JAMB UTME - Yoruba Language - 2025

Akọwa Nkọwa

This question checks whether the reader has followed the passage to its resolution, where the villagers' response changes once they learn the full circumstances behind the earlier disturbance.

After the elders travel to the neighbouring village and speak with the people there, they discover that the young people who had been taking food were driven to it by hardship: a flood had destroyed their farmland, leaving their families without enough to eat. Faced with this information, the passage states plainly that the elders chose to give out of their own remaining food to help them, rather than punish them for what had happened.

This response is what allows the story to end with friendly relations between the two villages. Choosing kindness over blame or punishment is the turning point of the narrative, and it explains why the passage closes by describing lasting cooperation between the communities rather than continued suspicion.

In comprehension passages built around conflict and resolution, the ending usually reveals the story's central value; here that value is compassion shown once the true cause of a problem is understood.

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This question tests knowledge of which group of performers is traditionally associated with a specific genre of Yoruba oral poetry.

Ìjálá is a chanted poetic form performed specifically by hunters, traditionally recited to honour Ògún, the deity associated with iron and hunting, and to recount hunting exploits, animal lore, and hunters' experiences in the forest. Its distinctive vocabulary, imagery drawn from wildlife and the bush, and its ceremonial occasions are all tied to hunting culture, which is why hunters, rather than drivers, market traders, or any other occupational group, are the performers historically identified with this chant.

Yoruba oral literature assigns different chant and poetry forms to different social or occupational groups, for example herders, hunters, or praise singers, and recognising which genre belongs to which group is a recurring feature of this area of the syllabus.

When a question names a specific chant genre and asks who performs it, recall the occupational or ceremonial group historically linked to that genre rather than guessing from the sound of the word alone.

Akọwa Nkọwa

"Șe" jẹ́ ọ̀ro ìfarapa tí a fi n dá àtẹ̀gùn gbolohun àșẹ sílẹ̀.

Akọwa Nkọwa

A proverb, or òwe, is a short traditional saying that expresses wisdom or a moral lesson gained from experience, often using imagery or comparison to make its point memorable. Among the Yoruba, proverbs are so valued in speech that they are described as "the horse of conversation", carrying meaning that ordinary words alone cannot express as effectively.

The option identifying a proverb as a wise saying (ọ̀rọ̀ ọgbọ́n) captures this core definition, which is why it is the correct answer.

The remaining options describe unrelated ideas: a facial expression, a living creature, or a stage play, none of which define what a proverb fundamentally is. When a question asks for the definition of a familiar literary term like òwe, the correct option is usually the one built from the term's own defining feature, here wisdom (ọgbọ́n), rather than an unrelated noun.

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The word onígbàgbọ́ means a believer, someone who practises a religious faith. When it qualifies eré (a play or dramatic performance), it marks out a play whose content and structure are built around worship rather than around a secular theme.

A play of this kind is organised the way a service of worship is organised, carrying prayer, scripture, preaching, and religious song within its scenes. That is why the performance described this way is one that has a programme of worship running through it, and not a play about national education, a musical news report, or a general story about the origin of the world, since none of those are defined by a religious structure.

When a Yoruba vocabulary question qualifies eré with the name of a group of people, look for the option that names the activity that defines that group. For believers, that activity is worship.

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The passage says that the members of the night-watch group sat in the dark for many nights without anything happening. It specifically states that it was on the fifth night, while the moon was shining in the sky, that they heard a rustling sound near the village head's yam barn and rushed to investigate.

The passage does not mention a third or sixth night at all, and it explicitly contrasts the fifth night, when the discovery happened, with the earlier nights, including the first night, when the watchers saw nothing.

Because the passage names the fifth night as the specific night the watchers heard the sound and discovered what was happening, that is the correct night.

Examination tip: for questions asking when an event happened in a narrative, locate the exact time marker the passage gives, here the fifth night, rather than assuming the event happened as soon as the watch began.

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This question tests understanding of the meaning of a specific Yoruba noun built from a verb phrase describing physical harm.

"Ìpalára" is formed from the verb phrase "pa ara ... lára," to cause harm or injury to a body, and functions as the noun for that harm, that is, an injury or wound sustained by a person. This is why it corresponds most closely to the term describing the state of having been physically hurt, rather than to an accusation directed at someone, to hair or bodily irritation, or to general weakness or illness, which describes a different, non-injury condition of the body.

