Category / amharic

by avagupress

So Many Ethiopian Languages… Why Amharic?

There are over eighty languages in Ethiopia, and yet Amharic (the language of Amhara) dominates. Of course, it is convenient to have a lingua franca, but only ~30% of Ethiopians speak Amharic as their native language (the most-spoken native language is Afaan Oromoo) — what gives?

Amharic (based on the ancient language, Ge’ez) has been considered the “official” language of the Ethiopian empire since the reign of Emperor Menelik II (1881-1913), when he starting using it as the functional language in administrative offices. Depending on who writes the history books, Menelik’s reign was defined by either brutal military conquest or the expansion of the great Ethiopian empire. Either way, he took over a lot of non-Amharic- speaking people, and Amharic began its role as the language of the conquerer.

Emperor Haile Selassie (r. 1930-1974) promoted Amharic as a tool of unification (or domination — again, perspective is a fickle beast), trying to develop (or force) a common language and culture for an incredibly diverse empire. When Italy occupied Ethiopia (1935-1941), the Italians promoted use of local languages, hoping undermine these unification efforts, in order to divide and conquer.

But, when Haile Selassie regained power, he re-solidified use of Amharic, including the media. All newspapers were in Amharic, except for one in Tigrinya. Two-thirds of radio time was reserved for Amharic programs, with Tigrinya, Somali, Tigre, and Afar (the only other languages even allowed on the radio) squeezing collectively into the other third of the time.

When the Derg Regime took control in 1974, they declared Amharic would no longer dominate and local languages would be respected. They decided primary school would be taught in one of fifteen languages: Amharic, Oromo, Tigrigna, Walaita, Somali, Hadiya, Gidole, Tigre, Kambata, Kunama, Sidama, Silti, Afar, Kefa-Mocha or Saho.

Ironically, because the literacy campaign insisted on writing all of these languages with the Amharic alphabet (fidel), and because many of the teachers they sent to the rural areas only spoke Amharic (and not the local languages they were meant to teach), their campaign actually wound up spreading Amharic, instead of promoting local language use.

The Derg was overthrown in 1991, and the 1994 Constitution defined three basic rules about language use (1994 Constitution, Article 5):

  1. All Ethiopian languages shall enjoy equal state of recognition.
  2. Amharic shall be the working language of the Federal Government.
  3. Members of the Federation may determine their respective languages.

Today, Amharic is the official, national language. It is also the official language for four regional states (Amhara, SNNPR, Benishangul-Gumuz, and Gambella) and two federal cities (Addis Abeba and Dire Dawa). Afaan Oromo, Tigrinya, Harari, Afar, and Somali are official, regional languages in their respective regions. In some zones and districts, there are other locally-official languages. Primary school is still taught in local languages; there are currently 21 different languages used to teach primary school.


In 2020, Tigrinya, Somali, Afar, and Afaan Oromo were officially added as national languages, although in practice, Amharic is still the primary national language.

by avagupress

አማርኛ (Amharic) Landscape Vocabulary

አፋፍ/afafpeakኩረብታ/kuräbtahill
እሳት ጋሞራ/ïsat gamoravolcanoማማ/mamaisolated place on the top of a mountain
ገደል/gädälcliffጅረት/jïrätfloodstream
ዳግት/dagtsteepnessረግረግ/rägrägbog
ዋሻ/wašacaveሽርሽራ/šïršïraerosion

EXERCISE: Fill in the blanks using the given vocabulary words.

  • ዳግት/dagt
  • ዋሻዎች/wašawoc
  • ጅረት/jïrät
  1. አትሀጅም፤ መንገዱ __________ ነው፣ ይዳክማሻል።
    athejm; mängädu __________ näw, yïdakmašal.
  2. በጥንታዊ ጊዜ፣ ከጥንት አባቶች __________ ውስጥ ኖሩ።
    bät’ïntawi gize, kät’ïnt abatoč __________ wïst’ noru.
  3. ክራምት፣ዝናብ ሲዘንብ፣ __________ ይኖራሉ።
    kïramt, zïnab sizänb, __________ yïnoralu.
by avagupress

አማርኛ (Amharic) Adjectives

While Amharic-learners oftentimes gravitate towards “standard adjectives” (as described in the following table), native Amharic speakers oftentimes use verb-adjectives, or adjective-verbs.

