ya1 [yá] vb.
lit. = to use (occurs only in construction with other verbs, and has as its object nouns or noun phrases that semantically express a wide range of relationships with the second and main verb of the sentence) such as,
instrumental:
Ọ ya erọ fian iyan ― “He used a knife for cutting the yam”
.
temporal:
Ọ ya awa eha dolọ ẹre yi ― “It took him three hours to repair it.”
manner:
Ọ ya ogiogiẹ miẹ ẹre ― “She laughingly took it from him or she took it from him by laughing”
;
reason:
Ọ ya ezurọ rhia ẹre rua ― “He spoilt it out of stupidity.”
etc.
ya2 [yá] vb.
(occurs only in construction with another vb.): to cause:
Ọ ya evbare khian aghaghan vbe ẹvbo naa ― “He caused food to become very expensive in this town.”
ya3 [yá] vb.
to spend (time); to last (for a certain length of time):
Ọ ya uki eha ọ ke rhia ― “It lasted three months before it became spoiled.”
ya4 [yá] vb.
(usually followed by a prep. na or ne):
1. to present with a gift:
Ọ ya ígho ne ibiẹka eso ― “He presented some children with money.”
;
2. (with ọmọ) to betroth:
Iran ya ọmọ nẹẹ ― “They betrothed a girl to him.”
ya5 [yá] vb.
(occurs only in construction with a second verb which serves as the main verb of the sentence): to proceed (to do something):
Ọ ya lovbiẹ ― “He went to lie down”
;
Ọ ya gu ẹre winna ― “He went to help him to work.”
ya6 [yá] vb.
(with ama) to make (a mark) on:
Ọ ya ama ye emwin ẹnrẹn hia ― “He made a mark on all his property.”
ya-baa [yàbàá] vb.
1. to join with; to combine with:
Iran yabaa enikẹre ― “They joined with the rest.”^
;
2. (in Xtian sense) to bless:
Osanobua yabaa ọre ― 1. God blessed him; 2. God was with him
.
ya-gba [yàg͡bá] idiom.; vb.
to become stuck; develop a stalemate:
Emwẹn nii yagba ― “A stalemate has developed over that matter.”
ya-ghae [yàɣàé] vb.
to distribute; to give away:
Ọ ya ẹfe ẹre hia ghae ― “He gave away all his wealth.”
ya-leekhue [yàlèéxwè] idiom.; vb.
(also ya-neekhue) (< ya ― ne ― ekhue) “to give to shyness”: to relent (on account of somebody, or for consideration of somebody).
Ọ ya emwin hia ne Ozo ru ẹre lekhue erhae ― “He relented on all the things Ozo had done to him on account of his father.”
ya-maa [yàmàá] idiom.; vb.
1. to forgive (someone):
Ọ ya emwin hia ne o ru maa rẹn ― “He forgave her all the things she had done.”
;
2. to expose (esp. the faults of a person):
Ọ ya egbe ẹre maa vbe eke ne ọ yoo ― “He exposed his bad ways where he went.”
ya-wee [yàwèé] idiom.; vb.
to bequeath to; to authorize to own:
Ọ ya ẹfe ẹre hia wee iran ― “He bequeathed all his wealth to them.”
ya-yi [yàyí] idiom.; vb.
to believe; to have faith in:
Ọ ya ẹmwẹn ne u khama rẹn yi ― “He believed what you told him.”
; 2. (in the religious sense) to be a Christian:
Ọ ma yayi ― “He is not a Christian.”
yaan1 [ỹã̀ã́] vb.
to own; to possess:
Rẹn ọ yaaẹn owa ne ima ye ― “He is the one who owns the house in which we live.”
yaan2 [ỹã̀ã́] vb.
to pledge; to promise:
Ọ yaanrẹn ighẹ ren gha sẹtin haa osa nii ― “He pledged that he will be able to pay up that debt.”
yalọ [yàlɔ́] vb.
1. (used of jelly-like substance or other soft masses) to scoop (a usually large bulk of):
Ọ yalọ obuẹ hin otọ rre ― “He scooped off the clay from the ground.”
