Amharic - belongs to the group of Semito-Hamitic languages and is most widespread in Ethiopia the language is certainly not easy, even compared to some other African languages. Swahili grammar and pronunciation can be learned much faster than the Amharic language, which has little to do with the African language group. Under no circumstances, however, should this discourage you from learning a few basic words, phrases, and sentences in the language.
Alphabet
The Amharic alphabet consists of 32 basic phonetic characters that make up seven vowel variations. The matrix presented below will help you master the rules of reading in Amharic. In the first column we find a given phonetic sign, and in the table header - spelling variations depending on the vowel following the sign. For example, to form the word gizje (time), we take the character from row 25 ("g") and column 4 ("i") and the character from row 20 ("z") and column 6 ("(i) e"), thus we get ጊዜ. Similarly, Ethiopia is Amharic ኢትዮጵoszenia. Below are the rules for Amharic pronunciation. More examples of the use of the alphabet can be found in the Polish-Amharic dictionary. It is worth mentioning that in addition to the characters presented in the table below, there are also special characters (in Amharic dik'ala, which by the way means "bastard"), which serve as additional sounds when pronouncing some, especially foreign, words. These marks are not included below.
No. a / e u i aa (i) e y o (u)
01 h ሀ ሁ ሂ ሃ ሄ ህ ሆ
02 l ለ ሉ ሊ ላ ሌ ል ሎ
03 ĥ ሐ ሑ ሒ ሓ ሔ ሕ ሖ
04 m መ ሙ ሚ or ማ ሜ ም ሞ
05 ŝ ሠ ሡ ሢ ሣ ሤ ሥ ሦ
06 r ረ ሩ ሪ ራ ሬ ር ሮ
07 s ሰ ሱ ሲ ሳ ሴ ስ ሶ
08 sh ሸ ሹ ሺ ሻ ሼ ሽ ሾ
09 k ’ቀ ቁ ቂ ቃ ቄ ❏ ቆ
10 b በ ቡ ቢ ባ ቤ ብ ቦ
11 t ተ ቱ ቲ życia ቴ ት ቶ
12 ch ቸ ቹ ቺ ቻ ቼ ች ቾ
13 h ’ኀ ኁ ኂ ኃ ኄ ኅ ኆ
14 n ነ ኑ ኒ ና ኔ ን ኖ
15 ni ኘ ኙ ኚ ኛ ኜ ኝ ኞ
16 a አ ኡ ኢ ኣ ኤ እ ኦ
17 k ከ ኩ ኪ ካ ኬ ክ ኮ
18 at ወ ዉ ዊ ዋ ዌ ው ዎ
19 a ’ዐ ዑ ዒ ዓ ዔ ዕ ዖ
20 from ዘ ዚ ዛ ዜ ዝ ዞ
21 ዠ ዡ ዢ ዣ ዤ ዥ ዦ
J የ ዪ ያ
23 d ደ ዱ ዲ ዳ ዴ oliw ዶ
24 j ጀ ጁ ጂ ጃ ጄ ጅ ጆ
25 g ገ ጉ ጊ ጋ ጌ ግ ጎ
26 t ’ጡ ጢ ጣ ጤ ጥ ጦ
27 ch ’ጨ ጩ ጪ ጫ ጬ ጭ ጮ
28 p ’ጰ ጱ ጲ ጳ ጴ ጵ ጶ
29 s ’ጸ ጹ ጺ ጻ ጼ ጽ ጾ
30 d ’ፀ ፁ ፂ ፃ ፄ ፅ ፆ
31 f ፈ ፉ ፊ ፋ ፌ ፍ ፎ
32 p ፐ ፑ ፒ ፓ ፔ ፕ ፖ
The rules of pronunciation
Most of the sounds in Amharic are pronounced similarly to the corresponding sounds in Polish. However, there are also significant exceptions to both the pronunciation of certain consonants and vowels.
Consonants
"Ch" is pronounced as in the English word "church", so between the Polish "cz" and "ć".
"Sh" is pronounced as in the English word "shirt", so between the Polish "sz" and "ś".
The word "w" is pronounced like the English word "what", which is similar to the Polish "ł".
Speakers marked in the above table with an apostrophe (') are pronounced briefly and "explosively". Those marked with a sign (^) practically do not differ in pronunciation from those without the sign.
Vowels
Basically, only two vowel columns need explaining. Some of the characters in column two ("a / e") are pronounced with the vowel "a" (for example ha ሀ), and others with the vowel "e" (for example le ለ). It is also worth mentioning that the characters in the seventh column ("y") are most often pronounced in full if they appear in the middle of a word in an stressed syllable or without a vowel, if they are at the end of a word or in an unstressed syllable.
