wɔfrɛ me

They Call Me: Wɔfrɛ Me

Level 1

Wɔfrɛ me Kofi means "I am called Kofi", literally "they call me Kofi".

How It Works

Frɛ means "call". With the prefix wɔ- (they) and an object pronoun, it gives a person's name: Wɔfrɛ me Kofi (I am called Kofi, literally "they call me Kofi"). Here "they" means nobody in particular, the way English says "they say". Twi often uses this impersonal wɔ- where English uses a passive.

Order. Frɛ is followed first by the person, then by the name: Wɔfrɛ me Kofi, Wɔfrɛ no Abena (She is called Abena). Change the object pronoun to talk about someone else.

Asking. Put sɛn (how) where the name would go: Yɛfrɛ wo sɛn? or Wɔfrɛ wo sɛn? (What is your name?). The yɛ- (we) version is impersonal too, like "what do people call you?". The same question works for things: Yɛfrɛ eyi sɛn wɔ Twi mu? (What is this called in Twi?)

Wɔ or wo? Keep ɔ and o apart. Wɔfrɛ me means "they call me", but Wofrɛ me means "you call me". See the subject prefixes.

Spelling. You may also see frɛ written ferɛ, closer to how many people say it: Yɛferɛ wo sɛn? Frɛ is the standard spelling. Me din de is the other common way to give a name.

Examples (5)

  1. Wɔfrɛ me Kofi.

    My name is Kofi.

    Word by Word: They call me Kofi.

  2. Yɛfrɛ wo sɛn?

    What is your name?

    Word by Word: We call you how?

  3. Wɔfrɛ no Abena.

    Her name is Abena.

    Word by Word: They call her Abena.

  4. Yɛfrɛ eyi sɛn wɔ Twi mu?

    What is this called in Twi?

    Word by Word: We call this how at Twi inside?

  5. Wɔfrɛ me Kwabena, nanso me nnamfo frɛ me Kobby.

    My name is Kwabena, but my friends call me Kobby.

    With a noun subject such as me nnamfo (my friends), frɛ takes no prefix.

Common Mistakes

  • Making yourself the subject.

    Mefrɛ Kofi.
    Wɔfrɛ me Kofi.

    Mefrɛ Kofi means "I call Kofi". For your own name, the subject is wɔ- and me comes after the verb.

  • Writing wo instead of wɔ.

    Wofrɛ me Kofi.
    Wɔfrɛ me Kofi.

    Wofrɛ me means "you call me". The impersonal "they" is wɔ, with ɔ.

How It Connects

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

wɔfrɛ meLevel 1They Call Me: Wɔfrɛ Me

Learn This First

Wɔfrɛ me uses wɔ- for people in general and an object pronoun after frɛ.

Words in This Pattern

frɛ