oni

See also: Appendix:Variations of "oni"

Languages (19)

Translingual • English

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Czech • Dupaningan Agta • Esperanto • Guinau • Isoko • Japanese • Lindu • Māori • Old Czech • Polish • Serbo-Croatian • Slovak • Slovene • Sranan Tongo • Volapük • Welsh • Yoruba

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Onin.

Symbol

oni

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Onin.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Onin terms

English

Etymology

From Japanese 鬼 (oni).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈəʊni/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈoʊni/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊni

Noun

oni (plural onis or oni)

1. A Japanese evil spirit or demon.
   • 1908, Henri L. Joly, Legend in Japanese Art: A Description of Historical Episodes, Legendary Characters, Folk-lore, Myths, Religious Symbolism, Illustrated in the Arts of Old Japan, pages 263–264:

     ONI 鬼. Generic name for devils, the representation of which in art is quite a common feature. Onis have claws, a square head with two horns, sharp teeth, and malignant eyes surmounted by big eyebrows; occasionally they wear trousers of tiger skin.

   • 1918, William Elliot Griffis, Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks‎^[2]:

     Across the ocean, in Japan, there once lived curious creatures called Onis. Every Japanese boy and girl has heard of them, though one has not often been caught.

   • 1979, Marian Ury, Tales of Times Now Past: Sixty-Two Stories from a Medieval Japanese Collection, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 147:

     "That's no human being playing the instrument," he thought in amazement. "It can only be an oni or some such being."

   • 1992, Karl M. Schwarz, Netsuke Subjects: A Study on the Netsuke Themes with Reference to Their Interpretation and Symbolism, Böhlau Verlag Wien, →ISBN, page 46:

     The standing Shoki holds with his left hand an oni on his leg.

   • 2005, Christopher Hart, Manga Mania Shoujo: How to Draw the Charming and Romantic Characters of Japanese Comics, →ISBN, page 69:

     This is actually a boy bishie in the form of an ogre. It's called an oni in Japanese. Onis have supernatural powers that can command the forces of nature such as wind (to create hurricanes) and lightning (to create thunderbolts).

   • 2011, Mike Shel, “Ecology of the Oni”, in Jade Regent: The Brinewall Legacy, Paizo Publishing, →ISBN, page 69:

     The oni are a diverse group of evil spirits who take on the form of humanoid creatures so that they can enjoy the pleasures and vices of the flesh.

Anagrams

• NOI, ion, Ino, Ion, -ion, NIO, -ino

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech oni, from Proto-Slavic *oni, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈoɲɪ]

• Audio:

  (file)

Pronoun

oni m anim pl

1. they (third person personal masculine animate plural)

Declension

Declension of oni (pl-only masculine animate pronoun)

	plural
nominative	oni
genitive	jich, nich1
dative	jim, nim1
accusative	je, ně1
vocative	—
locative	nich1
instrumental	jimi, nimi1, jima2, nima2

¹After a preposition.
²When referring to dual nouns, e.g. oči, ruce.

Derived terms

• onikat

Related terms

Czech personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person		já	my
2nd person	familiar	ty	vy
	polite	vy
3rd person	m	on	oni1
	f	ona	ony
	n	ono	ona
reflexive		sebe, se (clitic)

¹ animate referents only, for inanimate ones ony is used.

Pronoun

oni

1. nominative animate masculine plural of onen

Dupaningan Agta

Interjection

oni

1. yes

Esperanto

Etymology

Borrowed from French on and Occitan òm, ultimately from Latin homō (“human being; man”). English one is not etymologically related to on, but its use as an indefinite personal pronoun was influenced by French. Doublet of homo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈoni/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Audio 3:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oni
• Syllabification: o‧ni

Pronoun

oni (accusative onin, possessive onia)

1. (indefinite personal pronoun) one

   Oni povas vidi ĝin. ― One can see it.

2. (indefinite pronoun, vague meaning) they (some people, people in general)

   Oni diras, ke Norvegio estas bonega loko por loĝi. ― They say Norway is a great place to live.

   • 2025 September 29, Jorge Nogueras, “La plej mallonga tago”, in uea.facila‎^[3], archived from the original on 12 December 2025:

     Nu, unu tagon oni vokis min por ke mi iru tuj al la malsanulejo, ĉar mia sesjara filino trafiĝis je terura trafik-akcidento.

     Well, one day they called me so that I go immediately to the hospital, because my six-year old daughter got caught in a terrible traffic accident.

