Learning a language or a part of a language is something I’ve always believed helped my journey. In this episode, I’m breaking down all the useful Amharic words I’ve learned and am sharing them with you to help you on your journey! I found that the apps I was using didn’t seem to use the words that Ethiopians tended to use on a day-to-day basis, so here’s what I’ve learned after some trial and error. Note that I’m writing the pronunciation out, rather than what’s shown in Google Translate, since at the time of writing, there’s no audio option. It’s best to watch the video.
Number one tip: Amharic is mostly pronounced neutrally, so don’t emphasize the second syllable like you would in English. For example, the national staple, injera, is pronounced “IN-jeh-rah”, not “in-JEH-rah”.
The Basics
Hello – “selam no”
Bye – “ciao”
Thanks – “ah-meh-seh-gih-nah-lo”
Yes – “ow”
No – “aye”
(I) like … – … “woh-gah-loe”
(I) want … – … “ee-feh-lee-gah-loe”
How much? – “soon-toh-no?”
How many birr? – “soon-toh-birr-no?”
Where is … ? – … “yeh-toe-noh?”
Do you have …? – … “alleh”?\
Ethiopian – “habesha”
Numbers
Learning ten, twenty, thirty is more useful than one to 10 since the prices of items are usually in increments of 10 birr (the national currency).
Ten – “AH-seh-rah”
Twenty – “haya”
Thirty – “SEH-la-sa”
Forty – “ahr-bah”
Fifty – “hamsa”
Fifteen – “AH-seh-rah amst”
Hundred – “meto”/”metah”
Food
Meat curry – “segah-wat”
Vegetable curry platter – “bah-yai-y-nut”
Vegetables – “ar-ti-cue-toe”
Spinach – “goe-men”
Veggie curry – “shiro wat”
Eggs – “OON-kah-rah”
Bill – “hee-sab”
Other Useful Phrases
More – “CHA-mah-rue”
A little – “tee-neesh”
Half – “gee-mash”
Later – “bo-HA-rah”
Go back – “wada wada”
(We) don’t have it – “yellen”
Enough – “bahk”
This – “ee-hay”
That – “yah”
Good/beautiful/nice – “kon-jo”