What in the world is a verb-adjective? Or an adjective-verb?
Don’t worry, these aren’t official terms. I made them up to help me wrap my mind around this grammar. If you like them, great. If not, don’t worry about it.

Read through the following table about different forms of Amharic “adjectives” (they’re not all technically, grammatically adjectives, but in terms of function, it helps to think of them as such).

FormWhat To Look ForUse in a SentenceExamples
1. standard adjectiveNo particular pattern.same as English adjectives (in front of a noun, or with the verb “to be”)
1. She is a good person.
ጥሩሰውናት።
t’ïru säw nat.
2. She is good.
ጥሩናት።
t’ïru nat.		ረጅም/räjïm
ጨዋ/č’äwa
ሩቅ/ruk’
ቆንጆ/k’onjo ድንቅ/dïnk’
2. verb-based adjectives (“verb-adjectives”)Usually, they start with የ/yä (and have a lot of “አ/ä” sounds).

Technically, these are relative clauses.		same as English adjectives (in front of a noun, or with the verb “to be”)
1. The phone is broken. ስልኩየማይሰረነው።
sïlku yämaysärä näw.
2. I didn’t buy the broken phone.
የማይሰረውስልክአልገዛሁም።
yämaysäräw sïlk algäzahum.		የተለመደ/yätälämädä የተሰበረ/yätäsäbärä የተቀደደ/yätäk’ädädä
3. adjective-based verbs (“adjective-verbs”)Oftentimes (but not always), you’ll see them in the “ይ..ል/yï…l” or “ያ…ል/ya…l” form.same as a verb in an Amharic sentence (at the end of a sentence, NOT with “to be”)
1. Your house is beautiful! 
ቤትሽያምራል!
betš yamral!
2. You are beautiful!
አንቺታምራለሽ!
anči tamraläš!		ያምራል/yamral ይበቃል/yïbäk’al ይጣፍጣል/yït’aft’al

As you can see, a verb-adjective is an adjective derived from a verb. An adjective-verb is a verb derived from an adjective. Isn’t this fun? Let’s practice.

EXERCISE: Many adjectives exist in more than one of these forms. Complete the following table, changing adjectives between their different forms.
Standard Adjective (used with “to be”/መሆን/mähon)Adjective-Based Verb (Positive Conjugation)Adjective-Based Verb (Negative Conjugation)
example: ጣፋጭ ነው/t’afač’ näw It is sweet/delicious.ይጣፍጣል/yït’aft’al It is sweet/delicious.አይጣፍጥም/ayt’aft’m It is not sweet/delicious.

ይበቃል/yïbäk’al It is enough.

ይተልቃል/yïtälïk’al
It is big.


አያምርም/ayamrïm It is not beautiful.
ትንሽ ነው/tïnš näw It is small.

When speaking/writing, you can use whichever type of adjective you’d prefer. It’s good to understand all three structures, however, so that you’ll be able to understand when reading/listening. As you become more accustomed to Amharic, you’ll start to learn when it sounds more natural to use the different options.

by avagupress

አማርኛ (Amharic) Relative Clauses

Present Tense Relative Clauses

Let’s just start with the formula:
relative clause = yäm + present tense prefix + verb stem (+ suffix, sometimes)

Here are some examples.