Usage notes

• Comparable to the use of generic "you" in English (e.g. In America, you can do what you want).
• A sentence whose subject is "oni" can often be translated as an English sentence in the passive voice, for example: "Oni ofte referencas al Kimrio kiel la 'lando de la kanto.'" can be translated as "Wales is often referred to as the 'land of song.'"
• Although the accusative onin and the possessive onia are possible, they are far less frequent than oni itself. Correlatives such as iun (“someone (accusative)”) or ies (“someone's”) are often more natural in contexts where onin or onia might make sense: "one's mother tongue" will usually be rendered ies gepatra lingvo rather than onia gepatra lingvo, though the latter would still be correct. Note that where the subject of a clause is oni, anything that oni possesses in that clause will take the reflexive possessive sia, not onia: Oni plej nature pensas en sia gepatra lingvo (one thinks most naturally in one's mother tongue).

Descendants

• → Ido: onu

See also

Esperanto personal pronouns

		singular				plural
		nominative	accusative	possessive		nominative	accusative	possessive
first person		mi	min	mia		ni	nin	nia
second person	formal	vi	vin	via		vi	vin	via
	familiar1	ci	cin	cia
third person	masculine	li	lin	lia		ili iŝi2	ilin iŝin2	ilia iŝia2
	feminine	ŝi	ŝin	ŝia
	neuter	ĝi	ĝin	ĝia
	gender-neutral2	ri ŝli	rin ŝlin	ria ŝlia
	reflexive	si	sin	sia		si	sin	sia
indefinite		oni	onin	onia		oni	onin	onia

¹ Rare.

² Not widely used.

Further reading

• “oni”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN
• “oni”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-2026
• Wells, John C. (1992), “oni, one, people”, in Concise Esperanto and English Dictionary‎^[4], →ISBN, pages 122, 320, 329
• Benson, Peter J. (1995), “one, people, they”, in Comprehensive English-Esperanto Dictionary‎^[5], →ISBN, pages 357, 377, 532
• Butler, Montagu C. (1967), “oni”, in Esperanto-English Dictionary‎^[6], →OL, pages 294-295
• Motteau, Achille (1907), “oni”, in Esperanto-English Dictionary‎^[7], →OCLC, page 103

Guinau

Noun

oni

1. water

References

• Alfred Russel Wallace, A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro
• Proceedings [of the] Philological Society, London, Volume 3

Isoko

Noun

oni (plural ini)

1. mother

Japanese

Romanization

oni

1. Rōmaji transcription of おに

Lindu

Noun

oni

1. noise

Māori

Etymology

From ori “to sway, to agitate, to copulate” from Proto-Polynesian *ori (compare with Tahitian oni “male [of animals]”, Tuamotuan oni “to copulate”); with possible influence of koni “to move” and konikoni “to rub” from Proto-Polynesian *koni (“to move, to copulate” – compare with Tahitian ʻoni, Tuamotuan oni “to grind” and onioni “to rub two things together [i.e. of sticks for fire]”). (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈoni/ [ˈɔni]

Verb

oni

1. to wriggle
2. to move, shift or slip from a previous position

   Synonym: koni

3. to jerk

   Synonyms: koni, tukutuku

4. to thrust forward
   1. to thrust one's hips in a sexually suggestive way
5. to make love, to copulate, to bed someone

   Synonyms: ai, ori, tauonioni

Derived terms

• onioni
• tauonioni

Further reading

• Williams, Herbert William (1917), “oni, onioni”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, 5th edition, Wellington, N.Z.: Marcus F. Marks, page 279
• John C. Moorfield (2011), “oni”, in Te Aka: Māori–English, English–Māori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, →ISBN

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *oni.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈoɲi/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈoɲi/

Pronoun

oni m pl (third person)

1. they (masculine plural)

