Everything you need to greet people, bargain, take a trotro and order food in Accra, in Twi, with a rough guide to saying each phrase - and in Ga, the city’s own language, where a published source gives it. Find a phrase, or star the ones you want and keep them for the day.

Greetings

Greet before you ask anything - in a shop, an office, a taxi. Going straight to the question is rude in Ghana, and it is the mistake visitors make most.

  • Good morning

    Twi Maakye say mah-chee

    Ga Ojekoo

  • Good afternoon

    Twi Maaha say mah-hah

    Ga Minaokoo

  • Good evening

    Twi Maadwo say mah-jwoh

    Ga Oshwiee

  • The reply to a greeting

    Twi Yaa nua / Yaa ɛna / Yaa agya say yah noo-ah / yah eh-nah / yah ah-jah

    Yaa nua to someone your age, yaa ɛna to an older woman, yaa agya to an older man.

  • How are you?

    Twi Ɛte sɛn? say eh-teh sen

    Ga Te oyɔɔ tɛŋŋ?

  • I am fine

    Twi Me ho yɛ say meh hoh yeh

    Ga Mi yɛ ojogbaŋŋ

  • Fine, all good (casual)

    Twi Bɔkɔɔ say baw-kaw

    The everyday answer to ɛte sɛn.

  • Welcome

    Twi Akwaaba say ah-kwah-bah

  • Well done (to someone at work)

    Twi Ayekoo say ah-yeh-koo

    Ga Ayekoo

    Said to anyone working - the trader, the builder, the woman sweeping. The reply is yaa yie.

  • I ask to take my leave

    Twi Mesrɛ kwan say meh-sreh kwan

    The polite way to leave a house or a gathering, rather than just walking out.

  • Goodbye, see you again

    Twi Yɛbɛhyia bio say yeh-beh-shah bee-oh

    Ga Yaaba jogbaŋŋ

    The Ga means go well.

Please, thank you, sorry

Medaase is the word Ghanaians notice most from a visitor.

  • Please

    Twi Mepa wo kyɛw say meh-pah woh chew

    Also excuse me, to get past someone or to get attention.

  • Thank you

    Twi Medaase say meh-dah-see

    Ga Oyiwaladɔŋŋ

  • Thank you very much

    Twi Medaase paa say meh-dah-see pah

    Paa adds very much, to almost anything.

  • It is nothing (you are welcome)

    Twi Ɛnyɛ hwee say en-yeh hweh

  • Sorry (my fault)

    Twi Kafra say kah-frah

  • Sorry (for what happened to you)

    Twi Kosɛ say koh-seh

    Sympathy, not apology: to someone who has tripped, lost something, or is grieving.

  • Yes

    Twi Aane say ah-neh

  • No

    Twi Daabi say dah-bee

At the market

Prices at a stall are a start, not a verdict. Ask, then ask for a reduction, politely and with a smile.

  • How much is it?

    Twi Ɛyɛ sɛn? say eh-yeh sen

    Ga Enyiɛ ahɔɔ enɛ?

    Point and say wei yɛ sɛn? for how much is this one.

  • The price is high

    Twi Ne boɔ yɛ den say neh baw yeh den

  • Reduce it a little

    Twi Te so kakra say teh soh kah-krah

    Mepa wo kyɛw, te so kakra is the polite way.

  • Add a little (give me extra)

    Twi To so kakra say toh soh kah-krah

    For tomatoes, peppers or anything sold by the heap, asking for a little extra is normal.

  • I want this one

    Twi Mepɛ wei say meh-peh way

  • I do not want it

    Twi Mempɛ say mem-peh

  • I have little money

    Twi Me sika sua say meh see-kah soo-ah

  • I will pay ...

    Twi Mɛtua ... say meh-too-ah

    Then the amount. Name a figure rather than waiting for the next price.

  • Give me my change

    Twi Ma me nsesa say mah meh n-seh-sah

  • I will come back

    Twi Mɛsan aba say meh-san ah-bah

    Walking away politely is the strongest move in a bargain.

Trotro, taxi and directions

A trotro mate calls out where the bus is going; tell a taxi driver where you are going before you get in, and agree the fare first.

  • Where is ...?

    Twi ... wɔ he? say woh heh

    The place first: Makola wɔ he? - where is Makola?

  • Where are you going?

    Twi Wokɔ he? say woh-kaw heh

  • I am going to ...

    Twi Mekɔ ... say meh-kaw

    Mekɔ Circle - I am going to Circle.

  • Stop here

    Twi Gyina ha say jee-nah hah

  • I will get down here

    Twi Mesi ha say meh-see hah

    On a trotro, bus stop! in English works just as well.

  • Turn left

    Twi Fa benkum say fah ben-koom

  • Turn right

    Twi Fa nifa say fah nee-fah

  • Go straight on

    Twi Kɔ tee say kaw teh

  • Slow down

    Twi Brɛ ase say breh ah-seh

  • Hurry, please

    Twi Yɛ ntɛm say yeh n-tem

Food

At a chop bar or a roadside stall, these cover most of it.

