ScriptLookup

Yoruba

Èdè Yorùbá
yo 45M speakers

Yoruba (Èdè Yorùbá) is a Niger-Congo language with approximately 45M speakers speakers. It is written using the Latin script. Its BCP 47 language code is yo.

Yoruba is a Niger-Congo language spoken primarily in southwestern Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. With approximately 45 million native speakers, it is one of Africa's largest languages and forms the cultural basis of the Yoruba people.

Yoruba is a tonal language with three tones. It is written with the Latin alphabet augmented with diacritic marks for tone and special vowels. The Yoruba people have a rich religious and cultural heritage, and Yoruba traditions have significantly influenced religions like Candomblé, Santería, and Vodou in the Americas.

Writing Systems Used for Yoruba

Latin
Primary
Hello World
LTR Latn

Frequently Asked Questions

What alphabet or script does Yoruba use?
Yoruba is written using the Latin script (ISO 15924 code: Latn). Latin is written left-to-right.
What direction is Yoruba written?
Yoruba is written Left-to-right. Text runs from left to right, the same direction as most European languages.
How many people speak Yoruba?
Yoruba has approximately 45M speakers speakers worldwide. It is a member of the Niger-Congo language family.
What language family does Yoruba belong to?
Yoruba belongs to the Niger-Congo language family. It is written with the Latin script.
What is the language code for Yoruba?
The BCP 47 language code for Yoruba is "yo". This code is used in software, web standards (the HTML lang attribute), and internationalization contexts.

Language Facts

BCP 47 Code
yo
ISO 639-3
yor
Status
living
Speakers
45M speakers
Language Family
Niger-Congo
Scripts
1
Primary Script
Latin

Other Latin Languages

Acehnese Acoli Adangme Afar Afrikaans Aghem Akan Akoose Alabama Albanian Aleut Anii Ao Naga Aragonese Araona Arapaho Arawak Aromanian Arpitan Asturian

Data sourced from Unicode CLDR and ISO 639-3. Last updated April 20, 2026.