actually looking down on the person as being insignificant. 

tse tsə̄ tse n. town tse yə̄ bə mε yə ə tù gbù lə la sē yə̄ ryə̄ r yo. town which they 

build it at top hill fut. neg. be secret not 

tsè tse n. da guinea-fowl zabuwa 

tsē tse v. to beat, clap buga hannu tsē gu ngwɔn beat him hands (clap for him) 

Tsēbə p.n personal name lit. ‘cut them’ 

tsèkpɔ̌ n. m banded mongoose Mungos mungo 

tsɛ̄ tsε n. bp chest kirji 

tsɛ̂ adv. little yə̀ kədè sē tsɛ̂ me which remains is little only 

tsɛ̄ n v. to cut down a living tree sara gu là tsɛ̄ n tərkì he cont. cut down tree 

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tsɛ̀n tsεn n. s spitting cobra Naja nigricollis 

Tsɛ̄ nbə p.n personal name lit. ‘cut them’ 

Tsɛ̄ ncun p.n personal name lit. ‘cutting forest’ 

Tsɛ̄ nnē p.n personal name lit. ‘cut people’ 

Tsɛnkpə p.n personal name lit. ‘snatch from s.o. by force’ 

Tsɛ̄ nrɛn p.n personal name lit. ‘snatch talk’ 

tsə̄ tsə n. po pot (generic) tukunya 

tsə̄ tsə v. to know sani, ganewa gu tsə tswē he knows places 

tsəka n. gravels for flooring 

tsə̄ rεn v.p. em wisdom lit. ‘to know talk’ – gu tsərɛn nggān me he knows talk very 

much (i.e he has wisdom) 

tsə̄ kì v.p. em knowledge lit. ‘to know thing’ - gu tsəkì nggān me he has knowledge 

tsə̀ntsā tsəntsa n. i army ant kwari masu 

cizo 

tsə̀ntsē — n. smoke hayaki 

Tsə̀ntsē p.n personal name lit. ‘smoke’ 

tsər v. to be solid kauri prē tsər rεn-nggyɛ̌ ? pre is-solid why 

tsə̄ r tsər n. t mahogany madaci Khaya senegalensis 

tswətswe adv. quickly ... də̀tswē yə man nyə sū tswətswe ... so.that it (pl) then come 

reach quickly 

tsò n. poison dafi tərkì mē te tsò tree this makes poison 

tsō a. correct yə sē tsō it is correct 

tsōtsō a. complete, correct yə sē zwē tsōtsō it is complete 

tsɔ num. twelve sha biyu nə̄ nggə̄ tsə tsɔ give me pots twelve 

tsɔ v. to vomit ammai nggə̄ là tsɔ I cont. vomit 

tsɔ v. to shave the head, smoothen 

s.t. 

kwalkwal te nggə̄ tsɔ nggə̄ tu father my shaved me head (my), tsɔ̌ nggə̄ 

kə̄ tākū mē smooth (for) me wood this 

tsu v. to die (pl.) mutuwa cf. kyu. kə̄ kə̄ nggə̄ tsu chickens my died 

tsǔ də̄ r v.a to become afraid because of 

bad news 

tsûr n. group of tiny objects (birds, 

heat rash etc.) 

tsùtsǔ — a. describes gentle showers (of yayafi ruwa glō là te tsùtsǔ rain cont. has gentleness 

rain falling) 

84 

lit. ‘die heart’ nggə̄ kan tsu də̄ r ətù kì yə̀ gu dan I then die heart 

over thing which he said



tsùtsǔglō n. drops of rain 

Tsùtsǔglō p.n personal name lit. ‘drops of rain’ 

tsutswè — n. grasshopper fara 

tswě tswe v. to be strong karfi və̄ lɔn mē tswě man this is-strong 

tswē — n. place, here wuri cf. man – tswē yə̄ tə̄ sē mān the-place which we are now 

tswē — n. rainy season (archaic) damuna yə̀mē sē mkpān tswē this is time rainy-season 

tswēyəmē conj. so, therefore, because a wannan lit. ‘this place’. tə̄ ma bə̄ gu ə nkɔ̀n tswēyəmē tə kan nyə kə̄ 

tswɛ̂ v. to scatter helter-skelter 

because of danger (people, 

animals) 

wuri (sai) 

gigyə̀r we met with him at road so we then came home together 

N.B. falling tone indicates plurality to speakers. bə kān vār tswê 

they then scatter helter-skelter. 