Distinguishing "ìpalára" from a word for sickness matters because Yoruba, like many languages, has separate vocabulary for damage caused by an external event, such as a fall or a blow, and for illness arising internally, such as fever. The question is testing that a candidate keeps these two categories apart.

When a Yoruba vocabulary question gives a compound built around "ara," body, check first whether the compound describes an external injury or an internal state of health, since these are frequently confused.

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The two simple sentences Ọmọ náà wà ní ilé (the child is at home) and Ó ń ka iwe rẹ̀ (he/she is reading his/her book) describe two separate but related actions happening at the same time. The standard way to combine two such simple sentences into one compound sentence in Yoruba is with the connector sì (and/also), giving Ọmọ náà wà ní ilé, ó sì ń ka iwe rẹ̀.

The other combinations either force an unnatural focus construction, or turn the second sentence into a relative clause describing the child rather than simply joining two parallel actions, which changes the sentence type from a compound sentence to a complex one.

To build a compound sentence from two short Yoruba sentences, keep both actions as independent clauses and link them with sì rather than folding one inside the other with tí.

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Yoruba sentences are classified by the purpose they serve: a declarative sentence states a fact or gives information, an interrogative sentence asks a question, and an imperative sentence gives a command. "Ó ra aṣọ tuntun" (He bought new clothes) simply reports an event that took place, without asking anything or instructing anyone to act.

Because it states information rather than questioning or commanding, this sentence is a declarative sentence, called gbolohun àfihàn in Yoruba grammar, which is the correct classification.

It cannot be a question, since it contains no question word or rising interrogative structure, and it cannot be a command, since it describes a completed action rather than instructing someone to act. Checking whether a Yoruba sentence states, asks, or instructs is the quickest way to sort it into its correct grammatical type.

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The phrase ohun ìjà means an instrument of fighting or warfare. Among the choices given, ọ̀fà (the arrow, shot from a bow) is the one that names a genuine traditional weapon used in Yoruba hunting and warfare, associated closely with warriors and with Ògún, the deity of iron and war.

The other items are everyday household or personal tools: obẹ is a kitchen knife, abẹ̀ is a small blade or razor used for shaving or minor cutting, and òpá is simply a stick or staff used for support or herding, not a dedicated weapon of combat.

When a Yoruba culture question asks for a weapon rather than a tool, look for the item whose primary traditional use was fighting or hunting rather than domestic work; the arrow fits that description precisely.

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Ṣíṣe is the gerund form of the verb ṣe, meaning "to do" or "to perform." Doubling the first syllable of a Yoruba verb turns it into a noun describing the act of doing that verb, so ṣíṣe literally means "the doing/performing of something," which corresponds to iṣẹ́, work or task.

A house, a right/entitlement, and seeing are unrelated meanings that do not connect to the act of doing or performing; they belong to entirely different word families in Yoruba.

When a question asks for the meaning of a reduplicated Yoruba verb form like ṣíṣe, think of the base verb it comes from and translate that action into its related noun of work or activity.

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"Tálákà" is a Yoruba word describing a person who lacks material wealth or resources, someone who is poor or in need. The word carries the same sense as aláìní, which literally means "one who lacks" or "one in need", making it the correct match for the meaning being tested.

A student who confuses "tálákà" with its opposite, ọlọ́rọ̀ (a wealthy person), has reversed the meaning entirely, since the two words describe opposite economic conditions. The remaining options, referring to rebellion and to a child, describe unrelated concepts that share no connection with poverty or need.

When learning paired opposites in vocabulary such as tálákà and ọlọ́rọ̀, it helps to memorise them together so that an exam question testing one cannot be mistaken for its opposite.

Akọwa Nkọwa

Ìlà yìí fi ìmọ̀ràn hàn. Kì í se oro lásán, ṣùgbọ́n àlàyé ẹ̀kọ́ àti ìmúlò rere. O je owe igbani niyanju.

Akọwa Nkọwa

The passage lists the foundations of Yoruba culture and practice in one sentence: good relationships (íbáṣepọ̀ rere), the blessing of elders, family contentment (ìtẹ́lọrun ídílé), and advice built on the wisdom of the ancestors (ọgbọ́n àwọn baba-nlá wa). The question asks which areas or branches Yoruba culture brings together, so the correct option must match this list.

