When you travel, you can practice a language by reading street signs. Unfortunately, if you’re not travelling, it can be harder to get that “immersion” experience. So, for all you Amharic-learners at home, I’m bringing the street signs to you! Here are several street signs in Amharic, from across Ethiopia, to give you the chance to practice your fidel. Happy reading, and please comment if you have any questions about anything!
If you don’t yet know, here are some resources to learn fidel (the script used to write Amharic and several other Ethiopic languages)!
ADDIS ABABA: This Amharic-English sign advertising office services is great practice, because the first four words on the list are simply English words written in Amharic fidel, so you can understand it, even if you don’t know the vocabulary. Here are some notes on each:
- ፎቶ ኮፒ: photocopy, nothing special here.
- ፕሪንት: shortens “printing service” to simply “print”
- ስካኒግ: reads “scannig” (hard g, like “good”), since there’s no “ng” sound in Amharic.
- ላሚኔቲንግ: takes a different approach to representing “ing” than the line above… technically reads “laminating,” although the ንግ combo in Amharic would be pronounced with a hard “g,” like “good,” so it’s a little strange. But hey, they’re doing their best with sounds that don’t exist in fidel.
The last two (መጠረዝ and የዕህፈት ስራ) are actual translations into Amharic vocabulary.
Image Credit: “Firefox” by Fran Villena (villano), CC BY 2.0 (has been cropped and edited for brightness)
BAHIR DAR: These signs for cosmetic shops are great reading practice, too! If you can read fidel, you can read the main part of the sign (ቶፕ ሌዲ) without knowing any Amharic vocabulary (hint, it’s in English, too), and then the “subtitle” on the sign (የስጦጣ የውበት ዕቃዎች መሽጫ) is great reading practice, too. Here’s a breakdown of the vocabulary from the “subtitle” –
- ስጦጣ: gift
- ውበት: beauty
- ዕቃዎች: things/items
- መሽጫ: shop
Finally, notice the sign to the left — it’s spelled in fidel (ኮስሞቲክስ) according to their spelling in English, so even the Amharic version reads “cosmotics.” Perhaps it’s space themed?
Image Credit: “Scenes from Bahir Dar, Ethiopia” by A.Davey, CC BY 2.0 (has been cropped and edited for brightness)
ADDIS ABABA: This stationary shop has a lot of signage. It always amuses me when there’s extensive signage in Amharic, and then minimal translation into English. While the English simply says “Medhin Stationary,” here’s what the Amharic version actually reads:
- መድሕን፡ Medhin
- (የ)ፅህፈት: Writing
- መሣሪያ(ና): Tools (and)
- (የ)ኮምፒውተር: Computer
- እቃዎች: Things/Items
- መደብር: Store
You might have to zoom in to see some of the smaller signs to read them, although it’s a good approximation of how hard it is to read signs zooming past on a bus! Being able to read signs at a glance is a good sign you’re getting quite skillful with your fidel.
Image credit: “Streets of Addis” by Irene2005 CC BY 2.0 (has been cropped and edited for brightness)
avagu press 