For example: sym (name) ስም and addiNS (new) አዲስ. The voice "a" marked with an apostrophe (') is pronounced briefly and on the exhale.
It should be added that in the case of some words, certain consonants are pronounced twice, which, unfortunately, is not reflected in the spelling. Please compare memmeles ("go back") and memelles ("return, return") - both of these words are spelled identically, that is መመለስ.
Greetings and greetings
The most general and commonly used expression for both genders, irrespective of age difference, is:
t’iena yistyliń? (ጤና ይስጥልኝ) - literally meaning "endowed with good health" or also
selam (ሰላም) - which in translation means "peace be upon you"
Regardless of this, there are a number of greetings (and responses to them) depending on the time of day and whether you are addressing a woman, a man, or a group of people:
1) by 8:00 a.m. (2:00 a.m. Ethiopian time) we say:
yndiet adersh? (እንዴት አደርሽ) - to a woman
yndiet aderk? (እንዴት አደርክ) - to a man
yndiet aderachiu?* (እንዴት አደራችሁ) - to a group of people
Caution: distinguish between the ending "-chiu" and the ending "-chu" in the transcription. In the first case, the pronunciation should rather resemble "chi-hu", but with the silent "h". In the second - it should sound a bit like the English word "mature".
2) between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon (between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Ethiopian time) we say:
yndiet arefedsh? (እንዴት አረፈczegoሽ) - to a woman
yndiet arefedk? (እንዴት አረፈczegoክ) - to a man
yndiet arefedachiu? (እንዴት አረፈዳችሁ) - to a group of people
The answer to the questions from groups 1) and 2) may actually be the same, i.e. dehna (ደህና); you can also answer: dehna, ygziabyier jymesgen (ደህና, እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን), meaning "Thank God I'm fine."
3) after 12:00 noon (after 6:00 am Ethiopian time) we say:
yndiet walsh? (እንዴት ዋልሽ) - to a woman
to which the answer is: dehna, yndiet walsh / walk? (ደህና, እንዴት ዋልሽ / ዋልክ) or: dehna neń, anchiss / atess yndiet walsh / walk? (ደህና ነኝ, አንቺስ እንዴት ዋልሽ / ዋልክ) - respectively for a woman / man
yndiet walk? (እንዴት ዋልክ) - to a man
to which the answer is: dehna, yndiet walsh / walk? (ደህና, እንዴት ዋልሽ / ዋልክ) or: dehna neń, anchiss / atess yndiet walsh / walk? (ደህና ነኝ, አንቺስ እንዴት ዋልሽ / ዋልክ) - respectively for a woman / man
yndiet walachiu? (እንዴት ዋላችሁ) - to a group of people
to which the answer is: dehna walachiu? (ደህና ዋሉ) or: dehna, ynantess yndiet walachiu? (ደህና, እናንተስ እንዴት ዋላችሁ)
There is another way to greet by asking the question "how are you / your country?" (so roughly the equivalent of the English "How are you?"). We create them as follows:
yndemyn alesh? (እንደምን አለሽ) - to a woman
yndemyn aleh? (እንደምን አለህ) - to a man
yndemyn alachiu? (እንደምን አላችሁ) - to a group of people, to which the answer is:
dehna (neń) (ደህና (ነኝ))
dehna (neń) (ደህና (ነኝ))
dehna (nen) (ደህና (ነን))
We can start the evening greetings like this (which roughly means "good evening"):
yndiet ameshesh? (እንዴት አመሼሽ) - to a woman
to which the answer is: dehna, yndiet ameshesh / amesheh? (ዸህና, እንዴት አመሼሽ / አመሼህ)yndiet amesheh? (እንዴት አመሼህ) - to a man
to which the answer is: dehna, yndiet ameshesh / amesheh? (ዸህና, እንዴት አመሼሽ / አመሼህ) - respectively for a woman / man - or: yndemyneh! (እንደምነህ)
yndiet ameshachiu? (እንዴት አመሻችሁ) - to a group of people, the answer is: dehna, ynantess? (ዸህና, እናንተስ)
Goodbye in Amharic is:
dehna waj (ደህና ዋይ) - to a woman
dehna wal (ደህና ዋል) - to a man
dehna walu (ደህና ዋሉ) - to a group of people
In turn, the Amharic "good night" is:
dehna yderi (ደህና እደሪ) - to a woman
dehna yder (ደህና እደር) - to a man
dehna yderu (ደህና እደሩ) - to a group of people
Polite phrases
Thank you very much) - (bet'am) amesegynaleu ((በጣም) አመሰግናለሁ)
Thank you very much) - (bet'am) ynamesegynalen ((በጣም) እናመሰግናለን)
I am asking (for something) - ybakywo (እባክዎ)
Excuse me (calling someone else's attention or apologizing for minor offenses) - yik'yrta (ዪم życia)
Excuse me (apologies for major offenses) - aznaleu (አዝናለሁ)
- Caution: distinguish between the ending "-leu" and the ending "-leu" in the transcription. In the first case, the pronunciation should rather resemble "le-hu", but with the silent "h". In the second - it should sound a bit like the word "leukocyte".