The option naming relationship, contentment, and the application of wisdom (íbáṣepọ̀, ìtẹ́lọrun, ímúlò ọgbọ́n) directly mirrors these three pillars named in the passage, making it the correct answer.

The other options introduce items the passage never groups together under culture, such as song, fighting, and medicine, or religion, evil, and prayer. These sound like they could belong to a general discussion of Yoruba life, but none of them appear in the specific sentence the question is testing, so they must be rejected.

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Once the hunter's report ruled out wild animals as the cause of the damage, the passage says the village head called all the villagers together and set up a group whose job was to keep watch at night, in order to find out who or what was really responsible.

The passage does not say the village head went to the second village himself, that only happens later, after the culprits are caught, and it is the elders in general, not the village head alone, who make that visit. There is no mention in the passage of the village head ordering a separate investigation apart from setting up the night watch, or of him holding any kind of festival or ceremony.

Because the passage specifically describes the village head gathering everyone and forming a night-watch group to guard the farmland, that is the action he took to identify the culprit.

Examination tip: track each character's specific action as the passage narrates it in sequence, the village head's contribution here is organising the night watch, distinct from the later reconciliation visit made by the elders.

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The passage states that many parents and teachers have confirmed that when children lack knowledge of their culture, it leads to suffering and the spread of sorrow within society (àìmọ̀ àṣà lórí àwọn ọmọde ń fa ìjiyà àti ìtànkálẹ̀ íbànújẹ́ nínu awùjọ). The question asks what could happen if culture were abandoned completely, and the passage's own evidence points to harm at the level of society as a whole.

The option stating that society will be ruined (àwùjọ á bàjẹ́) captures this consequence, since the passage links loss of culture directly to social breakdown rather than to a single household or individual.

Options describing a house being built, a head being crushed, or the world tearing apart either misstate the direction of the consequence or exaggerate it beyond what the passage supports. The passage's own cause-and-effect statement, tracing lack of cultural knowledge to societal harm, is the evidence that should guide the choice, not a general impression of what sounds dramatic.

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This question tests recognition of the pronoun that refers back to the subject already introduced earlier in the sentence, maintaining grammatical agreement across the clauses of the proverb.

The proverb begins by naming the subject, a child, in the phrase describing a child who is literate but does not know the ways of elders. In the clause that follows, advising that such a person should show respect by prostrating, the sentence no longer repeats the word for child; instead it uses a short pronoun standing in for that same subject. That pronoun is the word that ties the second clause back to the person introduced in the first, which is exactly what grammatical concord requires: a later reference must match, in person and number, the subject it stands for.

The remaining options are not concord words at all: one is the phrase describing the elders' ways, one is a subjunctive marker introducing what should happen, and one is the verb for being literate, so none of them performs the pronoun's job of referring back to the subject.

When asked to find a concord or agreement word in a Yoruba sentence, look specifically for the short pronoun that stands in for a noun already mentioned, rather than for descriptive phrases or verbs nearby.

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The passage closes by stating that Yoruba culture must not be allowed to die or be forgotten, and that it should instead be used to help children through education, work, and daily life (ó yẹ́ kí a fi ran àwọn ọmọ wa lọ́wọ́ nínu ẹ̀kọ́, iṣẹ́, àti ìgbésí-ayé wọn). The question asks what should be done with culture as a conclusion to the passage, so the answer has to match this closing recommendation.

The option that says culture should be used to build education and livelihood matches this closing instruction, which is why it is correct.

Leaving culture for other nations, destroying it, or abandoning trust in it all contradict the passage's message, which argues for preserving and actively using culture rather than discarding it. A concluding recommendation in a passage is usually the opposite of the problem described earlier in the text, and here the problem was children abandoning their culture, so the solution must be to actively pass it on.

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A correctly formed Yoruba compound sentence joins two related clauses smoothly, often with a connector such as sì (and/also), as seen in sentences like they arrived and they left, he went and bought it, and he worked and slept. Each of those reads as a natural, grammatically sound coordination of two actions.

Ó lọ s'òun òun does not follow this pattern; the phrase repeats òun awkwardly and lacks the coherent structure a proper compound sentence needs, making it the example of faulty coordination among the choices given.

