Lesson 1
(Igbo Alphabet)

In this lesson, we shall learn 36 Igbo alphabet and their pronunciation

 Igbo Alphabet ‘Abịchii Igbo’. There are thirty-six (36) letters of the Igbo alphabet:

/A b ch d e f g gb gh gw h i i j k kp kw l m n ṅ nw ny o ọ p r s sh t u u v w y z/. 

These letters are used to form Igbo words ‘mkpụrụokwu’, phrases ‘nkebiokwu’, clauses ‘nkebiahịrị’ and sentences ‘ahịrịokwu’.

For example: Igbo Words:  aka (hand); Igbo Phrases: ‘aka nwoke’ (A man’s hand); Igbo Clauses: ‘Dike kwọrọ aka’ (Dike washed hand); and Igbo sentences: ‘Ngozi hichara aka ya’ (Ngozi cleaned her hand).

The Igbo alphabet has eight (8) vowels:

/a e ị i ọ o ụ u/

and twenty-eight (28) consonants:

/b ch d f g gb gh gw h j k kp kw l m n ṅ nw ny p r s sh t v w y z/.

There are two types of vowels in Igbo. They are light vowels (Ụdaume mfe) and heavy vowels (Ụdaume arọ). Light vowels are four (anọ) in number and Heavy vowels are also four (anọ) in number.

The Light vowels are:

/a ị ọ ụ/

and heavy vowels are:

/e i o u/.

There are also two types of consonants in Igbo.

They are single consonants (mgbochiume nge) and double consonants (mgbochiume mkpị).

Single consonants are 19 (iri na iteghete) and double consonants are 9 (iteghete).

The single consonants in Igbo are:

/b d f g h j k l m n ṅ p r s t v w y z/

and double consonants are:

/ch gb gh gw kp kw nw ny sh/.

 Capital Letter

A B CH D E F G GB GH GW H I Ị J K KP KW L M N

Ṅ NW NY O Ọ P R S SH T U Ụ V W Y Z.

 Small Letter

a b ch d e f g gb gh gw h i ị j k kp kw l m n ṅ nw ny o ọ

p r s sh t u ụ v w y z