Declension

Old Czech personal pronouns

Singular	1st person	2nd person	3rd person			Reflexive
			m	f	n
Nominative	já(z)	ty	on	ona	ono	—
Genitive	mne, mě	tebe, tě	j(e)ho, ň(e)ho	jie, nie	j(e)ho, ň(e)ho	sebe, sě
Dative	mně, mi	tobě, ti	j(e)mu, ňemu	jí, ní, jiej, niej	j(e)mu, ňemu	sobě, si
Accusative	mě, mne	tě, tebe	jej, jen, ji, j(e)ho, -ň, ňej, ňen, ni, ň(e)ho	ju, ňu	je, ňe	sě, sebe
Locative	mně	tobě	ňem	ní, niej	ňem	sobě
Instrumental	mnú	tobú, tebú	jím, ním	jú, ňú	jím, ním	sobú, sebú
Possessive	mój	tvój	jeho	(je)jie	jeho	svój
Dual	1st person	2nd person	3rd person			Reflexive
			m	f	n
Nominative	vě, va (ma)	vy	ona	oně		—
Genitive	najú	vajú	jú, ňú			sebe, sě
Dative	náma	váma	jima, nima			sobě, si
Accusative	ny, najú	vy, vajú	jě, ně	ji, ni		sě, sebe
Locative	najú	vajú	ňú			sobě
Instrumental	náma	váma	jima, nima			sobú, sebú
Possessive	náš, najú	váš, vajú	(je)jú			svój
Plural	1st person	2nd person	3rd person			Reflexive
			m	f	n
Nominative	my	vy	oni	ony	ona	—
Genitive	nás	vás	jich, nich			sebe, sě
Dative	nám, nem	vám, vem	jim, nim			sobě, si
Accusative	ny, nás	vy, vás	jě, ně			sě, sebe
Locative	nás	vás	nich			sobě
Instrumental	námi	vámi	jimi, nimi			sobú, sebú
Possessive	náš	váš	(je)jich			svój

Descendants

• Czech: oni

Pronoun

oni

1. nominative masculine plural of onen

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish oni. The oblique case forms come from Proto-Slavic *ji.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔ.ɲi/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɲi
• Syllabification: o‧ni

Pronoun

oni vir

1. they (third-person masculine personal nominative)

Declension

Declension of oni

	plural
nominative	oni
genitive	ich/nich
dative	im/nim
accusative	ich/nich
instrumental	nimi
locative	nich
vocative	—

See also

• one
• Appendix:Polish pronouns

Further reading

• “oni”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[8] (in Polish)

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *oni, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ǒni/
• Hyphenation: o‧ni

Pronoun

òni ? (Cyrillic spelling о̀ни)

1. they (nominative plural of ȏn (“he”))

Declension

Inflection of 3rd-person pronouns

	singular			plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	ȏn	òna	òno	òni	òne	òna
genitive	njȅga, ga	njȇ, je	njȅga, ga	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih
dative	njȅmu, mu	njȏj, joj	njȅmu, mu	njȉma, im	njȉma, im	njȉma, im
accusative	njȅga, ga, nj	njȗ, ju, je	njȅga, ga, nj	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih	njȋh, ih
vocative	—	—	—	—	—	—
locative	njȅm, njȅmu	njȏj	njȅm, njȅmu	njȉma	njȉma	njȉma
instrumental	njȋm, njíme	njȏm, njóme	njȋm, njíme	njȉma	njȉma	njȉma

See also

Serbo-Croatian personal pronouns

		singular	plural
1st person		ja	mi
2nd person	familiar	ti	vi
	polite	Vi
3rd person	m	on	oni
	f	ona	one
	n	ono	ona

Slovak

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂énos

Proto-Slavic *oni

Slovak oni

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *oni, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔɲi/, [ˈɔɲi]
• Rhymes: -ɔɲi
• Hyphenation: o‧ni

Pronoun

oni

1. masculine animate nominative plural of on (“they”)

Declension

Declension of oni

	plurale tantum
nominative	oni
genitive	ich / nich
dative	im / nim
accusative	ich / nich
locative	nich
instrumental	nimi

Related terms

Slovak personal pronouns

		substantive		possessive
		singular	plural	singular	plural
1st person		ja	my	môj	náš
2nd person	familiar	ty	vy	tvoj	váš
	polite	vy		váš
3rd person	m	on	oni* / ony	jeho	ich
	f	ona		jej
	n	ono		jeho
reflexive		seba, sa (clitic)		svoj

* masculine animate only, ony otherwise

Further reading

• “oni”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *oni.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ̀ːni/

Pronoun

óni

1. they (masculine plural, more than two)

Declension

Forms between parentheses indicate clitic forms; the main forms are used for emphasis.

Declension of oni (irregular, suppletive)

singular
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	òn	ôna	ôno
accusative	njêga (ga, -nj)	njó (jo, -njo)	njêga (ga, -nj)
genitive	njêga (ga)	njé (je)	njêga (ga)
dative	njêmu (mu)	njéj, njèj, njì (ji)	njêmu (mu)
locative	njêm	njéj, njèj, njì	njêm
instrumental	njím	njó	njím
possessive	njegôv, njegòv	njén	njegôv, njegòv
dual
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	ônadva	ônidve, onédve	ônidve, onédve
accusative	njíju (ju, -nju) or plural	njíju (ju, -nju) or plural	njíju (ju, -nju) or plural
genitive	njíju (ju) or plural	njíju (ju) or plural	njíju (ju) or plural
dative	njíma (jima)	njíma (jima)	njíma (jima)
locative	njíju or plural	njíju or plural	njíju or plural
instrumental	njíma	njíma	njíma
possessive	njún	njún	njún
plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	ôni	ône	ôna
accusative	njìh (jih, -nje)	njìh (jih, -nje)	njìh (jih, -nje)
genitive	njìh (jih)	njìh (jih)	njìh (jih)
dative	njìm (jim)	njìm (jim)	njìm (jim)
locative	njìh	njìh	njìh
instrumental	njími	njími	njími
possessive	njíhov	njíhov	njíhov