;
2. (of a large or amophous mass) to move clumsily (e.g. of a very fat person):
Ọ yalọ khian ― “He is moving clumsily along.”
(Also: ọ yalegbe khian).
yan1 [ỹã́] vb.
1. to tear off; to sever; to disjoin:
Abọ ẹkpo na yan fua ― “The strap of this bag has torn off”
;
2. to ply open; to open wide:
Ọ yan ẹkhu yotọ ― “He opened the door wide. (or He left the door wide open).”
yan2 [ỹã́] vb.
(of the limbs) to be fatigued; to be weary after exertion; to be exhausted:
Owẹ yan mwẹn ― “My legs are fatigued.”
yan3 [ỹã́] vb.
(of fire) to be ablaze:
Erhẹn nẹ ọ hiere yan kua ― “The fire he made is in full blaze.”
yan4 [ỹã́] vb.
(e.g. of a child) to make a lot of fuss; to demand a lot of attention by crying frequently and behaving hard-to-please:
Ọvbokhan na gha yan ma iyẹe ― “This child is making a lot of fuss to his mother.”
yangbe [ỹã̀gbé] vb.
to ignore; to discountenance:
Ọ yangbe emwin dan hia ne ọ ru ― “She ignored all the bad things that he does.”
yanghan [ỹã̀ɣã́] vb.
to tear to pieces; to mangle; to tear roughly so as to disfigure:
Uwaya yanghan mwẹn ukpọn rua ― “The wire has torn my cloth to pieces.”
yanghananghan [ỹã̀ɣã̀ỹã̀ɣã̀] adj.; adv.
describes something that is disfigured or ragged.
yankan [ỹã̀kã́] vb.
to walk abnormally (usually with legs spread apart):
Ọ yankan dee vbe egui ― “He is approaching with an abnomal walk like that of a tortoise.”
yanrre [ỹã̀ré] vb.
to be left over; to remain:
Emwin ne ọ khiẹn gbae, ọ yanrre ― “The things she is selling are complete and with some left over.”
yanyan [ỹã̀ỹã́] vb.
1. to yawn;
2. (of lightning) to flash.
ye1 [yé] vb.
to be like; to seem: (Does not take clausal complements):
Ọ ye mosemose ― “It has the quality of being beautiful: It is beautiful.”
ye2 [yé] vb.
(as in yerhẹn) to make or set (a fire):
Akhuẹ ẹre iran khian yerhẹn ye iku na ― “It is tomorrow that they will set fire to this rubbish heap.”
yè [yè] prep.
expresses location: on, at, in (depending on the noun that occurs with it):
yè owa ― “at home”
;
yè aga ― “on the chair”
;
yè uvun ― “in the hole”
; etc. (when it occurs at the end of a sentence, or after its complement, its form is yi): Owa ẹre o rhie ẹre yi. Vs. Ọ rhie yè owa; 2. when it occurs before the object pron: mwẹn or mwan, it becomes yọ:
Ọ tota yọ mwẹn owa ― “He resides at my house.”
yee1 [yèé] vb.
to recall; to remember:
Ọ yee ẹmwẹn ne i khama ọnrẹn ― “He recalled the words that I told him.”
yee2 [yèé] adv.
expresses the adverbial meaning of “still”:
Ọ yee mose ― “She is still beautiful.”
yee-rre [yèré] vb.
1. same as yee1;
2. to remind:
Ọ yee mwẹn ẹmwẹn ọnrẹn rre ― “He reminded me of her.”
yegbe [yègbé] vb.
to be cautious; to be mindful of self:
U ghu yegbe vbe ehe ne u rrie na ― “You should be cautious where you are going.”
yenhọ [ỹẽ̀hɔ́] vb.
(< yin ― ehọ)
1. to be deaf; to be hard of hearing;
2. to be stubborn; to be disobedient. (cf. yin).
yẹẹ [yɛ̀ɛ́] vb.
to please; to appeal to; to delight:
Ẹmwẹn ọnrẹn yẹẹ mwẹn ― “Her matter appeals to me”: “^I like her.”
yevbe [yéʋe] vb.
to be like; to seem:
Ọ yẹvbe ne ọ vbiẹ ― “He seems to be sleeping.”
