ɛkɔm de me

Hunger and Thirst: Ɛkɔm De Me

Level 2

Ɛkɔm de me means I am hungry, and Sukɔm de me means I am thirsty. Word by word, hunger holds me.

How It Works

1. The pattern
Feeling + de + person.

  • Ɛkɔm de me. (I am hungry.)
  • Sukɔm de me. (I am thirsty.) You will also hear nsukɔm.

2. Changing the person
Only the last word changes. Use an object pronoun or a name:

  • Ɛkɔm de wo. (You are hungry.)
  • Ɛkɔm de no. (He or she is hungry.)
  • Ɛkɔm de yɛn. (We are hungry.)
  • Ɛkɔm de abofra no. (The child is hungry.)

3. Asking and saying no
To ask, add anaa: Ɛkɔm de wo anaa? (Are you hungry?) For the negative, add the negative prefix to de. The d changes to n after it, so de becomes nne: Ɛkɔm nne me (I am not hungry). See nasal mutation after N-.

4. A state, not an action
The plain form already means now, so you do not add re-. To place it in the past, put na in front: Na ɛkɔm de me (I was hungry).

5. Other feelings that hold you
The same frame works for other feelings: Awɔ de me (I feel cold) and Ahuhuro de me (I feel hot). Feelings tied to a body part use a different pattern. See body-part feelings.

6. Spelling
Asante usually writes ɛkɔm. Akuapem texts often write ɔkɔm. The sentence works the same way.

Examples (6)

  1. Ɛkɔm de me.

    I am hungry.

    Word by Word: hunger holds me

    Ɛkɔm is the subject and me is the object.

  2. Sukɔm de me.

    I am thirsty.

    Word by Word: thirst holds me

  3. Ɛkɔm de wo anaa?

    Are you hungry?

    Word by Word: hunger holds you (question)

    Anaa at the end turns the statement into a yes-no question.

  4. Daabi, ɛkɔm nne me.

    No, I am not hungry.

    Word by Word: no, hunger not-hold me

    The negative nne is de with the negative prefix. The d changes to n.

  5. Ɛkɔm de abofra no.

    The child is hungry.

    Word by Word: hunger holds child the

  6. Awɔ de me.

    I feel cold.

    Word by Word: cold holds me

    The same frame works with awɔ (cold).

Common Mistakes

  • Making the person the subject, as in English I am hungry.

    Meyɛ ɛkɔm.
    Ɛkɔm de me.

    Twi does not say I am hunger. The feeling is the subject and the person is the object: hunger holds me.

  • Keeping de in the negative.

    Ɛkɔm nde me.
    Ɛkɔm nne me.

    After the negative prefix, d changes to n, so de becomes nne.

How It Connects

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

ɛkɔm de meLevel 2Hunger and Thirst: Ɛkɔm De Me

Learn This First

Hunger and thirst hold the person as an object.

Words in This Pattern

ɛkɔm