whoformulaexampletranslationexampletranslation
ïne
እኔ		yäm + ï + (verb)
የም + እ + (ግስ)		yämwädä mïgïb
የምወደ ምግብ		a food that I likeyämwädäw mïgïb
የምወደው ምግብ		the food that I like
antä
አንተ		yäm + tï + (verb)
የም + ት + (ግስ)		yämïtwädä mïgïb
የምትወደ ምግብ		a food that you likeyämïtwädäw mïgïb
የምትወደው ምግብ		the food that you like
anči
አንቺ		yäm + tï + (verb) +i
የም + ት + (ግስ) + ኢ		yämïtwäji mïgïb
የምትወጂ ምግብ		a food that you (f.) likeyämïtwäjiw mïgïb
የምትወጂው ምግብ		the food that you (f.) like
ïsu
እሱ		yäm + i* + (verb)
የም + ኢ + (ግስ)		yämiwädä mïgïb
የሚወደ ምግብ		a food that he likesyämiwädäw mïgïb
የሚወደው ምግብ		the food that he likes
ïswa
እሷ		yäm + t + (verb)
የም + ት + (ግስ)		yämïtwädä mïgïb
የምትወደ ምግብ		a food that she likesyämïtwädäw mïgïb
የምትወደው ምግብ		the food that she likes
ïña
እኛ		yäm + ïn + (verb)
የም + እን + (ግስ)		yämïnwädä mïgïb
የምንወደ ምግብ		a food that we likeyämïnwädäw mïgïb
የምንወደው ምግብ		the food that we like
ïnantä
እናንተ		yäm + t + (verb) +u
የም + ት + (ግስ) + ኡ		yämïtwädu mïgïb
የምትወዱ ምግብ		a food that you (pl.) likeyämïtwädut mïgïb
የምትወዱት ምግብ		the food that you (pl.) like
ïnäsu
እነሱ		yäm + i* + (verb) +u 
የም + ኢ + (ግስ) + ኡ		yämiwädu mïgïb
የሚወዱ ምግብ		a food that they likeyämiwädut mïgïb
የሚወዱት ምግብ		the food that they like
*For ïsu and ïnäsu, the present tense prefix is y, but for relative clauses, it changes to i.
**In Amharic, the suffix “u” means “the.” The same idea applies here. But, relative clauses always end in vowels, therefore you have to adapt the suffix (because Amharic vowels don’t like being together). If a word ends in ä or a, then the u-suffix changes into w. If the word ends in u, then the u-suffix changes into t.

Example Sentences:

  1. The people who work in the Peace Corps office are mostly Ethiopians.
    የፒስ ኮር ብሮ ውስጥ የሚሰሩት ሰዎች አብዘኛው እትዮጵያዊያን ነቸው።
    yäPis Kor bïro wïst’ yämisärut säwoč abzäñaw ityop’yawiyan näčäw.
  2. The volunteers who live in Oromia learn Afan Oromo.
    ኦሮሚያ ክልል ውስጥ የሚኖሩት በጎ ፈቃደኛዎች ኦሮምኛ ይማረሉ።
    oromiya kïlïl wist’ yäminorut bägo fäk’adäñawoč oromña yïmarälu.
  3. The men who work in the bus station wear red jackets.
    መነሀርያ ውስጥ የሚሰሩት ወንዶች ቀይ ጃኬቶች ይለብሳሉ።
    mänähärya wïst’ yämisärut wändoč k’äy jaketoč yïläbsalu.
  4. BONUS. “what is your favorite food” in Amharic translates literally as “what is the food that you like?”
    የምትወደው/የምትወጂው ምግብ ምንድን ነው?
    yämïtwädäw/yämïtwäjiw mïgïb mïndïn näw?
Exercise: Translate the following sentences into English.
  1. ሻበል (መንደር) የምትኖራው ፈረንጇ እህቴ አይደለችም።
    šabäl (mändär) yämtnoraw färänjwa ïhïte aydäläčm.
  2. የቤት ስራ የሚሰሩት ተማሪዎች ጎበዞች ነቸው።
    yäbet sïra yämisärut tämariwoč gobezoč näčäw.

Past Tense Relative Clauses

Here’s the formula, followed by a table of examples.
past tense relative clause = yä + verb (in simple past) + suffix

ïne
እኔ		yä+(verb)+t
የ+(ግስ)+ት		yäbälahut mïgïb
የበላሁት ምግብ		the food that I ate
antä
አንተ		yä+(verb)+äw
የ+(ግስ)+አው		yäbälahäw mïgïb
የበላሀው ምግብ		the food that you ate
anči
አንቺ		yä+(verb)+w
የ+(ግስ)+ው		yäbälašw mïgïb
የበላሽው ምግብ		the food that you ate
ïsu
እሱ		yä+(verb)+w
የ+(ግስ)+ው		yäbälaw mïgïb
የበላው ምግብ		the food that he ate
ïswa
እሷ		yä+(verb)+w
የ+(ግስ)+ው		yäbälačw mïgïb
የበላችው ምግብ		the food that she ate
ïña
እኛ		yä+(verb)+äw
የ+(ግስ)+አው		yäbälanäw mïgïb
የበላነው ምግብ		the food that we ate
ïnantä
እናንተ		yä+(verb)+t
የ+(ግስ)+ት		yäbälačhut mïgïb
የበላችሁት ምግብ		the food that you ate
ïnäsu
እነሱ		yä+(verb)+t
የ+(ግስ)+ት		yäbälut mïgïb
የበሉት ምግብ		the food that they ate

Now that you’ve got the formula, here are some examples of how to use past tense relative clauses in sentences.