tu mə̀tǔ n. top, head kai kə̀kə̄ sa ə tù tàr hen perched at top room 

tu ngār n.p. d headache cf. gə̀ncə tù 

tu mə̀mē n.p. head of the land, governor shugaban M.C. Ali sē tu-mə̀mē Plateau State M.C. Ali is governor (of) 

kasa Plateau State 

tukpə̀ pron. body, but acts as a first 

singular reflexive pronoun 

nggə̄ nan kì mē tukpə̀ nggə̄ I did thing this by-body myself 

tun num. five biyar cu mgbantə tûn lwè nyə̀ pick stones five carry come 

tūn num. fifth nggə̄ sē wān tūn I be one-who fifth 

tun ndu p.n. Friday 

Tunggɔn p.n personal name lit. ‘head big’ 

tūr v. to try and find out who has 

bə vu kəywə̀ ywe tswē tur they carry themselves go place 

done s.t. through divination 

divination 

tùr tur v. to push tura tur yə̄ push it 

tùr v. to be mouldy kàmù mē sē tùr me akamu this is mouldy only 

tùr n. guinea corn husk yə̀mē sē tùr kpu this is guinea-corn husk 

tur…mə̄ v.p to assist s.o to climb up nggə̄ là tur gu mə̄ I cont. assist him (the context is always 

understood) 

tyə̄ tyə n. m duiker Cephalophus sp. 

tyə̄ mə̀tyə̄ n. bp neck wuya 

tyir excl. expresses disgust at doing s.t 

bad 

tyir, nggə lə lǎnan nkinē sə̄ sānmenàn yo God forbid that I do s.t 

like that 

85



V. 

va — n. bf gum that forms round the kontsuwa 

eyes during sleep 

ido 

vââ id. describes talking nonsense gu là rɛn vââ mwɔ̄ n he cont. talk nonsense 

vâ v. to scatter people mə̄ nē kan kan vâ the people then take scatter 

Vànē p.n personal name lit. ‘scatter people’ 

vàr vār v. to scatter baza sē nggwɔ̌ wān kan bemkpàn vàr ə mə̀mē? it-is who who took 

maize scattered at (on) the-ground 

vē — n. days cf. mbrɛ̄ , riri 

vɛ̄ n nywεn n. boy yaro 

vɛ̄ n nywεn n. fruit 

vεn v. to quarrel fada (ta 

baki) 

mbə̀mbə̄ là vεn the-women cont. quarrel 

vəcə̀kpancin nywɛ̂ 

n. b pin-tailed whydah Vidua macroura 

nkpancin 

vəcùn nywɛ̂ ncun n. m striped mouse Lemniscomys sp. 

Vəcùn p.n personal name lit. ‘striped mouse’ 

vəgrɛ̄ nnyū nywɛ̂ 

n. b pygmy kingfisher Ceyx picta 

ngrεnnyū 

vəgyɔ̀n nywɛ̂ ngyɔn n. m hare, rabbit zomo Lepus crawshayi 

Vəgyɔ̀n p.n personal name lit. ‘hare’ 

vəkagbɔ̄ n n. r tortoise dim. of kagbɔ̄ n 

və̄ lɔn lə̄ lɔn n. p man mutum 

vəmbàn nywɛ̂ nmban n. b hawk, eagle shaho 

vəmgbūmgburw 

excl. abusive term describing a kalma zagi vəmgbūmgburwɛ̄ kəywē mə bà! yourself is like a small toad 

