HOW TO SAY I LOVE YOU IN IGBO.
Love is one of the few concept that lacks definite definition not because it can’t be defined but because it can’t be defined in a particular way, it is just too big , too broad and too huge. And when you’ve experienced it, definition doesn’t matter anyway.
My Language (Igbo) is not a popular language even in Africa where I come from Igbo language is spoken by the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, West Africa.
There are so many English words that have no Igbo translation and vice versa. Words like I love you, I miss you, I cherish you, I admire you. These words relate to feelings and emotions, since we never give enough of it or receive enough of it or have enough of it. It is very difficult to measure. Simply you can’t love too much, you can’t cherish too much, you can’t admire too much, you can’t miss too much and you definitely can’t care too much.
If one should try to translate I love you or I miss you in Igbo, it will be almost impossible as there are no English words for them but a close substitute would be: for I love you A hurú m gi na-anya meaning I’m affectionate for you and for I miss you it’s I nò ebe di anya (you’re far away) or Ana m éche maka gi (I’m thinking about you) or I di m mma na obi (you’re good for my heart) or Aguru gi na agum (I’m hungry for you) or a choro m gi ( I want you). Either way you’re not wrong and you’re not right.
Some people say you never forget your First and it’s hundred percent true. I met this guy in church when I was 14 years old, he was nice, kind, smart, charming, handsome and good looking and My God! Did he take my breath away. I was feeling a lot for him I couldn’t understand it or comprehend it, all I knew was whenever he was close to me I got nervous and hot. These feelings were new, foreign, unknown and made me uncomfortable.
I told my sister, she said Ah! Favour has develop crush for brother oh! you will crash oh! In her singsong voice that made me mad every time.
For a year, I kept my feelings in check and slowly I got him to notice me. (Finally thank God!!!)
He made his love very obvious, it was the way he looked at me like I was the only girl in the world, the way he smiled at me like he knew his smile was my medicine, his million piece of advice. It was really the little things but he never said “I love you" we became close, we could talk for hours and it will still feel like a second. He was my dose of happiness and he knew it.
One day, I visited Umuahia a city in Abia state, Nigeria for a programme and I stayed in his place he took me out that night, I had so much fun, we laughed, talked , and we ate together. And then he annoyed me and I refused to talk to him again. We were going back to his house his voice halted me.
My Favourite he called (he always called me that)
So I stopped and he came closer and turned me to face him and he said I Love you
I couldn’t believe it, I stood still almost paralysed I could hear the sound of the wind, the ground felt so shaky , I could hear a band playing Celine Dion’s my heart will go on, I soon figured that it was all in my head, I was imaginingit but everything was happening so fast in less than a second, love enveloped me I suddenly understood what I’ve been feeling since I met him.
I looked into his eyes, I saw all the things beautiful, all the things nice and warm, and honest, and genuine, and kind , and good.
And with no second thought I told him I loved him too, he pecked my cheek and we held hands as we walked home. I was on cloud 9 the entire night.
Over the weeks it was pure bliss, he was my waking thought and my last thought, He showed me what love is, not what it should be, He was my motivation. A reason to thrive educationally because he was so smart I had a standard to uphold. He made me a better person but now he’s an Ex.
So how do you say I love you in Igbo, You say:
A hurù m gi na-anya,
Because you saw me, you knew me, you understood me.
A hurù m gi na-anya,
Because I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere you were not.
A hurù m gi na-anya,
Because you broke my heart, and I just have pieces of it.
A hurù m gi na-anya,
Because you took back you heart, and I have nothing of you left
A hurù m gi na-anya,
Because my heart cannot be more broken than it was.
A hurù m gi na-anya,
Because you made love so easy and so beautiful.
A hurù m gi na-anya,
Because you could have been my home
A hurù m gi na-anya,
Because I was your favourite person in the world
A hurù m gi na-anya,
Because you are you and because I miss you.
