Basic Twi for Travelers

This is a brief introduction to Twi (pronounced “tchwee”), which is a language spoken in Ghana
by about 7 million people. Twi is the most widely spoken of the Akan dialects – and Akan is
spoken by about 45% of the Ghanaian population. Within Ghana, Twi is spoken in the Ashanti
Region and in parts of the Eastern, Western, Central, Volta and Brong Ahafo Regions. This
introduction contains basic instruction about pronunciation and important words and phrases.
When volunteering and traveling in Ghana, the ability to communicate in Twi will greatly
enhance your experience. Even if you do not plan on studying the language in-depth, we
strongly suggest learning and using basic greetings and phrases. The locals will greatly
appreciate your efforts and will be all the more welcoming to you during your stay. If you would
like to complete a beginning course in Twi, there are a number of self-study books and tapes.
Florence Abena Dolphyne‟s A Comprehensive Course in Twi (Asante) (1996) is one book that
you may find helpful.

Pronunciation

Twi is generally written in the Latin script, which is also used to write many other languages,
including English. There are 26 characters, 24 of which are also found in English.

Twi has 7 vowels, and many of the vowels have several sounds. The various sounds are listed
below.

a „a‟ between apple and calm i „ea‟ as in seat

æ pronounced „ae‟ o „o‟ asin go (with i or u)
e „a‟ as in day (with i or u) o „oo‟ as in book (with ‫ כ‬or ε)
e „i‟ as in sit (with ‫ כ‬or ε) ‫כ‬ „aw‟ as in law
ε „e‟ as in get u „o‟ as in do

The vowels i, e, a, o and u can also be pronounced nasally, by breathing the letter through the
nose. In this guide, nasal vowels will be indicated by a tilde (~) over the letter.

Vowels can also be short or long. Short vowels will be indicated by a single letter, while long
vowels will be indicated by a double letter („a‟ vs. „aa‟).

Generally, Twi consonants are pronounced the same as in English. However, there are several
unique sounds.
m „m‟ as in mill
b „b‟ as in bat n „n‟ as in neat
d „d‟ as in dog p „p‟ as in pin
f „f‟ as in fun r „r‟ as in rabbit
g „g‟ as in get s „s‟ as in sit
t „t‟ as in top
h „h‟ as in how w „w‟ as in wall, but pronounced
k „k‟ as in kennel „yw‟ before i, e or ε
l „l‟ as in last y „y‟ as in yolk
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 dw pronounced „jw‟ ky „ch‟ as in church
gy „j‟ as in judge nw pronounced „nyw‟
hw „wh‟ as in whew ny „ny‟ as in canyon
hy „sh‟ as in shirt tw pronounced “chw”
kw „qu‟ as in quick

Twi is a tonal language. However, in this guide, tones will not be marked. Tones are best
learned by listening to the spoken language. Additionally, you do not need to use tones to be
understood.

In some instances, a word‟s pronunciation will be truncated. In this guide, these truncated
pronunciations will follow the word/phrase and be italicized.

Greetings

Welcome Akwaaba
Come in. Bra mu.
Knocking. k‫כ‬k‫ככ‬k‫כ‬
Good morning. Mema wo akyẽ (maakyẽ)
Good afternoon. Mema wo ahã (maahã)
Good evening. Mema wo adwo (maadwo)
Response to older male Yaa agya
Response to older female Yaa εna
Response, child to adult Yaa ‫כ‬ba
Response to peer Yaa nua (yae ænwĩã)
Goodbye. Nante yie
Response: Yoo
Bye. K‫ כ‬bra.
See you later. Yεbεhyia (yebehyia) bio.
How are you? Wo hõ te sεn?
I‟m fine. Me hõ yε.
And you? Na wo nso ε?
How‟s it going? εte sεn? or mp‫ כ‬mu?

Introductions

My name is… W‫כ‬fre/Yεfrε me...