When asked to spot an incorrectly joined sentence, check whether the coordinating word links two complete, sensible clauses; a sentence that repeats or garbles a pronoun without adding a second clause is a sign of faulty construction.

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This question asks for the overall consequence of everything described in the passage, which means looking at how the story ends rather than at any single incident within it.

The narrative moves from suspicion and a night watch, to the discovery that hungry children from a nearby village had been taking food because a flood had ruined their own farmland, to the elders responding with generosity instead of punishment. The passage's final sentence states directly that from that day onward, a cordial relationship and cooperation developed between the two villages.

That closing statement is the outcome the question is asking about. The events did not lead to lasting sadness, further food damage, or continued theft; they led to reconciliation and a stronger bond between the communities, which is the resolution the whole story builds toward.

When a comprehension question asks for a story's outcome, always check the final lines of the passage, since narratives are usually structured to resolve their central conflict there.

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Oríkì kì í șe àtọkànwá àṣeyọrí nìkan, ó tún fi ibi tí ọmọ ti wá hàn.

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Ewì oníròyìn (epic) ni ewì tí ó sọ ìtàn ayé tabi ìṣe eniyan.

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This question tests knowledge of the Yoruba word for a device or tool that converts words from one language into another.

Yoruba forms agent nouns, words naming the doer or performer of an action, by combining the prefix "a-" with a verb, so that a verb meaning to interpret or translate becomes a noun meaning "that which translates." This is the correct term for a translating device or dictionary, distinguishing it from the word for translation as an activity or result, from a general term for a language's vocabulary, and from an unrelated word that does not name a device at all.

Recognising this "a-" prefix pattern is useful more broadly in Yoruba, since the same construction produces many everyday tool and agent names, such as the words for a broom, a cutter, or a teacher, each built from a verb describing what that person or tool does.

When a question asks for the Yoruba name of a tool or device that performs an action, look for a word built with the "a-" prefix attached to the relevant verb, since that pattern reliably signals an agent or instrument noun.

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The word "yárá" has two different meanings in Yoruba depending on how it is used and pronounced: as a noun it can mean "room", but as an adverb describing how an action is performed, it means "quickly" or "fast". In the sentence "Ó yárá gba ìpè nàà" (He quickly answered the call), "yárá" is placed directly before the verb "gba" (to take or answer), showing that it is describing the manner of the action rather than naming an object.

Because it modifies how the call was answered, "yárá" here means "quickly" (ní kiákiá), which is the correct match.

Options referring to a decision, a burnt house, or a playroom all treat "yárá" as a noun, which does not fit its position in the sentence, since a noun could not sit between the subject "ó" and the verb "gba" in this way. Checking a word's position and function in the sentence, not just its dictionary form, is essential whenever a Yoruba word can serve more than one grammatical role.

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This question tests reading comprehension: understanding the situation of a character based on details stated later in the passage, not simply the first impression given earlier.

Early in the story, the villagers guarding the farm at night hear a commotion and discover young people from a neighbouring village carrying away stolen food. At that point their action looks like theft. But the passage goes on to explain the cause: a serious flood had destroyed the crops and farmland belonging to those children's own village, leaving them without enough to eat, so they took food from a place they knew simply to survive.

This detail is essential to answering the question correctly. The children were not habitual robbers, abandoned orphans, or associated with witchcraft; their circumstance was that a flood had ruined their family's farm produce, which is why they resorted to taking food. Recognising this shows the reading skill of following cause and effect across a passage rather than stopping at the first surface impression a scene creates.

When a comprehension passage answers "why" something happened later in the text, always check that later explanation before settling on an answer, since it often overturns an earlier assumption.

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After discovering the damage to their farmland, the villagers' first reaction, before any investigation, was to assume that wild animals from the forest were responsible for eating their crops and food.

The passage names the village hunter separately, as the person who later examined the scene and reported that there were no animal footprints to support the accusation, meaning the hunter was not himself accused. The children from the second village are only discovered later, on the fifth night, and are not the group the villagers first suspected. Town thugs are never mentioned anywhere in the passage.

Because the text states plainly that the villagers first blamed wild animals for the damage before the hunter's investigation raised doubt, the group first accused is the wild animals.

Examination tip: comprehension questions asking who was first accused want the earliest suspicion mentioned in the passage, even if later evidence in the story proves it wrong.