Meetings and simple conversation
What is your name?
symysh man new? (ስምሽ ማን ነው) - to a woman
symyh man new? (ስምህ ማን ነው) - to a man
What are your names? - simachiu man new? (ስማችሁ ማን ነው)
What is your name? - symwo man new? (ስምዎ ማን ነው)
Please enter your last name - simwon jyngeruń (ስምዎን ይንገሩኝ)
My name is.... - symie .... new (ስሜ ... ነው)
Where are you going / going?
wediet tyhiedziallesh? (ወዴት ትሂጃለሽ) - to a woman
wediet tyhiedalleh? (ወዴት ትሄዳለህ) - to a man
Where are you going / going? - wediet tyhiedallachiu? (ወዴት ትሄዳላችሁ)
Where are you going / going? - wediet jihiedalu? (ወዴት ዪሄዳሉ)
I'm going / going to .... - wede .... yhiedaleu (ወደ ... እሄዳለሁ)
Where did you come from? - kejet met’ash? (ከ Yeti መጣሽ)
Where did you come from / did you come from? - kejet met’ah? (ከ Yeti መጣህ)
Where did you come / from? - kejet met'achiu? (ከ Yeti መጣችሁ)
Where did you come from? - kejet met? (ከ Yeti መጡ)
How long you are here?
yzich synt gizjesh new? (እዚህ ስንት ጊዜሽ ነው) - to a woman
yzich synt gizjeh new? (እዚህ ስንት ጊዜህ ነው) - to a man
How long have you been here? - yzich synt gizazdu new? (ስንት ጊዜቺሁ ነው)
How long have you been here? - yzich synt gizjewo new? (ስንት ጊዜዎ ነው)
What country are you from?
kejet ager nesh? (ከ的ት አገር ነሽ) - to the woman
kejet ager neh? (ከ的ት አገር ነህ) - to the man
What country are you from? - kejet ager nachiu? (ከ spal አገር ናችሁ)
What country are you from? - ke jet ager newot? (ከ 的ት አገር ነዎት)
I'm with .... - ke .... neń (ከ ... ነኝ)
Africa - Afrika (አፍሪካ)
Europe - Europe (ኤውሮፓ)
Ethiopia - ityjop’ija (ኢትዮጵoszenia)
Polish - Poland (ፖላን English)
Religion / denomination
I am .... - not .... not (እኔ ... ነኝ)
Buddhist - buddist (ቡዲስት)
a Christian - kyrystijan (ክርስቲoszeniaን)
Hindu - hindu (ሂንዱ)
Catholic - Catholic (ካቶሊክ)
Muslim - I was (እስላም)
Ethiopian Orthodox - je ityjop’ija orthodox (תኢትዮጵ)
Protestant - protiestant (ፕሮቴስ życiaንት)
Jewish faith - ajyhud (አይሁ English)
Tongue
Do you speak Polish / English / Amharic?
polishinia / ynglizynia / amarinia tejijallesh? (ፖሊሺኛ / እንግሊዝኛ / አማሪኛ ትቺ compl.) - to a woman
polishinia / ynglizynia / amarinia teilalleh? (ፖሊሺኛ / እንግሊዝኛ / አማሪኛ ትቺላለህ) - to a man
Do you speak Polish / English / Amharic? - polishinia / ynglizynia / amarinia jichilallu? (ፖሊሺኛ / እንግሊዝኛ / አማሪኛ ዪቺላሉ)
I say - ychilalleu (እቺላለሁ)
I do not say - alchillym (አልቺልም)
I say a little - tynnysh ychilalleu (ትንሽ እቺላለሁ)
Do you understand?
gebbash? (ገባሽ) - to the woman
gebbah? (ገባህ) - to a man
Do you understand? - gebbawot? (ገባዎት)
I see - gebtonial (ገብቶኛል)
I do not understand - algeban (አልገባኝም)
Speak slowly, please
ybakysh k’es bylesh tenageri (እባክሽ ቀስ ብለሽ ተናገሪ) - to a woman
ybakyh k’es byleh tenager (እባክህ ቀስ ብለህ ተናገር) - to a man
ybakywo k'es bylew jynageru (እባክዎ ቀስ ብለው ይናገሩ) - polite form
Please explain to me slowly - ybakywo k’es bylew jaŝreduń (እባክዎ ቀስ ብለው arzeniaሥረዱኝ)
The simplest questions and answers
What? - myn? (ምን) or mondyn? (ምንዽን)
Where? - jet? (ት)
When? - mosses? (መቼ)
Who? - man? (ማን)
Why / why? - lemyn? (ለምን)
How much? - synt? (ስንት)
Where is ....? - .... jet new? (... 的ት ነው)
What is this? - myndyn new? (ምንoszeniaን ነው)
How much it costs? - synt new? (ስንት ነው) or wagaw synt new? (ዋጋው ስንት ነው) (literally "what is the price of [this]?")
