kí ni
kí ni is the Yoruba way to say "what".
kí ni is an interrogative pronoun used to ask questions regarding the identity or nature of an object or an action.
Meaning: what? (interrogative pronoun) (pron)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a combination of kí, which means "what" and ni, which means "is" or "it is".
How does it change in a sentence?
While kí ni is the full form, in many spoken contexts the phrase is often shortened to just kí when asking a question.
Did you know?
- In some Yoruba dialects, the way 'what' is phrased can change depending on the social status of the person you are addressing, reflecting the deep cultural emphasis on respect and seniority.
- When asking 'what' in Yoruba, your tone of voice is as vital as the words themselves. Since Yoruba is a tonal language, a slight change in pitch can transform a question into a statement, potentially changing 'what is it' into a completely different meaning.
- Yoruba uses a unique set of diacritics on vowels to indicate tone. Without these marks, a reader cannot know if kí is being used as a question or as part of a different word.
Examples in context
- Kí ni o ń ṣe?What are you doing?
- Kí ni orúkọ rẹ?What is your name?
- Kí ni o fẹ́?What do you want?
Example conversation
Morenike is asking Olumide about a gift.
- MorenikeKí ni o rà?What did you buy?
- OlumideMo rà ìwé tuntun.I bought a new book.
- MorenikeKí ni orúkọ ìwé náà?What is the name of the book?
- OlumideOrúkọ rẹ̀ ni 'Ìfẹ́'.Its name is 'Love'.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “what” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