What is your name? Mepaakyεw yεfrε wo sεn?
I am from America. Mefi... (mifi)
Where are you from? Wofi(ri) hẽ?
What are you doing in Ghana? Woreyε (wooyε) deεn w‫ כ‬Ghana?
I‟m a student. Meyε osũãni (oswĩæni)

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 Etiquette

Thank you Meda wo ase (medaase)

Thanks aseda
Please Mepa wo kyεw (mepaakyεw)
Sorry kosε
Excuse me (to get attention or to pass) agoo

Relationships/Titles

I/me me
You (formal) wo
He/she/it ‫כ‬no
It (inanimate) εno
We yεn
They wεn/w‫ככ‬nom/‫ככ‬mo
Friend adamfo
Family abusũã (æbuswĩã)
Daughter ‫כ‬ba baa
Son ‫כ‬ba barima (bεεma)
Brother nua
Sister nua
Father papa
Mother maame
Husband kunu
Wife yere
Man ‫כ‬barima
Woman ‫כ‬baa
Doctor yaresafo‫כ‬
Teacher ɔkyerɛkyerɛfo, tikya
Sir/Mr. Owura
Lady/Ma‟am Awuraa
Slightly Older Male Brother
Slightly Older Female Sister
Male your father‟s age εpanyin
Female your mother‟s age ‫כ‬baa panyin
Chief ‫כ‬hene/‫כ‬hemaa

Food and Drinks

I am hungry. εk‫כ‬m de me.

I am thirsty. Suk‫כ‬m de me.
I want... Mepε...
Food aduane
Bread paanoo
Meat εnam
Fish nsuomnam
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Fruit duaba
Chicken akok‫כ‬nam
Banana kwadu (kwædu)
Pineapple abor‫כ‬bε
Plantain bor‫כ‬deε
Yam bayerε
Eggs nkosua
Rice εmo
Stew fr‫כ‬eε
Cassava bankye
Coffee kɔfe
Tea tii
Water nsuo
Alcohol nsã
Delicious dɛdɛɛdɛ

Important Locations

Where is it? εhẽ na εw‫ ?כ‬or εw‫ כ‬hẽ?

Market edwa
Church as‫כ‬re
Shop sot‫ככ‬
School sukuu
Hospital ayaresabea
House/Home fie
Bathroom adwareε
Toilet tiafi
Kitchen gyaade
Garden turo

Cost

How much? sεn?

How much is this? Wei yε sεn?
Money sika
Price εbo‫כ‬
Too much dodo

Time of Day

Morning an‫כ‬pa
Afternoon awia
Evening anwumerε
Night anadwo

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 Useful Words and Phrases

Yes aane
No daabi
Maybe ebia
Okay yoo
Now seesei
Later akyire yi
What is this? εdeεn ni?
I want to go… Mepε sε mek‫כ‬...
I am tired. Brɛ de me.
To be lost yera
I don‟t feel good. Mente apɔɔ.
I am happy. M‟ani as‫ כ‬/M‟ani agye
I don‟t understand. Mente aseε
Do you speak English? Woka borɔfo anaa?
Help! Mboa
Who? hena?
Where? εhẽ?
Why? adεn?
What? εdeεn? bεn?
How? sɛ nea?

Miscellaneous

Peace asomdwee
Love adɔe
Work adwuma
Enough sõ
Beautiful fε
Slowly brεoo/b‫כ‬k‫ככ‬
Strength aho‫כ‬den
Bad nyε
Good papa
Overseas aburokyire
White person oburoni
Congratulations! Mo!

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 Numbers

1 baakõ 11 du baakõ 30 aduasã

2 mmienu 12 du mmienu 40 aduanan
3 mmeεnsã 13 du mmeεnsã 50 aduonum
4 εnan 14 du nan 60 aduosĩã
5 enum 15 du num 70 adu‫כ‬son
6 ensĩã 16 du nsĩã 80 adu‫כ‬w‫כ‬twe
7 enson 17 du nson 90 adu‫כ‬kron
8 nw‫כ‬twe 18 du nw‫כ‬twe 100 ‫כ‬ha
9 εnkron 19 du nkron 1,000 apem
10 edu 20 aduonu

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