Is there ....? - .... alle? (አለ)
No problem / problem, okay - chiggyr yellem (ቺግር 的ለም)
(Just like that - awo (n) (አዎ (ን))
Not - ie (ኢኤ) or yell (ለም) [the latter also means "there is no"]
OK, okay [very often used] - yshi (እሺ)
Personal pronouns
I - yn (s) e (እኔ)
You - anchi (አንቺ) (woman), ante (አንተ) (male)
polite form for the 2nd person singular = y (r) swo (እ (ር) ሷ), for the 2nd person pl. = y (r) sachew (እ (ር) ሳቸው)
- He - y (r) su (እ (ር) ሱ)
- She - y (r) swa (እ (ር) ሷ) *
We - ynia (እኛ)
You - ynante (እናንተ)
They - yne (r) su (እነ (ር) ሱ) *
Caution: we write: yrswo (እርሷ), yrsachew (እርሳቸው), yrsu (እርሱ),ynersu (እነርሱ). We pronounce: live (እሷ), ysachew (እሳቸው), ysu (እሱ), ynesu (እነሱ) !!
Numerals
Caution: in Amharic, numerals have their own separate signs (fortunately for people learning this language, they are used less and less).
Once - and (አን English)
Two - hulet (ሁለት)
Three - soost (ሶስት)
Four - arat (አራት)
Bake - ammyst (አምስት)
Six - syddyst (ስ obie)
Seven - Sabbath (ሳባት)
Eight - symmynt (ስምንት)
Nine - that is (ጠኝ)
Ten - assyr (አሥር)
Eleven - aŝraand (አሥራአን English)
Twelve - aŝrahulet (አሥራሁለት) ...
Twenty - high (ሃoszenia)
Thirty - selas (ሰላሳ)
Forty - arba (አርባ)
Fifty - hamsa (ሃምሳ)
Sixty - sylsa (ስልሳ)
Seventy - saba (ሳባ)
Eighty - semania (ሰማኒoszenia)
Ninety - zet'en (ጠና)
Hundred - meto (መቶ)
Two hundred - Meto hulet (ሁለት መቶ)
Thousand - shi (ሺ)
Two thousand - hulet shi (ሁለት ሺ)
First (s) - andenia (አንደኛ)
Second (s) - bulletins (ሁለተኛ)
Third (s) - soostenia (ሶስተኛ)
Fourth / a / s - aratenia (አራተኛ)
Fifth / s - ammystenia (አምስተኛ)
Sixth / a / e - syddystenia (ስ obie)
Seventh / a / e - sabbatenia (ሳባተኛ)
Eighth / a / e - symmyntenia (ስምንተኛ)
Ninth (s) - zet’enia (ጠኛ)
Tenth / a / e - asrenia (አሥረኛ)
Days of the week and time of day
Monday - senio (ሰኞ)
Tuesday - max (ማክሰኞ)
Wednesday - yrob (እሮብ)
Thursday - amus (አሙስ) or hamus (ሐሙስ)
Friday - a'rb (ዓርብ)
Saturday - k’ydamie (م)
Sunday - yhud (እሁ English)
Day - k'en (ቀን)
Dawn (at dawn) - goh (goh sik’ed) (ጎህ (ጎህ ሲቀochoc))
In the morning - t'ewat (ጠዋት)
Early morning - maleda t'ewat (ማለዳ ጠዋት)
Before noon) - kesea’t befit (ከሰዓት በፊት)
(At noon - ket'yr (ከጥር) or ykule k'en (እኩለ ቀን)
Afternoon (m) - kesea’t behuala (ከሰዓት በኋላ)
In the evening - wedemata (ወደማ once)
In the evening - mat (ማ once)
Night - lelit (ለሊት)
North - ykule lelit (እኩለ ለሊት)
Yesterday - tilantin (ትላንትና)
Day before yesterday - vedija ketylanthin (ከትላንትና ወዲarzenia)
Today - zarie (ዛሬ)
Tomorrow - nege (ነገ)
Day after tomorrow - kenege wedija (ከነገ ወዲarzenia)
In a few days - ket’ykit k’en behuala (ከጥኪት ቀን በኋላ)
In 2, 3, 5, 10 days - ke 2, 3, 5, 10 k'en behuala (ከ 2, 3, 5, 10 ቀን በኋላ)
Next week - kesamynt behuala (ከሳምንት በኋላ)
In a month - kewer behuala (ከወር በኋላ)
In a year - kea'met behuala (ከዓመት በኋላ)
Visa