ɛ̄ 

person looking like a small 

toad 

vəmkpanār nywɛ̂ nkpanar n. b bird sp. 

vəkpotù n. b hoopoe Upopa epops 

vəmpane nywɛ̂ nmpane n. b red-billed wood-dove Turtur afer 

vəmpərò nywɛ̂ nmpəro n. b long-crested helmet-shrike Prionops plumata 

vəmvɛ̀n nywɛ̂ nmvɛ̀n n. b sunbird Nectariniidae 

vəncān n. b bird sp. It sits on ridges in the farm 

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vəncε nywɛ̂ n ncε n. b bird (generic) tsuntsu 

Vəncε p.n personal name lit. ‘small bird’ 

vəndakpyɛ̀n nywɛ̂ n n. b grass warbler Cisticola sp. 

ndakpyεn 

vəndεndān nywɛ̂ n n. m wood mouse Hylomyscys spp. 

ndεndān 

və̄ nggə̄ mə̄ nggə̄ n. p girl yariyan 

Və̄ nggə̄ nggwe p.n personal name lit. ‘Hausa girl’ 

Və̄ nggə̄ rì p.n lit. ‘girl of God’ 

və̄ nggə̄ rin mə̄ nggə̄ rin n. p bethroted virgin, female budurwa da və̄ nggə̄ mē sē və̄ nggə̄ rin girl this is-a virgin, yə̀mē sē və̄ nggə̄ rin 

masquerade 

an yi tushin this is female masquerade 

ta, dodo na 

mace 

Və̄ nggə̄ rin p.n personal name lit. ‘betrothed virgin’ 

vənggù nywɛ̂ nnggu n. b dove kurciya vənggù hwɔn ə kə̀ tə̀ a dove hatched at house our 

vənjɛ̀njɛ̀ nywɛ̂ njɛ̀njɛ̀ n. b bird sp. 

vənkɔ̀n nywɛ̂ nkɔ̀n n. path dan hanya 

Vəntsɛ̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘small star’ 

vənyɛ̄ n nggyε — n. whatever də̀gba sē vənyɛ̄ n nggyε if-not it-is small-whatever (whatever it 

is) 

vənyɔ̀n nywɛ̂ nnyɔn n. small granary for storing dan rumbu 

grain such as acca, beniseed 

yə̀mē sē vənyɔ̀n this is small granary 

etc 

vənzē nywɛ̂ nze n. m gazelle 

və̄ nzɛ̀ nywɛ̂ nzɛ̀ n. p young man 

vəkpir nywɛ̂ nkpir n. m antelope sp. 

vərà nywɛ̂ nra n. medium size granary rumbu 

amma 

yə̀mē sē rà mə̀nggə̄ this is my granary 

karami 

vəryàn nywɛ̂ nryan n. b harrier hawk Polyboroides radiatus 

vəsə̀r nywɛ̂ nsər n. m Gambian tree squirrel Helioscurus gambianus 

vəsùr n. m antelope sp. 

vətɔ̀ nywɛ̂ ntɔ n. m palm civet ? 

vətə̀ndār nywɛ̂ ntəndar n. b quail Coturnix spp. 

87



vəvà — n. i insect that sits on leaves green, it emits a fluid that makes you scratch 

vəywudə̀ nywɛ̂ nywudə n. b domestic pigeon tantabara 

vre v. to warm up jin dumi nggə̄ là vre glo I cont. warm-up fire (I’m warming myself) 

vrē n. day after tomorrow jibi nggə̄ lə nyə̄ vrē I fut. come day-after-tomorrow 

vrè — v. to breathe lunfashi vɛ̄ n là vrè the-child cont. breathes 

n. pain zafin ciwo kə̀mvrè ngwɔ̀n là vrè nggə̀ finger mine cont. pain me 

vrěnjō — v. to whistle yi fito gu là vrenjō he cont. whistle 

Vrěnjō p.n personal name lit. ‘whistling as a sign of satisfaction’ 

vrûûm id. decribes the sound of a 

motorcycle 

gyɔ̄ bàbər glo nə̄ yə̄ gì de vrûûm put motorcycle fire let it cry de 

….. 

