Being polite and indirect is a halmmark of Akan communication. Proverbs and kasakoa, that is, idiomatic expressions and euphemisms are an effective tool for achieving that.

Below is a collection of kasakoa spanning a wide range of situations including death, eating, impotence, menstruation, and others.

For each expression, we have the correct Twi orthography in a different color below the anglicized orthography which is included to aid searching as most keyboards do not have the Twi letters, ‘ɛ’ (pronounced like the ‘e’ in ‘get’) and ‘ɔ’ (pronounced like the ‘o’ in ‘orange’).

Below are the expressions with their literal and figurative meanings as well as other remarks in English.

List of Akan Idiomatic Expressions and Euphemisms

Expression Literal meaning Figurative meaning and comments
N’aso ye den

N’aso yɛ den 		His ear is hard He is stubborn or disobedient. That is, he won't obey instructions from parents, teachers or a higher authority like the government or God.
Ne nsa ware

Ne nsa ware 		His hand is long He is a thief
N'ano ye toro

N'ano yɛ toro 		His mouth is slippery He cannot keep a secret
Twe n'aso

Twe n'aso 		Pull his ear Punish him. Thus, the Twi word for "punishment" is "asotweɛ" (Asante) or "asotwe" (Akuapem)
Aban agye ne tuo

Aban agye ne tuo 		The government has seized his gun He is impotent
Waka nkyene agu

Waka nkyene agu 		He has spilled salt He has died
Wabu ne nsa

Wabu ne nsa 		She has broken her arm She has menstruated
N’ani awu

N’ani awu 		His eye has died He is ashamed or embarrassed. It can also mean he has been put to shame or he has been embarrassed.
Mia w’ani

Mia w’ani 		Squeeze your eyes shut Do your best. The idea here is to give your all even despite the pain or difficulty. The pain may be so agonising as to make you groan and squeeze your eyes shut but press on regardless.
Ne bowere bu a, opam

Ne bowerɛ bu a, ɔpam 		When his nail breaks away, he sews it back He is stingy. The idea of this expression is that this person is so stingy that he cannot stand losing even trivial things like an overgrown nail.