Where can I get (obtain) an Ethiopian Visa? - jeityjop’ijan viza jet mewt’at (magniet) ychilalleu? (ת ት መውጣት (ማግኘት) እቺላለሁ)
How much is a visa to Ethiopia? - jeityjop’ijan viza synt new? (תኢትዮጲ to ዛ ስንት)
How much do you have to pay for a visa to Ethiopia? - wede ityjop’ija viza lemewt’at synt jykefelal? (ወደ 的 ኢትዮጲ with ዛ ለመውጣት ስንት ይከፈላል)
How long does it take to get a visa? - viza lemagniet (or: lemewt’at) synt gizje jasfelygal (or: jywesdal)? (from ዛ ለማግኜት (ለመውጣት) ስንት ጊዤ ስፈልጋል (ይወስዳል))
You can get a visa at Addis Ababa airport - addis abeba ywroplan marefija viza ijageniu jichilalu (አዲስ አበባ እውሮፕላን ማረፊ compl. ዛ ኢ ኢ)
I would like to extend my visa - visajeń masdes yfellygalleu (from ዛ的ኝ ማስደስ እፈልጋለሁ)
Asking for directions and directions, travel
Where is ....? - .... jet new? (... 的ት ነው)
- airport - ywroplan marefija (እውሮፕላን ማረፊarzenia)
- Bus Station - awtobus t'abija (አውቆቡስ ጣቢoszenia) or awtobus tera (አውቆቡስ ተራ)
- bus stop - awtobus mak’omija (አውቆቡስ ማቆ ordered) or awtobus fiermata (አውቆቡስ ፌርማ życia)
- city center - mehal ketema (መሃል ከተማ)
- Taxi stop - taksi mak’omija (ክሲ ማቆ ማቆ Ordered)
- ticket office - tikiet biro (ቲኬት ቢሮ)
- railway station - babur t'abija (ባቡር ጣቢarzenia)
When does the next .... leave / arrive? - jemik’et’ylleu .... mechie jynesal / jydersal? (Oughts ... መቼ ይነሳል / ይደርሳል)
- plane - ywroplan (እውሮፕላን)
- Łódź - jerk (ጄልባ)
- bus - awtobus (አውቆቡስ)
- car - mnequin (መኪና)
- minibus - wyjijit (ውዪዪት)
- train - babur (ባቡር)
- truck - jech'inet mekina (的ጪነት መኪና)
Bank - bank (ባንክ)
Church - biete kyrystijan (ቤተ ክርስቲoszeniaን)
Embassy ....- them .... embassi (Yet ... ኤምባሲ)
Hotel - hotiel (ሆቴል)
Market - gebeja (ገበoszenia)
Police Headquarters - polis t'abija (ፖሊስ ጣቢarzenia)
Post office - biet post (ፖስ życia ቤት)
Toilet - shint biet (ሺንት ቤት) (informally) or mes'edadzia (መጸዳጃ) (formal)
Restaurant - mygyb biet (ምግብ ቤት)
Travel agency - jeturist biro (的ቱሪስት ቢሮ)
What time does it start / stop (lit. "is open / closed")? - besynt saa't jykefetal / jyzzegal? (በስንት ሳዓት ይከፈይከፈ / ይeniemጋል)
Does it go / fly / flow to ....? - wede .... jihiedal? (ወደ ... ዪሄዳል)
I would like to travel to .... - wede .... mehied yfellygalleu (ወደ ... መሄoszenia እፈልጋለሁ)
How / how (what) to get to ....? - wede .... yndiet (bemyn)yhiedalleu (ወደ ... እንዴት (በምን) እሄዳለሁ) or: wede .... yndiet (bemyn) mehied jychalal? (ወደ ... እንዴት (በምን) መሄczego ይቻላል)
Is it near / far? - k’yrb / yruk ’new? (✔ርብ / እሩ życia ነው)
Is this the way to ....? - wede .... bezih bekul new? (ወደ ... በዚህ በኩል ነው)
Left / Left - begra bekul (በግራ በኩል)
Right / Right - burst bekul (በቀኝ በኩል)
Before / Against - fit lefit (ፊት ለፊት)
Behind - behuala (በኋላ)
In / inside / inside - display (ውስጥ)
Outside - my (ውጭ)
Near - yzich akababi (እዚህ ኣካባቢ)
In the distance - bet’am yruk ’ (በጣም እሩarzenia)
On the north - semien of the exhibition (ሰሜን ውስጥ)
On the south - debub exhibition (ደቡብ ውስጥ)