The students who failed didn’t come to class today.
ዛሬ የወደቁት ተማሪዎች ወደ ትምህርት አልመጡም።
zare yäwädäk’ut tämariwoč tïmhïrt almät’um.		The students who studied passed the class.
የተመሩት ተማሪዎች ትምህርት አለፉ።
yätämärut tämariwoč tïmhïrt aläfu.
The tomatoes I bought were very expensive.
የገዛሁት ቲማቲም በጣም ዉድ ነበር። yägäzalut timatim bät’am wud näbär.		The letter she wrote was very long.
የጻፋችው ደብዳቤ በጣም ረጅም ነበር።
yäs’afačw däbdabe bät’am räjïm näbär.
by avagupress

አማርኛ (Amharic): Present Perfect Verb Tense

Make sure that you’ve got the gerundive form down (conjugations, if not usage) before you start working on this.

The present perfect tense (in both Amharic and English) is used to describe things that happened in the recent past, which are still important/influential in the present. You can think of the present perfect as happening “just before” the present. In English, the present perfect uses “have/has.”

  1. Now that I have finished my homework, I can sleep.
  2. She has already eaten. She isn’t hungry anymore.
  3. We have studied really hard for this test. I think we are ready.

Here’s the formula on how the present-perfect is formed in Amharic:
FORMULA: present perfect = gerundive verb + present perfect suffix
You’ll see below that most of the present perfect suffixes are the same — so, if you’ve got the gerundive down, the present perfect should be pretty straightforward (yipee!)

pronounpresent perfect suffixgerundive (example)present perfect (example)translation
ïne/እኔ-አለሁ/-alähuበልቼ/bälčeበልቻለሁ/bälčalähuI have eaten.
antä/አንተ-አል/-alበልተህ/bältähበልተሃል/bältähalYou have eaten.
anči/አንቺ-አል/-alበልተሽ/bältäšበልተሻል/bältäšalYou have eaten.
ïsu/እሱ-አል/-alበልቶ/bältoበልቷል/bältwalHe has eaten.
ïswa/እሷ-አለች/-äläčበልታ/bältaበልታለች/bältaläčShe has eaten.
ïña/እኛ-አል/-alበልተን/bältänበልተናል/bältänalWe have eaten.
ïnantä/እናንተ-አል/-alበልተችሁ/bältäčhuበልተችኋል/bältäčhwalYou have eaten.
ïnäsu/እነሱ-አል/-alበልተው/bältäwበልተዋል/bältäwalThey have eaten.

NB. Don’t stress about how the vowels change when you attach the suffix. For example, for “እሱ/ïsu,” በልቶ+አል/bälto+al turns into በልቷል/bältwal. It’s a question of pronunciation. If you say በልቶአል/bältoal quickly, you’ll probably end up saying በልቷል/bältwal, anyways. So, in your head, you can think of it as “በልቶአል/bältoal” or “በልቷል/bältwal” — nobody will know the difference when you’re speaking.

Here are some example sentences.

The students have gone home to eat lunch. ምሳ ለመብላት ተማሪዎቹ ቤተቸው ሄዳዋል።The teacher has gone to Addis Ababa, therefore we have cancelled his class. አስተማሪ አዲስ አበባ ሄዷል፣ ስለዚህ ትምህርቱ ሰርዛናል።
She has worked in many countries. ብዙ አገሮች ውስጥ ሰርታለች።Many students have failed, therefore they will repeat. ብርካታ ተማሪዎች ወደቀዋል፣ስለዚህ ይደግማሉ።
We have lived in Ethiopia for seven months. ለሳበት ወራት ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ኖራናል።He has been elected as the new president. አዲስ ፕረሲደንት ተመርጧል።

Bonus examples: Is electricity sporadic in your town? You’ll probably hear a lot of present perfect.

  • mäbratu hedwal? Has the power gone (out)?
  • mäbratu hedwal. The power has gone (out).
  • mäbratu mätwal? Has the power come (back)?
  • mäbratu mätwal. The power has come (back).

