maakye / maaha / maadwo

Which greeting when. Use Maakye in the morning, until about noon. From noon, switch to Maaha. Use Maadwo from late afternoon into the night. Greetings matter a great deal among Akan speakers, and passing someone without one can seem rude.

Short and long forms. Each greeting is a shortened sentence with the verb ma (give): Mema wo akye (I give you morning) becomes Maakye, Mema wo aha becomes Maaha, and Mema wo adwo becomes Maadwo. The long forms sound more formal. To greet a group, use mo: Mema mo akye (Good morning, everyone). See object pronouns.

Answering. Reply with Yaa and a kin word for the person who greeted you: Yaa agya (to an older man, literally "father"), Yaa ɛna (to an older woman, literally "mother") and Yaa nua or Yaa anua (to someone your age, literally "sibling"). The same replies answer akwaaba. Kin words are the usual respectful way to address people; see addressing people respectfully.

Adding a name or title. A name or title can come before the greeting: Ama, maakye (Good morning, Ama), Owura, maaha (Good afternoon, sir). After greeting, people often ask Wo ho te sɛn? (How are you?).

Sounds. The ky in maakye is close to English ch, and the dw in maadwo is close to j said with rounded lips; see KY, GY and HY and TW, DW, HW and KW. At bedtime, people part with Da yie (Sleep well), not with a greeting.