vū vu v. to carry away, sweep kwashe Jalà là vu tswē Jalà cont. sweeps the-place 

vu ngà vū ngà v.p. to go past, out of the way ratse, wuce gu ywe vū yə̄ ngà he went siezed it passed (...went by it) 

vūn v. to smoke fish, meat on the 

Te tə̄ là vūn nan ə glo Father-our cont. smoke meat on fire 

fire 

vūn vun v. to catch, hold, sieze, grasp kama, kwace vūn yə̄ lwè catch it - 

vūn nzɛ̄ v.a to stubbornly refused to do s.t gu vun nzɛ̄ de gu lə la nan ndu yə yo he stubbornly refused that 

he will neg do work of it not 

vwââp id. describes how s.t. is snatched 

from s.o. by force 

vəmbàn kla vəkə̀kə̄ bàn vwââp eagle snatched (a) chick at once 

W. 

wǎdɛ̄ n v. to arrive early for an occasion tə̄ ywe mān wadɛ̄ n we went there early 

wān pron. who, one who, one of, one relative pronoun 

wāndɛ̄ n bāndɛ̄ n n. doctor likita 

wāndɔ̀ bāndɔ̀ n. farmer manomi wə̄ sē wāndɔ̀? are you a farmer? 

Wāndō p.n personal name lit. ‘one of cows’ 

wānfà bānfà n. p fool wawa wə̄ sē wānfà you are a fool 

wāngbɔ̀ bāngbɔ̀ p.n. p Igbo 

wāngi bāngi n. p thief barawo 

wānkə̀ bānkə̀ n. p house owner mai gida 

wǎnklǎ wankla n. hand bangle used during yə̀mē sē wǎnklǎ this is a hand bangle 

88



dancing, e.g. nzɔ̄ n 

wānkpānnɛ̄ n bānkpānnɛ̄ n n. p soldier, policeman soja, lit. ‘one who ties belly’ gu sē wānkpānnɛ̄ n he is a policeman 

dansanda da 

makama 

cinsu 

wānkwār bānkwār n. p wizard, sorcerer maye, maiya nggwɔ̌ sē wān kwār? who is a-wizard 

wānlāzə̄ , bānlāzə̄ , n. p blacksmith makeri gu sē wānlāzə̄ he is a blacksmith 

wānfùkpɔ bānfùkpɔ 

wānrɛ̀kī bānrɛ̀kī n. p trader dan kasuwa gu sē wānrɛ̀do he is a trader 

wāntānan bāntānan n. p hunter maharbi gu sē wāntānan he is one-who hunt 

wānwɔ̄ bānwɔ̄ n. p blind man makaho gu sē wānwɔ̄ he is a blind man 

wānwùntān bānwùntān n. p tanner ndu gu sē yə̄ wùntān work his is of tanner 

wānywànan bānywànan n. p butcher mai yankan gu sē wānywànan he is a butcher 

nama 

war — n. runniness kazamta mvre wə̄ te war nose yours has runniness 

war — n. immoral behaviour yə̀mē sē kì yə̀ war this is a-thing of immoral behaviour 

wartə̀warwartə̀war 

birds found around rocks 

cont. cry that …… 

id. the chirping of small black 

nywɛ̂ n kə̄ kə̄ gbu là gi de wartə̀war-wartə̀war children-birds 

(vəkəgbù) 

wə̄ pron. you sg. (subject) kai wə̄ là ywē ywə̄ ? you cont. go where? 

wə̀ pron. you sg. (object) sē nggwɔ̌ wān tse wə̀? it-is who who beat you? 

wə̀ndō wə̄ ndō n. dr trousers wando < Hausa 

wāntan int. who? Which? sē wāntan ənywī mə̄ nē mē wān nggə̄ lə cu? this who among 

people these who I will choose wānmē sē wāntan? one this is 

which-one 

wowowo id. describes the bark of a dog nggǎgyū là te glə̄ de wowowo dog barks that …. 