On the east - myŝrak ’Wyst’ (ምሥራ prepares ውስጥ)
In the West - myyrab Wyst ’ (ምዕራብ ውስጥ)
Where can I buy tickets to ....? - wede .... tikiet jet jigenial? (ወደ ... ቲኬት 的ት ዪገኛል) or: wede .... tikiet jet megzat ychilaleu? (ወደ ... ቲኬት 的ት መግዛት እጪላለሁ)
How much will [travel] to ....? - wede .... synt new? (ወደ ... ስንት ነው)
Is there a plane to ....? - wede .... ywroplan alle? (ወደ ... እውሮፕላን አለ)
How long does it take to fly? - bereraw synt gizje jywesdal? (በረራው ስንት ጊዜ ይወስዳል)
Domestic flight - jeager Wyst ’berera (的አገር ውስጥ በረራ)
International flight - a'lem ak'ef berera (ዓለም አቀፍ በረራ)
Is this bus going to ....? - jykhew awtobus wede .... jyhiedal? (ይኸው አውቆቡስ ወደ ... ይሄዳል)
Which bus goes to ....? - jetyniaw awtobus wede .... jyhiedal? (的ትኛው አውቆቡስ ወደ ... ይሄዳል)
I would like to get off here - yzich mewred yfellygalleu (እዚህ መውረ są እፈልጋለሁ)
When does the train arrive / leave? - baburu mechie jidersal / jinesal? (ባቡሩ መቼ ዪደርሳል / ዪነሳል)
Which train goes to ....? - jetyniaw babur wede .... jihiedal? (的ትኛው ባቡር ወደ ... ዪሄዳል)
Taxis
Please do .... - ybakyh wede .... (እባክህ ወደ ...)
How much to ....? - wede .... synt new? (ወደ ... ስንት ነው)
Would you please stop here? - yzich mak'om teillaleh? (እዚህ ማቆም ትቺላለህ)
Too expensive - wud new (ዉ jaj ነው)
Very expensive - bet’am wud new (በጣም ዉ są ነው)
Its not a good deal for me - Ayawat'anma (አoszeniaዋጣኝም)
Twenty and a half bira - haja byr tekul (ሃoszenia ብር ተኩል) or haya byr kehamsa (ሃoszenia ብር ከሃምሳ)
At the bank, at the post office
Where can I exchange money? - genzeb jet mek'ejer (or: melewot ’) ychilaleu (ገን spal ት መቀ (መለዎጥ) እቺላለሁ)
Where is the money exchange point / office? - genzeb jemek’ejerew jet new? (ገንĀ መቀመቀ ነው)
What's the course? - weight besynt? (በስንት ዋጋ)
I would like to exchange money / travelers checks - genzeb / travelers chieks mek’ejerija yfellygalleu (ገንarańብ / ትራ x ለርስ ቼክስ መቀ的 safe እፈልጋለሁ)
How many birs per dollar? - synt byr land dollar? (ስንት ብር ላንochoc ዶላር)
How much time will it take? - synth gizje jiwesdal? (ስንት ጊዜ ዪወስዳል)
Banknotes - byr (ብር)
Coins - santim (ሳንቲም)
Currency - jegenzeb a'jinet (ገንገን ዓይነት)
How much is [shipping] to ....? - wede .... synt new? (ወደ ... ስንት ነው)
I'd like x stamps
ybakysh x tiembyr (እባክሽ x ቴምብር) - to a woman
ybakyh x tiembyr (እባክህ x ቴምብር) - to a man
ybakywo x tiembyr (እባክዎ x ቴምብር) - polite form
I would like to send ... to Poland - wede Poland .... lemelak yfellygalleu (ወደ ፖለን są ... ለመላክ እፈልጋለሁ)
- gift, gift - syt'ota (ስጦ once)
- letter - debdabbie (ደብዳቤ)
- box - jetashege yk (Commercial)
I want to send this .... - jykhen .... melak yfellygalleu (ይኸን ... መላክ እፈልጋለሁ)
- airmail - beayer (በአ single)
- express - Beaschekay (በአስቼኳይ)
- by registered mail - yadera debdabbie (ደራ ደብዳቤ)
- by sea - bebaĥyr / bemerkeb (በባሕር / በመርከብ)
Where can I send it? - jet lasegebaw? (的ት ላሰገባው)
