ahe (How Much)
How Much, How Many: Ahe
Ahe means how much or how many: Ɛyɛ ahe? (How much is it?).
How It Works
Prices. Ɛyɛ ahe? (How much is it?) is the everyday market question. Name the item first to be specific: Paanoo no yɛ ahe? (How much is the bread?).
Counting. Put ahe after the noun, where a number would go:
- Wowɔ mmofra ahe? How many children do you have?
- Woadi mfe ahe? How old are you? (literally you have eaten how many years?). See di mfe.
- Abɔ nnɔn ahe? What time is it? (literally the bells have struck how many?). See abɔ nnɔn.
Ahe first, with na. The noun and ahe can move to the front together, followed by na: Nnipa ahe na wɔbaeɛ? (How many people came?). Because nnipa are people, the verb keeps wɔ- (they), as in subject focus.
Sɛn or ahe? In casual speech sɛn is sometimes used for amounts too, as in Abɔ sɛn? (What time is it?), but ahe is the word made for how much and how many. Fante speakers say ahen.
Examples (6)
- Ɛyɛ ahe?
How much is it?
Word by Word: It-is how-much?
The everyday question for a price.
- Woadi mfe ahe?
How old are you?
Word by Word: You-have-eaten years how-many?
Age is eaten in Twi, and ahe follows mfe (years).
- Abɔ nnɔn ahe?
What time is it?
Word by Word: It-has-struck bells how-many?
- Wowɔ mmofra ahe?
How many children do you have?
Word by Word: You-have children how-many?
- Nnipa ahe na wɔbaeɛ?
How many people came?
Word by Word: People how-many na they-came?
The noun and ahe move to the front together, and the verb keeps wɔ-.
- Paanoo no yɛ ahe?
How much is the bread?
Word by Word: Bread the is how-much?
Common Mistakes
Putting ahe before the noun.
Wowɔ ahe mmofra?Wowɔ mmofra ahe?Ahe works like a number, and numbers follow the noun: mmofra mmienu, mmofra ahe.
Dropping wɔ- after na when asking about people.
Nnipa ahe na baeɛ?Nnipa ahe na wɔbaeɛ?When people are the subject and move to the front with na, the verb keeps the pronoun wɔ- (they).
How It Connects
Learn This First
Ahe stands where a number goes.
Related Patterns
- di mfe (Age)Talking About Age: Di Mfe
Woadi mfe ahe? asks someone's age.
Level 2 - abɔ nnɔnTelling the Time: Abɔ Nnɔn
Abɔ nnɔn ahe? asks the time.
Level 2 - sɛn (How)How: Sɛn
Sɛn is sometimes used for amounts, but ahe is the regular word.
Level 1 - Numbers From Eleven
Answers to ahe often need bigger numbers.
Level 2 - na (Subject Focus)Focus on the Subject: X Na
Why the verb keeps wɔ- in Nnipa ahe na wɔbaeɛ?
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice ahe (How Much) in Bubblegum
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