Exercise: Fill in the chart by conjugating the given verbs and pronouns into the present perfect tense.

እኔ/ïne
መስማት/mäsmat ____________________		እሱ/ïsu
መሮጥ/märot’ ____________________		እሷ/ïswa መስበር/mäsbär ____________________እነሱ/ïnäsu
መፍቀድ/mäfk’äd ____________________
አንቺ/anči
መሞከር/mämokär ____________________		እኛ/ïña
ማየት/mayät ____________________		እሱ/ïsu
ማፍላት/maflat ____________________		አንተ/antä
ማንበብ/manbäb
እሷ/ïswa
ማደን/madän ____________________		እኔ/ïne
ማስተማር/mastämar ____________________		እናንተ/ïnantä
ማለፍ/maläf ____________________		እኛ/ïña
ማቀድ/mak’äd ____________________
እሱ/ïsu
ማርፈድ/marfäd ____________________		እነሱ/ïnäsu
ማግባት/magbat ____________________		እሱ/ïsu
ማረስ/maräs ____________________		አንቺ/anči
መመለስ/mämäläs ____________________
by avagupress

አማርኛ (Amharic) Gerundive Verb Tense

There is no exact equivalent of the Amharic gerundive in English, but it’s very common and important in Amharic. It’s used a lot on its own, and is also helpful when conjugating in the present perfect and past perfect tenses.

We’ll start by doing the conjugations, and then give example sentences of how this tense can be used.

Part 1: Conjugating the Gerundive

The gerundive is formed from two parts — the gerundive root and the gerundive affix.

The gerundive root is very similar to the standard verb root, with one change. If the infinitive verb ended in a “አት/at” or a “አት/ät,” the “ት/t” is re-added in the gerundive form. The final “ä” or “a” is not included.

infinitive verbstandard rootgerundive root
መስማት/mäsmatሰማ/sämaሰምት/sämt
መብላት/mäblatበላ/bälaበልት/bält
መሄድ/mähedሄደ/hedäሄድ/hed
ማለፍ/maläfአለፈ/aläfäአልፍ/alf
Exercise: Give the gerundive root for each verb.
1. መሮጥ/märot’: __________4. ማጠብ/mat’äb: __________7. ማጥናት/mat’nat: __________
2. ማንበብ/manbäb: __________5. መኖር/mänor: __________8. ማደመጥ/madämät’: __________
3. መቅረት/mäk’rät: __________6. መስራት/mäsrat: __________9. መውደቅ/mäwdäk’: __________

Once you’ve got the root, the gerundive is formed by “gerundive root + gerundive affix.”

pronoungerundive affixgerundive of mähed/መሄድ (root: hed/ሄድ)gerundive of mäsrat/መስራት (root: särt/ሰርት)
ïne/እኔ-ኤ/eሄጄ/hejeሰርቼ/särče
antä/አንተ-እህ/ähሄደህ/hedähሰርተህ/särtäh
anči/አንቺ-እሽ/äšሄደሽ/hedäšሰርተሽ/särtäš
ïsu/እሱ-ኦ/oሄዶ/hedoሰርቶ/särto
ïswa/እሷ-ኣ/aሄዳ/hedaሰርታ/särta
ïña/እኛ-እን/-änሄደን/hedänሰርተን/särtän
ïnantä/እናንተ-አችሁ/-äčhuሄደችሁ/hedäčhuሰርተችሁ/särtäčhu
ïnäsu/እነሱ-እው/-äwሄደው/hedäwሰርተው/särtäw

Note: Normally, the “anči” form is the one that palatalizes (ie. changes the last consonant). In the gerundive, it’s the “ïne” form that palatalizes — so, it’s “ሄጄ/heje” and not “ሄዴ/hede.”

Exercise: Combine the given pronouns and verbs into the gerundive form:
  1. እኛ/ïña, መብካት/mäblat = ____________________
  2. እሷ/ïswa, መውደቅ/mäwdäk’ = ____________________
  3. አንተ/antä, ማጥናት/mat’nat = ____________________

Part 2: Using the Gerundive

There are various ways in which the gerundive is used in Amharic. We’ll give examples of two basic ways here, as a starting point.

