Have you ever heard of the word tu? It means ‘to dig’ in Twi. If I want to say ‘keep digging’ I will say tutu. Do you notice that I have repeated or duplicated the verb?

In Twi, the whole or a part of some verbs are often duplicated to indicate a repeated action, a plural subject or a plural object. Sometimes the duplicated verbs have a slightly different meaning from the original verb. Let’s see some Twi verbs and their duplicated versions.

TWI DUPLICATE VERBS AND THEIR EXAMPLES

Bu – to break
Bubu - to break (with plural object)
Kofi rebubu nnua no – Kofi is breaking the trees

Bisa – to ask
BiseBisa – to keep asking (with plural subject or object)
Ama rebisebisa mmofra bi asεm – Ama is asking some children questions

Tu – to dig
Tutu – to keep digging (with plural object)
Yεretutu bankye – We are digging cassava

Frε – to call
Frεfrε – to call (with plural object)
Ɔrefrεfrε ne mma – She is calling her children

Sa – to fetch
Sesa - to keep fetching (with plural object)
Wɔresesa nsuo – They are fetching water

Hwε – to look at
Hwehwε – to look for / search
Merehwehwε nnwoma akan – I am looking for a book to read

Hue – to pour
Huehue – to pour (to repeatedly pour)
Esi Huehue aduane gugu – Esi pours food away

Horo – to wash
Hohoro – to wash up
Hohoro mprεte no mu – Wash the plates

Pa – to skim
Pepa – to wipe
Pepa kaa no ho – Wipe the car

Da – to sleep
Deda – to put to sleep (e.g. a child)
Awuraa no rededa ne ba no – The lady is putting her child to sleep

Di – to eat
Didi – to eat (without object)
Meredidi – I am eating

San – to hung
Sensan – to hung (with plural object)
Fa noɔma no sensan ahoma no so – Hang the things on the line

Twa – to cut
Twetwa – to keep cutting (with plural subject or object)
Ɔkuafuo no retwetwa nnua no – The farmer is cutting the trees

Tɔn – to sell
Tontɔn – to keep selling (with plural object)
Kwame retontɔn ne adan nyinaa – Kwame is selling all this houses

Tɔ – to buy
Totɔ – to keep buying (with plural object)
Kofi bεtotɔ Kwame adan no – Kofi will be buying Kwame’s houses

This has been a simple lesson showing Twi verbs that are duplicated to indicate repeated action in the  Twi language. You can learn the Twi language on your own with my course Nkyea Twi Primer for only $49.99. Get the trial version now or watch the video highlights on the Nkyea Youtube video channel.
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