(cf. ye).
yẹẹn [ỹɛ̃̀ɛ̃́] vb.
to press upon (usually with something heavy):
Ọ ya olọ yẹn ọnrẹn ― “He pressed it by means of a grinding-stone.”
yẹẹn muotọ ― “to press down.”
yẹẹn-egbe [ỹɛ̃̀ɛ̃̀gbé] vb.
to exert the physiological pressure necessary to eject something from the body through any of the posterior openings, e.g. in childbirth; or during defecation.
yẹnkẹn [ỹɛ̃̀kɛ̃̀] adj.
very big (e.g. a large-sized human head).
yi1 [yí] vb.
1. to create:
A ma yi ẹre ẹse ― “He was not created right”^
;
2. (with uhi) to make ( a law) to institute (a decree):
Ariọba yi uhi yọ ― “The government has instituted a law about it.”
yi3 [yí] adv.
expresses the adverbial meaning of before (in the temporal sense):
Ọ ma ka miọẹ yi ― “He had never seen it before.”
(The clause usually has the aux ka (previously) as well).
yi4 [yí] vb.
(as in yi-ẹro): to take note of; to be aware of:
Ọ yi emwin ẹro gbe ― “She is very observant of things.”
yighẹ [yìɣɛ́] vb.
to be weak; to be frail:
Ona yighẹ gbe ― “This is too weak.”
yiin [ỹĩ̀ĩ́] vb.
1. to behave:
Ei yiin ẹse ― “He does not behave well”
;
2. to inhabit; to dwell in:
Idunmwun ọkpa ma kagha yiin ma ke kpaọ gha di ediran ― “We inhabited the same street before we left to come this way”
.
yiin ke ― “to live next to; to be neighbours with.”
yilo [yìló] vb.
1. (usually of flowing liquid or drawing substance): to collect together and drain off; to mop up:
Ọ yilo uwọnmwẹn hin ọkpan rre ― “She drained off the soup from the plate.”
;
2. (with kua) to drip off; to slide off.
yin1 [ỹĩ́] vb.
1. to be blocked;
Ehọ ọre yiin ― “His ears are blocked: He cannot hear (well).”
;
2. to be dense; to be tightly packed (e.g. of weed).
yin2 [ỹĩ́] vb.
(as in yin-ehiẹn) to pinch. (with the finger nails).
yo1 [yó] vb.
1. to go;
I yo owa ọre nodẹ ― “I went to his house yesterday.”
;
2. to attend:
Ọ yo esọsi ima ― “He attends our church.”
(In the progressive aspect, rrie is used instead of yo):
Ọ rrie esọsi ― 1. He is going to the church
.
yo2 [yó] vb.
1. to be high (e.g. of a wall):
Ekẹn na yo ― “This wall is high.”
;
2. esteemed; high (e.g. of a position or post).
Ukpo ẹre yo vbe ehe ne ọ na winna ― “His post is high or senior in his place of work.”
yọ [yɔ́] vb.
to wear (a garment):
Ọ yọ ẹwu nọmose ― “She is wearing a lovely dress.”
yọọ [yɔ̀ɔ́] vb.
1. to arrange one after the other (usually in a tile or row):
Ọ yọọ iran ye uviẹn ― “He arranged them in a line.”
;
2. (of a crowd): to move uniformly; to troop:
Iran yọọ dee ― “They are trooping in this direction.”
yunmwun [ỹũ̀ɱṹ] vb.
1. to shine (of the sun):
Ovẹn ma yunmwun ẹrẹ ― “The sun did not shine today.”
;
2. (of aro) to frown; to wear an unhappy or unpleasant countenance:
Ọ yunmwun aro rua ye uhunmwun ― “He is wearing a frown.”
yunnu [ỹũ̀nṹ] vb.
(< yan ― unu) “to open mouth”; to surprise; to amaze:
Ọ yan mwẹn unu ― “It amazed me.”