Food & Drinks

1. A chọrọ m iri nri

   ah CHOH-roh m ee-ree N-ree

   I want to eat food

   Usage

   Basic phrase for requesting or ordering a meal

   Grammar Note

   "Chọrọ" is the verb "to want/desire." "M" is the 1st person subject. Igbo follows SVO order. "Nri" means food/meal.

2. Ọ dị mma nri a

   oh dee MAH N-ree ah

   This food is good / delicious

   Usage

   Complimenting the food

   Grammar Note

   "A" is the proximal demonstrative "this," placed after the noun in Igbo. "Dị mma" = "is in a good state/is good."

3. Egusi na-atọ ụtọ

   eh-GOO-see nah-AH-toh OO-toh

   Egusi is delicious

   Usage

   Egusi soup is an Igbo staple. A rich soup made from melon seeds

   Grammar Note

   "Na-atọ ụtọ" is the progressive form of "to taste sweet/delicious." "Ụtọ" (sweetness/delicious) is the key Igbo word for pleasant taste.

4. Ọ bụ ji ka m chọrọ

   oh BOO JEE kah m CHOH-roh

   It is yam that I want

   Usage

   "Ji" (yam) is called the "king of crops" in Igbo culture. Central to the Iri Ji (New Yam Festival)

   Grammar Note

   "Ọ bụ...ka m chọrọ" is a focus/cleft construction: "It is ... that I want." Igbo uses the "ọ bụ...ka" cleft to focalize elements.

5. Nwanne, nye m mmiri

   NWAHN-neh, nyeh m MEE-ree

   Friend, please give me water

   Usage

   "Nwanne" means "brother/sister/friend" — a friendly address. Polite way to request water or a drink

   Grammar Note

   "Nwanne" = "nwa (child) + nne (mother)" = "mother's child" → sibling/friend. Igbo commonly uses kin terms to address friends and acquaintances.

6. Ofe onugbu na-atọ ụtọ

   oh-FEH oh-NOOH-gboo nah-AH-toh OO-toh

   Bitter leaf soup is delicious

   Usage

   "Ofe onugbu" is a traditional Igbo bitter leaf soup, especially popular around Onitsha

   Grammar Note

   "Ofe onugbu" = "soup + ingredient." "Onugbu" may derive from "onu" (mouth) + a root indicating bitterness. Igbo soup names often include the main ingredient.

7. Ọ bụ ofe nsala ka m chọrọ

   oh BOO oh-FEH n-SAH-lah kah m CHOH-roh

   It is pepper soup that I want

   Usage

   "Ofe nsala" (white pepper soup) is an Igbo specialty featuring intense peppery spices

   Grammar Note

   "Nsala" means "white/whiteness," describing the soup's color. Igbo cuisine distinguishes white soups (ofe nsala) from red/dark soups.

8. Abacha bụ nri ọma

   ah-BAH-chah BOO N-ree OH-mah

   Abacha (African salad) is good food

   Usage

   "Abacha" is a cassava-based "African salad" and a signature dish of Igbo southeastern cuisine

   Grammar Note

   "Bụ nri ọma" is an equative copula sentence "is good food." "Bụ" forms nominal predicate sentences expressing identity or classification.

9. A na m eri akwụ

   ah nah m EH-ree AH-kwoo

   I am eating palm fruit

   Usage

   "Akwụ" is palm fruit, the source of palm oil and palm wine — central to Igbo food culture

   Grammar Note

   "A na m eri" = "A (subject marker) + na (progressive) + m (I) + eri (eat)." Igbo progressive aspect uses "na-" before the verb.

10. Nwanne, ihe oriri ole ka ị nwere?

    NWAHN-neh, ee-HEH oh-REE-ree OH-leh kah ee NWEH-reh

    Friend, what food do you have available?

    Usage

    Asking what food is available at a food stall or restaurant

    Grammar Note

    "Ihe oriri" = "ihe (thing) + oriri (eating)" = food. "Ole ka...nwere?" is an existential question: "what do you have?" used at food stalls.

11. Anụ ezi

    Pork

    Usage

    For checking whether a dish contains pork — also the word for a religious restriction

12. Anụ ehi

    Beef

    Usage

    Point at it to check what is in a dish — literally "cow meat"

13. Anụ ọkụkọ

    Chicken

    Usage

    For ordering or checking a dish — literally "chicken meat"

14. Anụ ewu

    Goat meat

    Usage

    A very common meat in Igbo cooking — useful when checking what meat a dish uses

15. Azụ

    Fish

    Usage

    For fish allergies and ordering. A same-spelling word with different tone means "back", so keep it in a food context

16. Àkwá

    Egg

    Usage

    For egg allergies. Written with tone marks on purpose: unmarked "akwa" can also read as cloth, bed or crying

17. Mmiri ara ehi

    Milk

    Usage

    For dairy allergy or lactose intolerance — literally "cow's breast water"

18. Ahụekere

    Groundnut / peanut

    Usage

    Widely used in Nigerian soups and snacks — essential for checking a peanut allergy

19. Osikapa

    Rice

    Usage

    Covers both cooked rice and raw grain — the base word when ordering jollof and similar dishes

20. Achịcha

    Bread

    Usage

    At breakfast or a kiosk — also useful when checking for wheat

21. Ji

    Yam

    Usage

    The single most important staple in Igbo life — served boiled, fried or pounded

22. Ọka

    Maize / corn

    Usage

    Roast corn is a common roadside snack

23. Gari

    Garri (cassava granules)

    Usage

    Fermented, roasted cassava granules — mixed with hot water into "eba" and eaten with soup

24. Agwa

    Beans

    Usage

    The basis of stewed beans and moi moi — also useful for checking ingredients

25. Nnu

    Salt

    Usage

    For asking for more or less salt — the word to point at if you are on a low-salt diet

26. Shuga

    Sugar

    Usage

    For checking whether sugar goes into a drink — essential if you are diabetic

27. Ose

    Chilli pepper

    Usage

    Nigerian food runs hot — this is the word every conversation about heat turns on

28. Ose dị na ya

    There is chilli in it

    Usage

    Show it to check the heat — say it with a rising tone to turn it into a question

29. Mmanụ nkwụ

    Palm oil

    Usage

    The red colour of Igbo dishes almost always comes from this — point at it if you want less oil

30. Mmanụ aṅụ

    Honey

    Usage

    Literally "bee oil" — usually sold by measure in markets

31. Ofe

    Soup / stew

    Usage

    The centre of Igbo cooking — the first word in ofe onugbu, ofe nsala and the rest

32. Yabasị

    Onion

    Usage

    Point at it to have onion left out, or to buy some at a market

33. Jinja

    Ginger

    Usage

    In markets and in drinks — a loanword from English "ginger"

Browse all TravelPhrases languages