gịnị ka ọ bụ?
The English phrase "what is it?" is translated into Igbo as gịnị ka ọ bụ?
This phrase is used as a question to ask for the identity or the nature of an object.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase breaks down into gịnị (what), ka (that/which) and ọ bụ (it is).
Did you know?
- In Igbo culture, asking gịnị ka ọ bụ? about a person can be seen as very rude or dehumanizing because it treats the person as an object rather than a human being.
- In Igbo, the word gịnị can be used to start many questions, but the way you pronounce it can change its tone, shifting the meaning from 'what' to other words entirely.
- In some highly formal or traditional settings, one might avoid direct questions about the nature of things by using more indirect, polite euphemisms.
Examples in context
- Gịnị ka ọ bụ?What is it?
- I see a box, gịnị ka ọ bụ?I see a box, what is it?
Example conversation
Emeka sees a strange object on the table.
- EmekaAda, gịnị ka ọ bụ?Ada, what is it?
- AdaỌ bụ akwụkwọ m.It is my book.
- EmekaEbe a ka ọ nọ?Where is it?
- AdaỌ nọ n'elu tebụl.It is on the table.