See also

Slovene personal pronouns

			singular	dual	plural
1st person		m	jaz	midva	mi
		f or n		medve, midve	me
2nd person familiar (tikanje)		m	ti	vidva	vi
		f or n		vedve, vidve	ve
3rd person		m	on	onadva	oni
		f	ona	onedve, onidve	one
		n	ono	onedve, onidve	ona
Polite forms			singular (not differentiated in dual and plural)
polite (vikanje)			vi, Vi + 2nd person plural masculine
very polite (onikanje)			oni + 3rd person plural masculine (archaic)
hyper polite (onokanje)			ono + 3rd person singular neuter (obsolete)
patriarchal (onkanje)			on + 3rd person singular masculine (obsolete)

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From English honey.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈo.ni/

Noun

oni

1. honey
2. honey bee, Apis mellifera

   Synonym: onifrei

3. stingless bee

   Synonym: onifrei

Volapük

Pronoun

oni

1. accusative singular of on
   • 1937, “Nuns”, in Volapükagased pro Nedänapükans, page 47:

     Utans, kels vilons kopiedön lisedi at, kanons loenön oni de redakan balid Vpagaseda at.

     Those who wish to make a copy of this list may borrow it from the first editor of this journal.

Welsh

Alternative forms

• onid (used before a vowel)
• on' (colloquial, before a consonant), on'd (colloquial, before a vowel)

Etymology

o (“if”) +‎ ni (“not”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔni/

Conjunction

oni (triggers mixed mutation except of forms of bod)

1. unless

   oni lwydda ― unless he succeeds

   Oni bai fe yma, bydden ni wedi gwybod.

   Unless he were here, we would have known.

2. until

   oni ddaw fe ― until he comes

Synonyms

• (until): nes, hyd oni

Particle

oni (triggers mixed mutation)

1. used to introduce a negative question
   • 1988, “Mathew 7:22”, in Y Beibl Cymraeg Newydd [The New Welsh Bible]‎^[9], Tal-y-Bont: The Bible Society, →ISBN, archived from the original on 1 October 2025:

     Bydd llawer yn dweud wrthyf yn y dydd hwnnw, ‘Arglwydd, Arglwydd, oni fuom yn proffwydo yn dy enw di, ac yn dy enw di yn bwrw allan gythreuliaid, ac yn dy enw di yn cyflawni gwyrthiau lawer?’

     Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’

2. (colloquial) used to form a tag question

   Byddwch chi yma, oni fyddwch chi?

   You'll be there, won't you?

Yoruba

Alternative forms

• èní (Lagos)

Etymology

Cognate with Olukumi òní, Ifè òní, and likely cognate with Igala èñíni.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ò.nĩ́/

Noun

òní

1. today

   Òní ni ọjọ́-ìbí mi.

   Today is my birthday.

   • 2008 December 19, Yiwola Awoyale, Global Yoruba Lexical Database v. 1.0‎^[10], number LDC2008L03, Philadelphia: Linguistic Data Consortium, →DOI, →ISBN:

     Òní l'a rí, ọba òkè l'ó rọ́la.

     It is [only] today that we see, [only] the Most High sees tomorrow (proverb on divine supremacy)

