Talking About the Weather

Level 2

Say what the rain, sun or wind is doing: Nsuo retɔ (It is raining, water is falling), Awia rebɔ (The sun is shining), Ɛyɛ hyew (It is hot).

How It Works

1. Weather happening now
Name the weather thing, then the verb with re-:

  • Nsuo retɔ. (It is raining. Literally, water is falling.)
  • Awia rebɔ. (The sun is shining.)
  • Mframa rebɔ. (The wind is blowing. It is windy.)

Akuapem and many books say osu for rain: Osu retɔ. Both mean the same.

2. Hot and cold
For heat, use yɛ with a describing word: Ɛyɛ hyew (It is hot). Here ɛ- is the it prefix. To say you feel cold, use the frame from ɛkɔm de me: Awɔ de me (I feel cold). Ɛyɛ nwunu (it is cold) is said mostly of things that are cold to touch, like water.

3. Finished changes
Some weather is a result, so it uses the a- perfect:

  • Mununkum asi. (It is cloudy. Literally, clouds have settled.)
  • Nsuo no agyae. (The rain has stopped.)

4. Every day or right now?
The plain verb tells what usually happens: Nsuo tɔ wɔ Kumase (It rains in Kumasi). Re- tells what is happening now. See habitual or progressive.

5. Past and future
The verb takes the usual tense forms: Nsuo tɔɔ nnɛra (It rained yesterday), Nsuo bɛtɔ ɔkyena (It will rain tomorrow). See bɛ- future and time words.

Examples (6)

  1. Nsuo retɔ.

    It is raining.

    Word by Word: water is-falling

  2. Awia rebɔ.

    The sun is shining.

    Word by Word: sun is-striking

  3. Ɛyɛ hyew ɛnnɛ.

    It is hot today.

    Word by Word: it-is hot today

  4. Mframa rebɔ.

    It is windy.

    Word by Word: wind is-blowing

  5. Mununkum asi.

    It is cloudy.

    Word by Word: clouds have-settled

    The perfect a- describes a result that is still true.

  6. Nsuo tɔɔ nnɛra.

    It rained yesterday.

    Word by Word: water fell yesterday

    Tɔɔ is the past form before another word.

Common Mistakes

  • Starting with an empty it, as in English it is raining.

    Ɛretɔ nsuo.
    Nsuo retɔ.

    Twi makes the rain itself the subject. Nsuo (water) comes first and the verb follows. With nsuo after it, tɔ reads as buy, so Ɛretɔ nsuo means It is buying water.

  • Using the plain verb for rain that is falling right now.

    Hwɛ, nsuo tɔ!
    Hwɛ, nsuo retɔ!

    The plain verb means it usually rains. For rain happening now, use re-.

How It Connects

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

Talking About the WeatherLevel 2

Learn This First

Weather uses the progressive and the ɛ- prefix.