Usage #1: Sentences with “having” as a state of being (where a past action creates a current state of being) 
  1. Having bought my vegetables, I returned to my village.
    አትክልት ገዘቼ መንደሬ ተመለስኩ።
  2. Having seen your results, how can you improve for the second semester?
    ወጠታችሁን አያታችሁ፣ ለሁለተኛ መንፈቀ ዓመት እንዴት ማሻሻል ትችለላችሁ?
  3. Having won the elections, she will soon be inaugurated.
    ምርጫውን አሸንፍ፣ በቅርቡ ትሾመለች።
  4. Having failed the first semester, he dropped out of school.
    በአንደኛ መንፈቀ ዓመት ወድቅቶ፣ ክትምህርት ቤት ቀረ።
  5. Having left Ethiopia, he found a job in America.
    ከኢትዮጵያ ቀርቶ አሜሪካ ውስጥ አዲስ ስራ አገኛ።
  6. Having done his homework, he went to sleep.
    የቤት ስራ ሰርቶ፣ ተኛ።
  7. Having arrived late to the bus station, the bus had already left.
    መነሃርያ ሲሄድ አረፈጄ ስለነበር፣ መኪና ሄዶአል።
  8. Having eaten dinner, we washed the dishes.
    እራት በልታን፣ እቀዎች አጠብን።
  9. Having finished their work, the students turned it in.
    ተማሪዎች የቤት ስራቸውን ጨረሰው አሰረከቡ።
Usage #2: Sentences which describe a way/method of doing something
  1. You did your work by copying!
    ኮረጃችሁ ፈተነችሁን ጸፉ!
  2. She earns money by selling grains.
    አቀንታ ገንዘቧ ታገኛለች።
by avagupress

አማርኛ (Amharic) Conditional Verb Tenses

The Real Conditional

The real/possible conditional is used to express things which are possible (usually causes and effects).

  • If it rains, I won’t go to the market.
  • If the students work hard, they’ll pass the exam.
  • If the grant gets accepted, we’ll build a new shint bet.

In Amharic, this sentence structure generally follows this formula:
real conditional = kä/ከ+simple past+future tense

kä/ከ+simple past (condition)future tense (effect/result)full sentence
ከአጠኑ
käat’änu
if they study		ያለፋሉ yaläfalu they will passተማሪዎች ከአጠኑ፣ያለፋሉ።
tämariwoč käat’änu, yaläfalu.
If the students study, they will pass.
ወንድሜ ከመጣ
wändme kämät’a
if my brother comes		ቡና እንጠጣለን
buna ïnt’ät’alän
we will drink coffee		ወንድሜ ከመጣ፣ ቡና እንጠጣለን።
wändme kämät’a, buna ïnt’ät’alän.
If my brother comes, we will drink coffee.

The Unreal Conditional

The unreal conditional is used to describe things that don’t actually exist, but might hypothetically exist in an alternate universe.

  • If I were president, I’d pass a law that makes chocolate free!
  • If you had studied harder, you might have passed that exam.
  • If I had done Peace Corps in another country, I wouldn’t be studying Amharic.

In Amharic, this sentence structure generally follows this formula:
ብ/b + verb root (+ noro/ኖሮ, optional*) + verb in “would have” form
(the “would have” form is actually the same as the “used to” form)

  1. If you had studied, you would have passed.
    ብትጠኚ ኖሮ፣ አልፋሽ ነበር።
  2. If the disease had been treated, it wouldn’t have become serious.
    በሽታውን ብትቆጣጠር ኖሮ፣  አይጠናብህም ነበር።
  3. If Kenya hadn’t declared independence, their president would still be British.
    ኬንያ ባትገነጠል፣ እስካሁን ፕረሲደንታቸው ኢንግሌዘዊ ይሆን ነበር።
  4. If I were a boy, I would not wear skirts.
    እኔ ወንድ ብሆን፣ ቀሚስ አልለብስም ነበር።
by avagupress

አርማኛ (Amharic) Crime Vocabulary

መግደል/mägdälto killይግባኝ/yïgbañcourt case
ዳኛ/dañajudge (n.)በፍለጎት/bäflägoton purpose
እስርቤት/ïsrbetprison/jailበአጋጣሚ/bäagat’amion accident
እስረኛ/ïsräñaprisonerታሰረ/tasäräwas arrested
መንጀል/wänjälcrimeአዋል/awalwas caught/arrested
መንጀለኛ/wänjäläñacriminalተለቀቀ/täläk’äk’äescaped/got free
መስረቅ/mäsräk’to stealሌባ/lebathief
by avagupress

አማርኛ (Amharic) Character Traits Vocabulary

Here’s some vocabulary relating to character traits, followed by some exercises to practice the vocabulary.