wɔ̄ — n. blindness zāngyər nggə̄ ku wɔ̄ brother my fell blind 

wɔ̀ wɔ v. to rear, feed, bring up gu là wɔ̀ nggǎgyū he cont. rear dog 

wɔ̄ nkì mə̀wɔ̄ nkī n. hole in tree yə̀mē sē wɔ̄ nkì this is a hole 

wu v. to swell kumburi mgbāntə tar nggə̄ ə bìshi an yə̄ wu stone shot me at eye and it 

swelled 

wù v. to be satisfied koshi nggə̄ sə̄ mə̀sər də̀ wu I drank water and was-satisfied 

wu — n. medicine magani 

wǔ v. to be hot zafi mə̀sər mē wu glo water this is-hot fire (is hot) cf. gloglo 

89



wǔ v. to burn kone glo là wu mgbəga fire cont. burns the-grass 

wù wu n. i mosquito soro 

wukì mə̀wukī n. t tree sp. 

wushi — n. happiness nggə̄ là te wushi I cont. make happy 

Y. 

yà mə̄ yiyà n. female friend abokiya Mbə̄ cūn bə̄ Mbə̄ rɛn sē mə̄ yiyà Mbə̄ cūn bə̄ Mbə̄ rɛn are friends, 

Vəntsɛ̄ sē yà Vəncɛ Vəntsɛ̄ is a friend of Vəncɛ 

yā — n. p mother mama 

Yākwɔ̀ p.n personal name lit. ‘mother of grinding’ 

yà ngwɔn v. swing one’s arms as he walks gu là yà ngwɔn he cont. swing hands 

yà nyū v. to bring out particles of food 

hidden by the molars with the 

tongue 

Bə̀ryo là yà nyū anrɛ̀n nzan sɔn gu ngà Bə̀ryo cont. ‘moving’ 

mouth becos nzan sits his cheek 

yàwǔ n. g grass sp. with thorns has burs that stick to passers-by 

yə yə̄ pron. they, them, it ban yə̄ dèbə̀ take it give-way 

yə̄ pron. that (associative marker & 

nyān (buhar), fē (Sh.) – tə̄ nan yə̄ tə̄ lə … we did that we will … 

relative pronoun) 

yə̄ yə̀ pron. he, she, it bə tse yə̄ they beat it 

yə̄ mə̄ pron. that kì yə̄ mə̄ thing that 

yə̀mē yəmē pron. this wannan (only of objects, not people) nggə là dan wə̄ ətù kì yəmē I cont. 

tell you about things these 

yə̀mū yəmū pron. that wancan (only of objects, not people) nggə là dan wə̄ ətù kì yə̀mū I cont. 

tell you about thing that 

yə̀tan rel. which, what wanne se yə̀tan ənywī kī mē nə nggə ban this what among things these 

pron. 

who I will choose 

yo v.aux not ba in the expression la…yo (q.v.). nggə̄ lə la nan yo I will neg. do-it 

. 

not 

yo n. c millet gero yə̀mē sē be yo this is millet 

yɔ̂ yɔ̀ adv. describing s.b doing s.t lazily sē nə̄ nggyɛ wə̄ là nan yɔ̂ yɔ̀ nàn? what are you doing lazily like 

this? 

yɔ̄ kpə v. to be lazy kiwuya wə̄ là yɔ̄ kpə kənànme you cont. lazy too much 

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yūr yur n. da male goat bunsuru 

ywa v. to mix hada Yā là ywa nzan Mother cont. mix nzan 

ywà sar v. to slaughter yanka cf. sar. gu là ywà gūgu he cont. slaughter goat 

ywǎ ywa n. ravine, canyon kwari tə̄ klwe kə nyə̄ r ə ywǎ we ran go hide at canyon 

