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Igbo word

ibu

In Igbo, ibu means heavy / weight / large; to be. Hear it spoken by a native Igbo speaker, and read it in real sentences.

What it means

ibu Quality and adjective
heavy / weight / largeDescribes great size or weight ('Ezinụlọ anyị buru ibu' = Our family is large).
ịbụ Infinitive verb
to beInfinitive of 'bụ' (be): 'O nwere ike ịbụ na…' = it may be that… Not 'ibu' (a load, heaviness).

How to say it

Say it as í-bù. Keep every written vowel clear, including dotted vowels, without adding an English stress pattern.

Igbo is a tonal language, so the pitch of a word carries meaning. The spelling above keeps the marks the app teaches, and the recording is a native speaker, not a machine voice.

ibu in a sentence

  • Ụlọ a buru ibu.This house is big.
  • Ezinụlọ anyị buru ibu.Our family is large.
  • O nwere ike ịbụ na otu afọ bụ nke atụmatụ, nke ọzọ bụrụ nke ọrụ owuwu.It may be that one year marks the planning and the other the construction work.