ኩራት/kuratproudተነሰሺነት/tänäsäšinätmotivation
ግድለሽ/gïdläšcarelessአደራ መስጣት/adär mäst’at*to trust
ጥብቅ/t’bïk’strictበዋዛ ፈዛዛ/bäwaza fäzazalazy
ባህር/bahr**characterሀቀኝነት/häk’äñïnäthonesty
ጨዋ/c’äwapoliteትህትና/tïhtïna***character
*literally means “to give responsibility” **can be good or bad — “he has good character” or “he has bad character” ***only used in a positive sense — “ትህትና አላት/tïhtïna alat” means “she has (good) character”

Exercise: Match the words to their SYNONYMS.

1. ___ ትህትና/tïhtïnaሀ. ግደለሽ/gïdäläš
2. ___ አደራ መስጣት/adära mäst’atለ. ደግ/däg
3. ___ በዋዛ ፈዛዛ/bäwaza fäzazaሐ. እምነት መጣል/ïmnät mät’al
4. ___ ጨዋ/c’äwaመ. ጥሩ ባህሪ/t’ïru bahri

Exercise: Match the words to their OPPOSITES.

1. ___ ጨዋ/c’äwaሀ. ወሻታም መሆን/wäšatam mähon
2. ___ ሀቀኝነት/häk’äñïnätለ. በለጌ/bäläge
3. ___ ትህትና/tïhtïnaሐ. ግድለሽ/gïdläš
4. ___ ተነሰሺነት/tänäsäšinätመ. እፍረት/ïfrät
5. ___ ኩራት/kuratሰ. ክፉ ማሆን/kïfu mähon

Exercise: Fill-in-the-blanks using the following words

ሀቀኛ/häk’äña
ኩራት/kurat
ግድለሽ/gïdläš
ጥብቅ/t’ïbk’

  1. እሷ __________ ናት። በጭረሽ አልዋሸችም።
    ïswa __________ nat. bäc’räš alwašäčm.
  2. አስተማሪዋ __________ ናት። ተማሪዎቿ ሁልጊዜ የትምህርት ሕግጋት መከበር አለበቸው።
    astämariwa __________ nat. tämariwočwa hulgize yätïmhïrt hïgïgat mäkäbär aläbäčaw::
  3. እኔ የዩኒቨርሲቲ ትምህርቴን ስጭረስ __________ ተስምቶኝ ነበር።
    ïne yäyunivärsiti tïmhïrten sïč’räs __________ täsmtoñ näbär.
  4. __________ ተማሪ የበት ሲራ አልሰረም።
    __________ tämari yäbet sïra alsäräm.

by avagupress

አማርኛ (Amharic) “Almost Homophones” Vocabulary

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

  1. ደህነት/dähnät = ____________________________________________________
  2. ትኩረት/tïkurät = ____________________________________________________
  3. ማሳል/masal = ____________________________________________________
  4. ተራራ/tärara = ____________________________________________________
  5. ወገ/wägä = ____________________________________________________

EXERCISE: Fill-in-the-Blank: Select the correct option to correctly complete the sentence.

  1. ባል፡የለኝም። _______________ አልፈልግም።
    bal yäläñm._______________ alfälgm.
    a. መግባት/mägbat b. ማግባት/magbat
  2. _______________ አይቀንስም?
    _______________ ayk’änsïm?
    a. ወገ/wägä b. ዋገ/wagä
  3. እሷ ስራ ለመግኘት _______________ ሄደች።
    ïswa sïra lämagïñät _______________ hedäč.
    a. ውጪ/wïč’i b. ውጭ/wïč’
  4. ወጥ ስትሰሩ፣ _______________ አለባችሁ።
    wät’ sïtsäru, _______________ aläbačhu.
    a. ማማሰል/mamasäl b. መሳል/mäsal
  5. እትዮጵያ ውስጥ፣ _______________ ትልቅ ችግር ነው።
    etyop’ya wïst, _______________ tïlk’ čigïr näw.
    a. ደህንነት/dähnïnät b. ደህነት/dähnät