  • I am hungry

    Twi Ɛkɔm de me say eh-kawm deh meh

  • I am thirsty

    Twi Sukɔm de me say soo-kawm deh meh

  • I want ... (fufu, banku, rice)

    Twi Mepɛ ... say meh-peh

    Mepɛ banku - I want banku.

  • Give me water

    Twi Ma me nsuo say mah meh n-soo-oh

  • Not too much pepper

    Twi Mempɛ mako pii say mem-peh mah-koh pee

    Worth knowing. Mako is pepper, and Ghanaian food can be very hot.

  • It is delicious

    Twi Ɛyɛ dɛ say eh-yeh deh

  • I am full

    Twi Mamee say mah-meh

Talking with people

Nobody expects a visitor to speak Twi. Trying, and asking to be taught, is what lands.

  • What is your name?

    Twi Wo din de sɛn? say woh deen deh sen

    Ga Te atsɛɔ bo tɛŋŋ?

  • My name is ...

    Twi Me din de ... say meh deen deh

  • Where are you from?

    Twi Wofiri he? say woh-fee-ree heh

  • I am from ...

    Twi Mefiri ... say meh-fee-ree

  • Do you speak English?

    Twi Wote Borɔfo? say woh-teh baw-raw-foh

  • I do not understand

    Twi Mente aseɛ say men-teh ah-seh

  • I do not speak Twi

    Twi Mente Twi say men-teh chwee

  • I speak a little Twi

    Twi Mete Twi kakra say meh-teh chwee kah-krah

  • Speak slowly, please

    Twi Mepa wo kyɛw, kasa brɛoo say meh-pah woh chew, kah-sah breh-oh

  • Say it again

    Twi Ka bio say kah bee-oh

  • What is this called in Twi?

    Twi Wɔfrɛ wei sɛn wɔ Twi mu? say waw-freh way sen woh chwee moo

When something is wrong

In a real emergency, say it in English as well - and call 112.

  • Help!

    Twi Boa me! say bwah meh

  • Leave me alone

    Twi Gyae me say jay meh

  • Call the police

    Twi Frɛ polisi say freh poh-lee-see

  • I am sick

    Twi Me yare say meh yah-reh

  • Where is the toilet?

    Twi Tiafi wɔ he? say chah-fee woh heh

  • I am lost

    Twi Mayera say mah-yeh-rah

Numbers and days

Enough to follow a price. Above ten, most traders will switch to English figures for a visitor anyway.

  • 1

    Twi Baako say bah-koh

    Ga Ekome

  • 2

    Twi Mmienu say m-mee-eh-noo

    Ga Enyɔ

  • 3

    Twi Mmiɛnsa say m-mee-en-sah

    Ga Etɛ

  • 4

    Twi Ɛnan say eh-nan

    Ga Ejwɛ

  • 5

    Twi Enum say eh-noom

    Ga Enumɔ

  • 6

    Twi Nsia say n-see-ah

    Ga Ekpaa

  • 7

    Twi Nson say n-sawn

    Ga Kpawo

  • 8

    Twi Nwɔtwe say n-waw-chweh

    Ga Kpaanyɔ

  • 9

    Twi Nkron say n-krawn

    Ga Nɛɛhu

  • 10

    Twi Du say doo

    Ga Nyɔŋma

  • 20

    Twi Aduonu say ah-dwoh-noo

  • 50

    Twi Aduonum say ah-dwoh-noom

  • 100

    Twi Ɔha say aw-hah

  • Today

    Twi Ɛnnɛ say en-neh

    Ga Ŋmɛnɛ

  • Tomorrow

    Twi Ɔkyena say aw-chee-nah

    Ga Wɔ

  • Yesterday

    Twi Ɛnnora say en-naw-rah

    Ga Nyɛ

How to say Twi

Twi has two vowels English does not: ɛ, like the e in “bed”, and ɔ, like the aw in “law”. A few letter pairs are not what they look like:

  • ky sounds like ch - maakye is "mah-chee"
  • gy sounds like j - gyae me is "jay meh"
  • hy sounds like sh - yɛbɛhyia is "yeh-beh-shah"
  • tw sounds like chw - Twi itself is "chwee"
  • dw sounds like jw - maadwo is "mah-jwoh"

Twi is tonal: the same letters said higher or lower can be different words. The “say” line under each phrase gets you close enough to be understood, not to sound like a native speaker. Listen to how the trader says it back to you, and copy that.

Twi or Ga?

Twi is the language most people in Accra share, whatever their first language, and the one to start with. Ga is the language of the people whose city this was first - Jamestown, Osu, La, Teshie, Nungua - and a Ga greeting in those neighbourhoods is noticed and remembered.

Ga is written less often and less consistently than Twi, and published phrase lists disagree on spellings. So this book gives Ga only where one of the sources below gives it: 23 of the 79 phrases. A Ga speaker may write some of them differently.

Where these come from

The Twi follows the standard Asante Twi spelling taught in Ghanaian schools. The market and food phrases were checked against Harvard’s Twi course, and the Ga is taken from the published list below; nothing was filled in from a guess.

Learning Twi and Ga: which language, and how to actually learn Names by day of birth The glossary: Ghanaian words in English