Address - adrasha (አ obie)
Envelope - post (ፖስ once)
Mailbox - satin jeposta (תፖስ ሳትን)
Is there a telephone booth (public telephone) nearby? - yzich akababi jeĥyzb sylk alle? (እዚህ ኣካባቢ 的ሕዝብ ስልክ አለ)
I would like to call ...- wede .... medewel yfellygallleu (ወደ ... መደወል እፈልጋለሁ)
How much is a minute [of calls]? - ledek'ik's synt new? (ለደቂቃ ስንት ነው)
Is there a phone book? - jesylk mawuch'a alle? (的ስልክ ማዉጫ አለ)
In the hotel
Is there .... - .... alle? (አለ)
- room / bed - alga (አልጋ)
- single room - and alga (አን jaj አልጋ) or leand sew alga (ለአን jaj ሰው አልጋ)
- double room (with two beds) - balls hulet alga (ባለ ሁለት አልጋ)
- two rooms - kyfyl hulet (ሁለት ክፍል)
- quiet room - s’et ’jale kyfyl (ጸጥ ለ)
- hot water - muk 'wyha (ሙ prepares ውሃ)
I want a room with .... - .... jallew kyfyl yfellygalleu (... ለው)
- air conditioning - jeajer mak'ezk'eża (አአአአር ማቀዝቀዣ)
- bathroom - banio (or: metat'ebija) not (or: kypyl) (ባኞ (መ Klimatyzacja) ቤት (ክፍል))
- a double (large) bed - tyllyk 'alga (ትል prepares አልጋ)
- shower - shawer (ሻወር)
- by phone - sylk (ስልክ)
- through the window - messkot (መስኮት)
How much is a room for one night / one week? - alga (or: kypyl) leand lelit / samynt synt new? (አልጋ (ክፍል) ለአንczego ለሊት / ሳምንት ስንት ነው)
Does the price include breakfast? - k'urs jych'emyral? (ቁርስ ይጨምራል) or: kek’urs gar new? (ከቁርስ ጋር ነው)
I would like to see the room - kyflun majet yfellygalleu (ክፍሉን ማ的ት እፈልጋለሁ)
Can I see another room? - liela kyfyl majet ychilalleu? (ሌላ ክፍል ማ的ት እቺላለሁ)
I stay for one night / two nights - and / hulet k'en (or: lelit) adyralleu (or: yk'ojaleu) (አንoszenia / ሁለት ቀን (ለሊት) አ Jerusalem (እቆoszeniaለሁ))
Is there (one more) blanket? - (liela) byrd lybs alle? ((ሌላ) ብርoszenia ልብስ አለ)
I want another room - liela kyfyl yfellygalleu (ሌላ ክፍል እፈልጋለሁ)
This room is very dirty - jykhe kyfyl bet'am koshasha new (ይኸ ክፍል በጣም ኮሻሻ ነው)
I would like a smaller / bigger room - annes / tyllyk ’(kef) yale kyfyl yfellygalleu (አነስ / ትልrawy (ከፍ) arzeniaለ ክፍል እፈልጋለሁ)
This room is very cold / hot - jykhe kyfyl bet'am jyberdal / jymok'al new (ይኸ ክፍለ በጣም ይበርዳል / ይሞቃል ነው)
May I use your phone? - sylk met'ekem ychilalleu? (ስልክ መጠቀም እቺላለሁ)
I would like to pay the bill - mekfel yfellygalleu (መክፈል እፈልጋለሁ)
In the restaurant / diner / bar
Is there an inexpensive restaurant nearby? - yzich akababi rykash mygyb biet alle? (እዚህ አካባቢ ርካሽ ምግብ ቤት አለ)
I would like to [want] a dish (Ethiopian / Italian / Arabic / European) - je (ityjop’ija / t’alijan / arab / europa) mygyb yfellygalleu (ת (ኢትዮጵoszenia / ጠሊarzeniaን / አራብ / ኤውሮፓ) ምግብ እፈልጋለሁ)
Cafe [where you can also eat small snacks and cakes] - bunna biet (ቡና ቤት)
Restaurant or eatery - mygyb biet (ምግብ ቤት)
Typical Ethiopian "pub" with traditional music serving snacks and drinks - azmari biet (አዝማሪ ቤት)
