Vocabulary 1: The 20 Most Common Verbs in Igbo

Ever wondered what the most common words in the Igbo language are? Now's your chance to find out.

Here's a list of the twenty most common verbs in the Igbo language. Knowing the verbs on this list inside out is ABSOLUTELY essential to being able to communicate in Igbo. These are the verbs without knowledge of which your life in a purely Igbo speaking region would be completely miserable so learn them as quickly as possible.

#	Infinitive	Root	Meaning	Listen
1.	Ibụ	Bụ	To Be	Ibụ
2.	Idi	Di	To Be	Idi
3.	Iwẹ	Wẹ	To Have, To Get, To Take	Iwẹ
4.	Imẹ	Mẹ	To Do, To Make	Imẹ
5.	Isi	Si	To Say	Isi
6.	Ijẹ	Jẹ	To Go	Ijẹ
7.	Ima	Ma	To Know	Ima
8.	Ifụ	Fụ	To See	Ifụ
9.	Ibia	Bia	To Come	Ibia
10.	Ichẹ	Chẹ	To Think, To Wait For	Ichẹ
11.	Inẹ	Nẹ	To Look	Inẹ
12.	Ichọ	Chọ	To Want, To Look For, To Find	Ichọ
13.	Inyẹ	Nyẹ	To Give	Inyẹ
14.	Iji	Ji	To Use, To Hold	Iji
15.	Igwa	Gwa	To Tell	Igwa
16.	Ijụ	Jụ	To Ask, To Refuse	Ijụ
17.	Ilu	Lu	To Work, To Build	Ilu
18.	Ili	Li	To Eat	Ili
19.	Irapụ	Rapụ	To Leave	Rapụ
20.	Ikpọ	Kpọ	To Call	Ikpọ

Practically 70% of all Igbo spoken involves these verbs in some way, shape, or form. You can't go wrong learning these to start with.