Greetings and politeness in Twi
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the eleven openers everything else builds on. Play the ten Twi words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 11 Twi phrases in this lesson
- Ɛte sɛn?eh-teh SEN
- Hello
- Maakyemaa-CHEH
- Good morning
- Maadwomaa-JWOH
- Good evening
- Nante yieNAN-teh yee-eh
- Goodbye
- Yɛbɛhyia bioyeh-beh-SHEE-ah bee-OH
- See you
- Mepa wo kyɛwmeh-PAH wo CHEW
- Please
- Medaasemeh-DAA-see
- Thank you
- Ɛnna aseen-NAH ah-seh
- You're welcome
- KafraKAH-frah
- Sorry
- Agooah-GOH
- Excuse me
- Ɛyɛ me anigye sɛ mahyia woeh-YEH meh ah-NEE-jeh seh mah-SHEE-ah wo
- Nice to meet you
Literally "how is it?", used as a friendly hello. The usual reply is ɛyɛ, "it is fine". Greeting properly matters in Ghana, and skipping it before a question comes across as rude.
Said until about noon. The reply to an elder is yaa ɛna, and to someone your own age yaa anua.
From late afternoon on. "dw" is said close to "jw".
Literally "walk well", said to the person leaving. The one leaving can say mekɔ, "I am going".
Literally we will meet again, a friendly sign-off.
Literally "I beg you". It goes at the start of a request, and Ghanaian English borrows the idea as "please, I beg".
The everyday thanks, for change, directions, a lift or a seat on the trotro. Many people simply say "thank you" in English too.
The standard reply to medaase. In casual speech people often just nod or say "it’s okay".
An apology for bumping into someone or a small mistake. Ghanaians also say "sorry" to show sympathy when you trip or drop something.
Called out to get attention, to squeeze past or before entering a compound. The reply is amee, "come in" or "go ahead".