Not to confuse you, but here are a lot of words that sound almost the same and have different meanings. It’s good pronunciation practice, and hopefully will help you avoid mix-ups when speaking and listening.
| ጠራራ/t’ärara = sunny ተራራ/tärara = mountains | ውጭ/wïč’ = abroad (outside of Ethiopia/East Africa) ውጪ/wïč’i = outcomes/results |
| መውለድ/mäwläd = to give birth መደወል/mädäwäl = to call (on the phone) | አዝማሪ/azmari = musician አዝመራ/azmära = crop |
| ምልክት/mïlïkt = key መልዕክት/mälïïkt = message | ዋገ/wagä = price ወገ/wägä = relatives |
| ትኩረት/tïkurät = attention ኩራት/kurat = pride | መግባት/mägbat = to enter (a room) ማግባት/magbat = to marry (ie. a wedding) |
| መሳል/mäsal = to draw ማሳል/masal = to cough ማማሰል/mamasäl = to stir | ደህነት/dähnät = poverty ደህንነት/dähnïnät = good situation (lit. “fineness”) |
EXERCISE: Write definitions in Amharic for the following words
example: መደወል/mädäwäl = በስልክ መውራት/bäsïlk mäwrat
- ደህነት/dähnät = ____________________________________________________
- ትኩረት/tïkurät = ____________________________________________________
- ማሳል/masal = ____________________________________________________
- ተራራ/tärara = ____________________________________________________
- ወገ/wägä = ____________________________________________________
EXERCISE: Fill-in-the-Blank: Select the correct option to correctly complete the sentence.
- ባል፡የለኝም። _______________ አልፈልግም።
bal yäläñm._______________ alfälgm.
a. መግባት/mägbat b. ማግባት/magbat - _______________ አይቀንስም?
_______________ ayk’änsïm?
a. ወገ/wägä b. ዋገ/wagä - እሷ ስራ ለመግኘት _______________ ሄደች።
ïswa sïra lämagïñät _______________ hedäč.
a. ውጪ/wïč’i b. ውጭ/wïč’ - ወጥ ስትሰሩ፣ _______________ አለባችሁ።
wät’ sïtsäru, _______________ aläbačhu.
a. ማማሰል/mamasäl b. መሳል/mäsal - እትዮጵያ ውስጥ፣ _______________ ትልቅ ችግር ነው።
etyop’ya wïst, _______________ tïlk’ čigïr näw.
a. ደህንነት/dähnïnät b. ደህነት/dähnät
avagu press 