Synonyms

Yoruba varieties and languages: òní (“today”)
view map; edit data
Language family	Variety group	Variety/language	Subdialect	Location	Words
Proto-Itsekiri-SEY	Southeast Yoruba	Eastern Àkókó	Ọ̀bà	Ọ̀bà Àkókó	òní
		Ìdànrè (Ùdànè, Ùdànrè)			èní
			Ìdànrè (Ùdànè, Ùdànrè)		èní
		Ìjẹ̀bú			èní
			Ìjẹ̀bú	Ìjẹ̀bú Òde	èní
			Rẹ́mọ	Ẹ̀pẹ́	èní
				Ìkòròdú	èní
				Ṣágámù	èní
		Ìkálẹ̀ (Ùkálẹ̀)			èní
			Òkìtìpupa		èní
		Ìlàjẹ (Ùlàjẹ)			èní
			Mahin		èní
		Oǹdó			èní
			Oǹdó		èní
	Ìtsẹkírì				ònùwé
		Ìwẹrẹ			ònùwé
	Olùkùmi				òní
		Ugbódù			òní
Proto-Yoruba	Central Yoruba	Èkìtì	Èkìtì	Àdó Èkìtì	òní
				Òdè Èkìtì	òní
				Ìfàkì Èkìtì	òní
			Àkúrẹ́	Àkúrẹ́	òní
			Mọ̀bà	Ọ̀tùn Èkìtì	òní
		Òkè Igbó			òní
			Òkè Igbó		òní
	Northwest Yoruba	Àwórì			èní
			Èbúté Mẹ́tà		èní
		Èkó			èní
			Èkó		èní
		Ìbàdàn			òní
			Ìbàdàn		òní
		Ìbàràpá			òní
			Igbó Òrà		òní
		Ìbọ̀lọ́			òní
			Òṣogbo (Òsogbo)		òní
		Ìlọrin			òní
			Ìlọrin		òní
		Oǹkó	Òtù		òní
			Ìwéré Ilé		òní
			Òkèhò		òní
			Ìsẹ́yìn		òní
			Ṣakí		òní
			Tedé		òní
			Ìgbẹ́tì		òní
		Ọ̀yọ́			òní
			Ọ̀yọ́		òní
		Standard Yorùbá	Nàìjíríà		òní
			Bɛ̀nɛ̀		òní
	Northeast Yoruba/Okun	Owé			ònì
			Kabba		ònì
	Ede languages/Southwest Yoruba	Cábɛ̀ɛ́	Cábɛ̀ɛ́ (Ìdàdú)		òní
			Tchaourou		òní
		Ìdàácà			òní
			Benin	Igbó Ìdàácà (Dasa Zunmɛ̀)	òní
		Ifɛ̀	Akpáré		òní, nɔ́mbɛ́
			Atakpamɛ		òní, nɔ́mbɛ́
			Tchetti (Tsɛti, Cɛti)		òní, nɔ́mbɛ́
Note: This amalgamation of terms comes from a number of different academic papers focused on the unique varieties and languages spoken in the Yoruboid dialectal continuum which extends from eastern Togo to southern Nigeria. The terms for spoken varieties, now deemed dialects of Yorùbá in Nigeria (i.e. Southeast Yorùbá, Northwest Yorùbá, Central Yorùbá, and Northeast Yorùbá), have converged with those of Standard Yorùbá leading to the creation of what can be labeled Common Yorùbá (Funṣọ Akere, 1977). It can be assumed that the Standard Yorùbá term can also be used in most Nigerian varieties alongside native terms, especially amongst younger speakers. This does not apply to the other Nigerian Yoruboid languages of Ìṣẹkírì and Olùkùmi, nor the Èdè Languages of Benin and Togo.

Coordinate terms

Dates relative to today in Yoruba (layout · text)
	–3	–2	–1	0	+1	+2	+3
direct speech	three days ago	two days ago	yesterday	today	tomorrow	in two days	in three days
	ìjẹrin	ìjẹta	àná	òní, èní	ọ̀la	ọ̀túnla	ọjọ́ mẹ́rin òní
reported speech	three days before, three days earlier	two days before, two days earlier	the day before	on that day	the next day	two days later	three days later
	ọjọ́ mẹ́ta sẹ́yìn	ọjọ́ méjì sẹ́yìn	ọjọ́ kan sẹ́yìn	ọjọ́ yìí	ọjọ́ tó ń bọ̀, ọjọ́ kejì	ọjọ́ méjì lẹ́yìn, ọjọ́ kẹta	ọjọ́ mẹ́ta lẹ́yìn, ọjọ́ kẹrin

Derived terms

• lónìí (“today”)
• lóòní (“today”)
• àtànámónìí (“combination of today and yesterday”)
• òde-òní (“modern, contemporary time”)
• Òní (“a child who cries non-stop until its naming ceremony”)

References

• Awoyale, Yiwola (19 December 2008), Global Yoruba Lexical Database v. 1.0‎^[11] (in Yoruba), volume LDC2008L03, Philadelphia: Linguistic Data Consortium, →DOI, →ISBN
• Salem Ǒchála È̩jè̩bá (2016), A Grammar of Ígálâ, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria: The Linguistic Association of Nigeria (LAN), M & J Grand Orbit Communications Ltd., →ISBN
• SIL International (2016), Dictionnaire Ifè‎^[12] (in French)