ywǎ v. to cut nɛ̄ n là ywa nggə̀ stomach cont. cutting me, idiomatically I am 

hungry 

ywā num. two biyu 

ywamgbar — n. plaintain ayaba irin 

babba 

ywan — n. rock pa 

ywān v. to cover rufe ban tu nggūnggū ywān take head dish cover 

Ywānkə̄ p.n personal name lit. ‘cover house’ 

ywar v. to prevent tere doglò ywar gu nkɔ̀n get up prevent his way 

ywār — n. slope, falls gangara tswē sē ywār the-place is sloppy 

ywar n. crossing tunnel inside animal 

hole 

ywe — n. t tree used for fish-poison màgímfáá Tephrosia vogelii 

ywē mə̄ ywē n. k senior in-law wānmē sē ywē nggə̀ this-man is my in-law 

ywē n. c pumpkin yə̀mē sē ywē this is pumpkin 

ywē mkpə̀r — n. fr pawpaw gwanda Carica papaya 

ywè ywe, ywē v. to go cf. gəgə̄ . kān tə̄ ywe let us go 

ywɛ̄ mə̀ywɛ̀ n. egg kwai 

ywɛ̀kə̄ ywεkə̄ n. chicken egg 

ywɛ̀n ywεn n. m hippopotamus dorina yə̀mē sē ywɛ̀n this is a hippopotamus 

ywə v. to wither yankwani, kpumkpàn ywə maize is withered 

yin yaushi 

ywə̄ int. where? ina wə̄ là ywe ywə̄ ? you cont. go where? 

ywə̄ pron. of it nan ywə̄ sē nə̀mē the doing of it is like this 

ywi ywǐ v. to squeeze matsa ywi mə̀ làmu nə̄ zə̄ ywē squeeze juice orange give your 

son/daughter 

ywì n. bad smell of an insect, body 

mvə̄ rkì mē nyun ywì insect this smells bad 

odour 

ywǐkrǔ — n. d dysentery atuni gu là ywìkrǔ he cont. have dysentery 

91



ywu — n. jealousy kishi ywu là te gu jealousy cont. make him 

ywudə̀ ywudə n. speckled pigeon Columba guinea. dim. vəywudə̀ 

ywur — n. pus ruwan miki mpā là gu ywur wound là run pus 

ywur nji n.p. sheath kube yə̀mē sē ywur njì this is knife sheath 

ywǔr v. to be afraid razana gu kan kū ywǔr he then fall afraid 

ywūr n. dust kura ywūr ywan tswē dust cover the-place 

ywūr glō n.p. fog, haze hazo tswē là te ywūr the-place cont. make fog 

ywûrywùr id. describes fear of impending 

də̌ r nggə̄ sē ywûrywùr me heart my is-fearful only 

danger 

ywūywə̄ r ywuywər n. stick for beating flat the floor 

of a room 

ywùywǔ n. d tuberculosis cf. kpə̀kprɛ̀ yə̀ sɔn 

ywûryùrywùr id. fearfully dər là tsǔ nggə ywûrywùrywùr heart cont falling me fearfully 

Z. 

zà v. to cross, be over tselleke ya tə̄ za ngga we cross over 

bi sama 

zāgū n. namesake wānmē sē zāgūn nggə̀ this man is my namesake 

zàkū v. to go out/in gu zàkū ənywī tàr he cross fall inside the-room 

zàn v. to stir, disperse juya tə̄ kan zān we then dispersed 

zān — n. friend aboki tə̄ sē zān we are friends 

zān tè nywɛ̂ n tè n.p. siblings of the same father yan’uwa 

but not mother, siblings (uwayen 

gu sē zān te nggə̀ he is sibling mine 

daban 

daban) 

n.p. sibling of same mother tə̄ sē nywεngyə̀r bə̄ Ambε we are brothers with Ambε min gyə̄ r 

(Shugbu, Ancho) 

zān gyə̄ r nywɛ̂ n gyə̄ r, 

nywɛ̂ n gyə̀gyər 

zān nzɛ̀ nywɛ̂ n nzɛ̀ n.p. young man Agyaga dial. wānmē sé zān nzɛ̀ this boy is a young man 

zàr n. t tree sp. 

