Yoruba Alphabet | Ìtònà Yorùbá

The Yoruba alphabet consists of 25 letters using the Latin script with special characters and tone marks to indicate pitch.

A a
A
a
B b
Bi
b
D d
Di
d
E e
E
e
Ẹ ẹ
Ẹ
eh
F f
Fi
f
G g
Gi
g
Gb gb
Gbi
gb
H h
Hi
h
I i
I
i
J j
Ji
j
K k
Ki
k
L l
Li
l
M m
Mi
m
N n
Ni
n
O o
O
o
Ọ ọ
Ọ
aw
P p
Pi
p
R r
Ri
r
S s
Si
s
Ṣ ṣ
Ṣi
sh
T t
Ti
t
U u
U
u
W w
Wi
w
Y y
Yi
y

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About the Yoruba Alphabet

The Yoruba alphabet uses the Latin script with 25 letters, including special characters ẹ, ọ, ṣ, and the digraph gb. Yoruba is a tonal language, and tone marks (acute, grave, and macron) are used to indicate high, low, and mid tones. The alphabet represents one of the major languages of West Africa.

History

The Yoruba alphabet was developed in the 19th century by missionaries, particularly Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first African Anglican bishop. The current orthography was standardized in the 1960s with the addition of diacritics for tones and special vowels. The alphabet has been refined to accurately represent Yoruba phonology.

Key Features

  • Written from left to right
  • 25 letters with special characters
  • Tone marks for pitch indication
  • Includes dotted vowels
  • Digraph gb for labial-velar stop
  • Standardized in 1960s