Confectionery [where biscuits, cakes, tea and coffee are served] - a bun (ኬክ ቤት) Fruit juice bar - jus biet (ጁስ ቤት)
Bar or pub with Ethiopian alcoholic drinks - t'ella biet (ጠላ ቤት) or then biet (ጠጅ ቤት)
Excuse me, are meals served here? - jyk'erta, mygyb alle? (ይቀር się, ምግብ አለ)
[I am asking for] a table for two - lehulet sew bot (ለሁለት ሰው ቦkieta)
Do you have an English menu? - jemygyb Libra zyrzyr be ynglizinia alle? (的ምግብ ዋጋ ዝርዝር በ እንግሊዙኛ አለ)
Delicious food - t'afach ’mygyb new (ጣፋጭ ምግብ ነው)
This dish / food is not good - jykhe mygyb tebelashtwal (ይኸ ምግብ ተበላሽቷል)
I am a vegetarian / vegetarian - Syga Albellam(ስጋ አልበላም) (lit. "I don't eat meat")
This dish is too spicy - mygybu berberie beztobetal (ምግቡ በርበሬ በዝቶበkietaል) or: jykhe mygyb y'at'ylal (ይኸ ምግብ oszeniaቃጥለል)
Cup - son (ስኒ)
Mug - cubaj (ኩባoszenia)
Spoon - mankija (ማንኪoszenia)
Knife - billawa (ቢላዋ)
Table - t’erep’ieza (ጠረጴዛ)
Glass - byrch'ik'o (ብርጪቆ)
Plate - sahyn (ሳህን)
Fork - shuka (ሹካ)
Fries - the only t'ybs (◆скиንች ጥብስ) or: jetet’ebes dynych (的)
Sandwich - sandwich (ሳን obie)
Popcorn - abeba k'olo (አበባ ቆሎ)
Salad - selat (ሰላጣ)
Soup - shorba (ሾርባ)
Eggs - ynk’ulal (እንቁላል)
Yoghurt - yrgo (እርጎ)
Margarine - margarin (ማርጋሪን)
Butter - k’ybie (م)
Milk - vet (ወተት)
Lamb - jebeg syga (的በግ ስጋ)
Kozlina - jefyjal syga (תፍ ስጋ)
Chicken - doro (ዶሮ)
Meat - Syga (ስጋ)
Fish - ace (አሳ)
Beef - jeberie syga (的በሬ ስጋ)
Pork - jasama syga (ሳማ ስጋ)
Onion - shinkurt (ሺንኩርት)
Cauliflower - abeba gomen (አበባ ጎመን)
Cabbage - gomen (ጎመን)
Carrot - karrot (ካሮት)
Tomato - timatim (ቲማቲም)
A vegetable - atkylt (አትክልት)
Potato - dynych (و)
Pineapple - pineapple (አናናስ)
Avocado - avocado (አ ƒ ካዶ)
Banana - mus (ሙዝ)
Lemon - lomi (ሎ and)
Apple - pom (ፖም)
Tangerine - menderin (መንደሪን)
Mango - mango (ማንጎ)
Fruit - frafrie (ፍራፍሬ)
Papaya - papaya (ፓፓoszenia)
Orange - byrtukan (ብርቱካን)
Grapes - in (ወይን)
Cookie / biscuit - byeffect (ብስኩት)
Cookie - Kiek (ኬክ)
Sugar - Sukwar (ሱኳር)
Candies - keremiela (ከረሜላ)
Honey - Mar. (ማር)
Mild - leslas (ለስላሳ)
Heated / stewed - leb leb jale (ለብ ለብ oszeniaለ)
Raw - t'irie (ጢሬ)
Cooked - jetek'el (ተቀቀል)
Baked - jetegagere (ተጋገረ)
Fried - jetet’ebes (ተጠበስ)
Carbonated drink / lemonade - leslasa (met'et ') (ለስላሳ (መጠጥ)
Juice - ch’ymak’i (ጭማቂ)
Juice without water - ch’ymak’i bycha (jale wyha) (ጭማቂ ብቻ (arzeniaለ ውሃ))
Water - yeah (ውሃ)
Mineral water - 'Ambo' wyha (አምቦ ውሃ) or 'Amboha' (አምቦሃ)
Black tea - t'yk'ur shaj (ጥቁር ሻይ)
Czarna kawa – t’yk’ur bunna (ጥቁር ቡና)
Herbata – shaj (ሻይ)
Kawa – bunna (ቡና)
- z cukrem – besukwar (በሱኳር)
- bez cukru – jale sukwar (ያለ ሱኳር)
- z mlekiem – bewetet (በወተት)
- bez mleka – jale wetet (ያለ ወተት)
- z cytryną – belomi (በሎሚ)
Miodnik [lokalny, z dodatkiem specjalnych ziół] – t’edź (ጠጅ)
Piwo [lokalne, z kukurydzy lub żyta] – t’ella (ጠላ)
Piwo [zwykłe] – bira (ቢራ)
Wino – wejn (ወይን)
Wódka [i podobne napoje] – arek’ie (አረቄ)