zàr zar n. mirror madubi yə̀mē sē zǎr this is a mirror 

zê v. to put s.t. down gently kan yə̄ zwè zê me take it keep gently only 

zē n. i plague locust cin hatsi zē là re nggə̄ kpu locusts cont. eat me guinea-corn 

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zε v. to greet nggə̄ là zɛ wə̀ I cont. greet you 

zɛ̄ n. m kusu, rufous Nile rat bera Arvicanthis sp. 

zɛ̄ n. comb matsefi yə̀mē sē zɛ̄ this is a-comb 

zɛ̀ zε v. to greet yin gaisuwa nggə̄ là zɛ wə̀ I cont. greet you 

zɛ̀n v. to winnow sheke bə là zɛn tsə̀kā they cont. winnow rice 

zə̄ — n. metal yə̀mē sē zə̄ this is metal 

zə̀ zə n. bp leg kafa 

zəkpə n. shoe takalma cf. kpə - yə̀mē sē zəkpə this is a shoe 

zə̄ r v. to walk yi tafiya gu là zər he cont. walk 

zə̄ r mə̀zə̄ r n. t tree sp. Berlinia grandiflora 

Zərmwɔ̄ n p.n personal name lit. ‘walk too much’ (possibly one who likes to travel) 

zə̄ zə̄ n. ap eggshell 

zə̄ zə̄ n. t shea oak kadanya Vitellaria paradoxa 

zə̀zè — n. e joy zə̀zè là te nggə̀ joy cont. make me 

zəzè zəze n. goodness yə̀mē sē zəze yə̄ Rì this is the goodness of God 

Zəzerì p.n personal name lit. ‘goodness of God’ 

zinari — n. silver zinariya < Hausa 

zǒ zo v. to raise up daga là nggə̄ zo tsə̄ help me raise the pot 

zō — n. part-fermented local beer yə̀mē zō mə̀ this is part-fermented beer 

zɔ̌ v. to assist, aid, help zɔ̌ nggə̄ bə̄ ndu assist me with work 

zɔn mə̄ zɔn n. k junior in-law these would be joking partners of the speaker 

zɔ̀n v. to sieve tankade Yā là zɛ̀n bekpu Mother cont sieve guinea-corn 

zɔ̀n n. tr divination, ordeal there are three types; peering into a bowl of water, forcing 

suspected parties to put their hand in hot oil, and a collar with a 

sharp point that will stab s.o. who is guilty. 

zu v. to soften, to soak jika Mbə̄ zəze zu kī zwè yə̄ nglǎMbə̄ zəze soak clothes keep for 

washing 

zǔ — n. vibration, sound girgiza, kara tswē là te zǔ the place cont. make sound 

zǔ zu n. wp gun bindiga yə̀mē sē zǔ this is a gun 

zù zu n. m warthog durungu Phacocherus africanus 

zù zū v. to knot, tie together kulli nggə̄ là zu mgbərīn I cont. knot the rope 

zù ngwɔn v.p. to point at nuna hannu gu là zù nggə̄ ngwɔn he cont. point me finger 

zùzu nywε̂n zuzù n. b flappet lark Mirafra rufocinnamonea 

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zuzù zuzùzù id. sound of movement of many 

whether human beings or 

vehicular movement or any 

sound at all 

sē nənggyɛ̀ yə̄ klwe də̀ te zuzùzù rìbū rīn nàn? what are those 

things that were running and making sound in the night like that? 

zùzǔ n. heat rash zùzǔ là nan vɛ̄ n mē heat rash cont. do child this 

zwè zwe, zwē v. to catch, keep ajiye ban kə̀mbə̄ zwè ə sə̄ kànmù take calabash keep there 

zwē v. to follow bi zwē nggə̄ mān follow me then 

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A DICTIONARY OF MADA, A PLATEAU LANGUAGE ... - Roger Blench

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