Good Morning, Afternoon and Night in Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa
Good morning is Ụtụtụ ọma in Igbo, Ẹ káàárọ̀ in Yoruba and Ina kwana in Hausa. A time-of-day greeting chart for all three languages, with the right replies and a family routine to practise.
By The KidsLingua Team · · 3 min read
Quick answer: “Good morning” is Ụtụtụ ọma in Igbo, Ẹ káàárọ̀ in Yoruba and Ina kwana? in Hausa. Here's the full set, from the first greeting of the day to “good night”, plus how to reply.
| English | Igbo | Yoruba | Hausa |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good morning | Ụtụtụ ọma | Ẹ káàárọ̀ | Ina kwana? |
| Good afternoon | Ehihie ọma | Ẹ káàsán | Ina wuni? |
| Good evening | Mgbede ọma | Ẹ káalẹ́ | Barka da yamma |
| Good night (until morning) | Ka chi fọọ | Ó dàárọ̀ | Sai da safe |
Notice the last row? In all three languages, “good night” is really a promise: until morning. It's a lovely thing to tell a child at bedtime.
Good morning in Igbo
Ụtụtụ ọma means “good morning”, built from ụtụtụ (morning) and ọma (good). The same pattern gives you the rest of the day:
- Ehihie ọma: good afternoon
- Mgbede ọma: good evening
- Ka chi fọọ: good night (until the day breaks)
Many Igbo families also greet with a question in the morning: Ị bọọla chi?, “Did you wake up well?” Your child can answer Ee (yes) with a big smile.
Reply: say the same greeting back, or add a title for an elder: Ụtụtụ ọma, Mama.
Good morning in Yoruba
Yoruba greetings change with the time of day, and with who you're greeting. The Ẹ at the start shows respect, so children use it with parents, grandparents and anyone older. Between friends, or to a younger child, drop it: Káàárọ̀.
- Ẹ káàárọ̀: good morning
- Ẹ káàsán: good afternoon
- Ẹ káalẹ́: good evening
- Ó dàárọ̀: good night (until morning)
In many Yoruba homes, the morning greeting to an elder comes with a gesture of respect: girls traditionally kneel and boys prostrate. Even a small bow from a child growing up abroad means a lot to grandparents.
Reply: an elder might answer Káàárọ̀, ọmọ mi (“good morning, my child”). Children replying to an elder can add mà (to a woman) or sà (to a man).
Good morning in Hausa
Hausa morning greetings are questions about how the night went, and they can go back and forth for a while.
- Ina kwana?: good morning (literally “How did you sleep?”)
- Ina wuni?: good afternoon (“How is your day?”)
- Barka da yamma: good evening
- Sai da safe: good night (until morning)
Reply: the answer to Ina kwana? is Lafiya lau, “fine, in good health”. Then it's polite to ask after the other person's family too, which makes Hausa greetings perfect for practising a little conversation.
A greeting routine for the whole day
Greetings stick when they're tied to moments that happen every day anyway. Try this for one week:
- Wake-up. The first words of the day are the morning greeting, from you and from your child.
- School pick-up. Afternoon greeting at the school gate (quietly, if they're shy).
- Dinner. Evening greeting as everyone sits down.
- Bedtime. Good night in the family language, every night. It's the easiest one to keep.
Want to make it a game? Draw a big clock with a sun, a high sun, a sunset and a moon. Point to a picture, and the first person to shout the right greeting wins a point.
Keep going
Once the time-of-day greetings are second nature, try thank you and welcome in Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa, or our everyday greetings with five practice games.
