bɛyɛ (About)

About, Approximately: Bɛyɛ

Level 4

bɛyɛ + number = about: Nnipa bɛyɛ ɔha baeɛ (About a hundred people came).

How It Works

1. Where it goes
Usually noun + bɛyɛ + number: nnipa bɛyɛ ɔha (about a hundred people). It can also come before the whole phrase: bɛyɛ mfe aduɔson (about seventy years).

2. Times and lengths
Abɔ bɛyɛ nnɔn du (It is about ten o'clock), with Telling the Time: abɔ nnɔn. bɛyɛ dɔnhwere baako ne fa (about an hour and a half), bɛyɛ simma aduanan (about forty minutes). For ages, see Talking About Age: di mfe: Wadi bɛyɛ mfe aduasa (He is about thirty years old).

3. The tense goes elsewhere
In Nnipa bɛyɛ ɔha baeɛ, the past is on ba (come). Bɛyɛ itself stays the same in every tense.

4. Ɛbɛyɛ and ɛbɛyɛ sɛ
You will also meet ɛbɛyɛ, with the prefix ɛ-: ɛbɛyɛ kwansini mmienu (about two miles, John 11:18). Before a time, ɛbɛyɛ sɛ works the same way, as in Maybe: ebia, ɛbɛyɛ sɛ.

5. Will be
Without a number, bɛyɛ is simply the future of yɛ: Ɛbɛyɛ yie (It will be fine). Even with a number, it can mean will be when it is the main verb of the sentence: ne nna bɛyɛ mfeɛ ɔha aduonu (his days will be a hundred and twenty years, Genesis 6:3). The rest of the sentence tells you which one is meant.

6. Not about in the sense of concerning
English about also means concerning. That is a different word: Meredwene wo ho (I am thinking about you). See About: fa ... ho.

Examples (5)

  1. Nnipa bɛyɛ ɔha baeɛ.

    About a hundred people came.

    Word by Word: people about hundred came

  2. Abɔ bɛyɛ nnɔn du.

    It is about ten o'clock.

  3. Mehwɛ tɛlɛbihyɛn bɛyɛ dɔnhwere baako ne fa.

    I watch television for about an hour and a half.

  4. Ma ɛnsi gya so bɛyɛ simma aduanan.

    Let it cook on the fire for about forty minutes.

    Word by Word: let it-sit fire on about minutes forty

    A line from a Twi recipe.

  5. Wadi bɛyɛ mfe aduasa.

    He is about thirty years old.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting bɛyɛ after the number.

    Nnipa ɔha bɛyɛ baeɛ.
    Nnipa bɛyɛ ɔha baeɛ.

    Bɛyɛ comes before the number it softens, not after it.

  • Using bɛyɛ for about meaning concerning.

    Meredwene bɛyɛ wo.
    Meredwene wo ho.

    Bɛyɛ only means approximately, with numbers and amounts. For thinking or talking about someone, use ho.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

bɛyɛ (About)Level 4About, Approximately: Bɛyɛ

Learn This First

About is the future of yɛ used before a number.

Words in This Pattern

bɛyɛ