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"Ídàbí" comes from the verb "dàbí", which means "to resemble" or "to seem like". When used to introduce a comparison, this idea is expressed in everyday speech as "bí ẹni pé", meaning "as if" or "as though", the phrase used whenever something is described as appearing or seeming a certain way without actually being so.

This matches the tested word closely, since both "dàbí" and "bí ẹni pé" carry the sense of likeness or apparent resemblance, making it the correct option.

A house, various kinds of something, and something that was made are all unrelated concepts that do not carry any sense of resemblance or comparison. When a Yoruba vocabulary question tests a word built on "dà" or "bí", it is worth checking whether the correct option expresses similarity or seeming, since these roots consistently signal comparison in the language.

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This question tests the ability to identify which word in a set functions as a noun, "orúkọ" in Yoruba grammar, as opposed to a verb.

Three of the words describe actions: singing, going, and eating, and each behaves as a verb because it can only complete a sentence when paired with a subject performing the action, for example "o kọrin," "o lọ," or "o jẹ." The remaining word names a thing, a dwelling or house, and can stand as the subject or object of a sentence on its own, for example "ilé náà tóbi," the house is big. That grammatical behaviour, naming a person, place, or thing rather than an action, is what marks it as the noun in this group.

A quick test for separating nouns from verbs in Yoruba is to ask whether the word can be preceded by a determiner such as "náà" ("the") or a quantity word; only a noun accepts that construction naturally.

When asked to pick out a noun among Yoruba words, check first whether each word denotes an action or a thing, since that single distinction settles most of these questions quickly.

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This question tests knowledge of the Yoruba term for the celebration held to mark a birthday.

In Yoruba culture, a birthday is marked with a festive gathering involving family, friends, food, music, and well-wishes for the celebrant, and the general Yoruba word for this kind of celebration or party is the one that correctly answers the question. It is distinct from the words for a town, a story or historical account, and an unrelated term that does not refer to a festive occasion, none of which describes a celebratory gathering of this kind.

This term applies broadly to festive occasions in Yoruba culture beyond birthdays as well, covering celebrations held for a range of joyful events, which is why it is the word most directly associated with marking an occasion such as a birthday with festivity.

When a Yoruba culture question asks for the term describing a celebration or party, look for the vocabulary specifically tied to festivity and joyful gathering rather than words describing places, records, or unrelated customs.

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This question tests recognition of a collective or plural noun, a word used to refer to a group of people together, as opposed to individual family terms.

The words for father, mother, and child each refer to a single, specific individual within a family. The remaining option combines the plural marker "àwọn" with the word for kinsmen or community members, producing a term that refers to a group of people considered together rather than to any one person. That is precisely what a collective noun does: it names a body of people as a unit rather than naming an individual role within a family.

The prefix "àwọn" is the standard Yoruba marker of plurality when attached to a noun referring to people, and recognising it is a reliable way to identify collective or group nouns in Yoruba sentences.

When asked to identify a word showing a group of people, look for the plural marker attached to a noun, since individual kinship terms such as father, mother, and child will never by themselves indicate a collective group.

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The proverb "Ìyàwó tí kò mọ ibi tí ọkọ rẹ̀ ti ń ra ẹran, yóò jẹ ẹran ẹlẹ́dẹ̀" (a wife who does not know where her husband buys meat will end up eating pork) uses the risk of unknowingly eating a forbidden meat as a warning image. The point is not literally about meat; it is about the danger of staying ignorant of a husband's dealings and affairs.

The lesson the proverb teaches is that a wife must make it her business to know what her husband does, so that she is not caught off guard or led into something she would not have accepted knowingly. This matches the idea that a woman must know what her husband is doing.

The other statements about home training, eating together, or a boy helping out do not connect to the specific image of being tricked through ignorance that the proverb builds around the meat.

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It implies that through silence and attention, one can learn wisdom and history from elders.

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Gbolohun àșe máa ń bẹ̀rẹ̀ pẹ̀lú àsọyé tí ó fún ní ìtọ́sọ́nà tàbí àṣẹ.

Akọwa Nkọwa

Farmers traditionally sing while working on the land to keep rhythm, ease the labour, and encourage one another, and this category of song is known as orin ìṣẹ́, a work song.

