Wo ho te sɛn?
In Twi, the English phrase "are you ok?" is translated as Wo ho te sɛn?
This phrase is a greeting used to ask someone how they are doing.
What does it mean word for word?
The literal translation of Wo ho te sɛn? is "How is your body?", where wo means "your", ho means "body", te means "is/stays" and sɛn means "how".
Which one should you use?
While Wo ho te sɛn? specifically asks about a person's well-being, Ɛte sɛn? is a more general way to ask "How is it?" or "How are things?"
How does it change in a sentence?
You can also use the shorter form Wo ho yɛ? to ask "Are you well?"
When do people say it?
The standard response to Wo ho te sɛn? is Me ho yɛ, which literally means "My body is good".
Did you know?
- Twi is a tonal language, meaning the pitch used when saying Wo ho te sɛn? can change the nuance of the question from a casual greeting to a worried inquiry.
- In very formal settings, a younger person might avoid using the direct Wo ho te sɛn? and instead use a more honorific greeting to show respect to an elder.
- In Twi, the word ho refers to 'body', but it is also used in many other contexts to describe the state, quality, or essence of a thing.
Examples in context
- Wo ho te sɛn?How are you?
- Ɛnnɛ, wo ho te sɛn?How are you doing today?
Example conversation
Kofi meets Ama at a local market.
- KofiAma, wo ho te sɛn?Ama, how are you?
- AmaMe ho yɛ, Kofi. Wo nso, wo ho te sɛn?I am fine, Kofi. And you, how are you?
- KofiMe nso, me ho yɛ.I am also fine.
- AmaƐyɛ!That is good!