An explanatory piece, a hunters' chant, and a sugarcane song each belong to different contexts: an explanation is informational rather than musical, ìjálá belongs to hunters rather than farmers, and a song about sugarcane names a crop rather than an activity. None of these describe the song genre tied to the act of farming itself.

Link each occupational song to the group that performs it: hunters sing ìjálá, farmers sing orin ìṣẹ́, and remembering this pairing prevents mixing up the genres.

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An ewì ìbànújẹ́ is a poem of sadness or sorrow, and a poem in this category is built to express negative, painful emotion rather than pleasant feeling. Among the options given, only ìrunú hàn, the display of distress or agitation, carries a negative emotional charge consistent with sadness.

Joy, laughter, and inner happiness are all positive emotions that belong to poems of celebration rather than sorrow, so they contradict the mood that a poem of sadness is meant to convey.

When identifying the tone a sad poem expresses, rule out any option describing happiness or amusement first, since a poem of sadness must show pain, grief, or distress instead.

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In Yoruba grammar, names fall into different categories depending on how they function. A name that is attached specifically to one particular person, place, or thing, distinguishing it from every other member of its class, is called a proper noun, or orúkọ àtọ̀kànwá in Yoruba, meaning a name that "points directly" at a specific referent.

This matches the question precisely, since it asks for the name given to identify one particular place or one particular person, which is exactly what a proper noun does.

The other terms describe different categories entirely, such as a descriptive or explanatory name, or an insulting name, none of which refer to the grammatical function of uniquely identifying a specific referent. When a Yoruba grammar question asks about naming a specific entity, the key clue is the word "specific" or "particular", which should point directly to orúkọ àtọ̀kànwá.

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The passage explains that many children and young people have abandoned the teachings and culture of their forebears. It goes on to say exactly what accusation these young people make: they claim that culture is ohun ateyinwa, meaning something outdated or old-fashioned, and that it no longer has anything useful to offer.

The option stating that culture is accused of being something outdated (oun ateyinwa) reproduces this claim word for word from the passage, which is why it is the correct answer.

The remaining options describe accusations that never appear in the text, such as culture being noisier than music or eating excessively. When a comprehension question asks what a group of people is quoted as saying, the safest approach is to locate the sentence that reports their words directly, since paraphrase distractors are usually built from unrelated vocabulary that sounds plausible but is absent from the source.

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The opening lines of the passage state that Yoruba culture and practice are built on good relationships, the blessing of elders, family contentment (ìtẹ́lọrun ídílé), and advice grounded in the wisdom of the ancestors. The question asks specifically what culture did for the family at the beginning of the passage, so the answer must come straight from that opening sentence rather than from later parts about children's attitudes toward culture.

The option describing culture as something that shows contentment and blessing (ó fi ìtẹ́lọrun àti íbùkún hàn) restates exactly what the passage says: family satisfaction and the blessing that comes from elders. This is why it is the correct answer.

The other options either introduce ideas the passage never mentions, such as going to church or causing arguments, or describe something too vague, such as "bringing enjoyment", that is not the specific benefit the writer names for the family. When answering a comprehension question about what a text says at the beginning, always trace the exact sentence being tested rather than a general impression of the whole passage.

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The passage explains how children view their fathers' culture: "Wón ń fi ẹ̀sùn kàn an pé àṣà jẹ́ ohun ateyinwa, kó sì ní ọ̀rọ̀ tó wúlò mọ́" (they accuse it of being outdated, and no longer having anything of use). This describes culture as something the children now regard as no longer meaningful or valuable.

The passage does not describe the children's view as an unfair accusation, as something they ought to learn, or as something accurate and trustworthy; those readings contradict the dismissive attitude the text actually describes.

When answering how a group views something in a passage, match your choice to the writer's own words about that view rather than to what you might expect the attitude to be.

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When the night watchers ran towards the sound near the yam barn, the passage says they found some boys and girls from the neighbouring village who were fleeing with food they had stolen.

The passage does not describe the hunter behaving strangely on that night, nor does it mention the lantern catching fire. It also makes clear, through the earlier report of no animal footprints and this later discovery, that the culprits were not animals eating the garden but children taking food.

Because the passage explicitly states that the watchers found boys and girls running away with stolen food, that is what they saw that night.

Examination tip: comprehension questions about the climax of a story want the concrete detail the passage gives, here the identity of the culprits caught in the act, not an inferred or general description.