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Amharic phrases for a short visit
አጭር ጉዞThe lines a visitor actually uses, and the ones you will hear back. Romanized first so you can say them today. Every phrase is recorded — tap the speaker to hear it.
Hear these phrases →First words
The ones that open Ethiopia
Selam works any hour; tena yistilign is the formal version. English is thin outside hotels — these words are survival, and every attempt at Amharic is met with delight.
| selam | hello · peace | ሰላም |
| tena yistilign | formal greeting, any hour | ጤና ይስጥልኝ |
| ishi | okay · sure (the national yes) | እሺ |
| awo | yes | አዎ |
| yikirta | excuse me · sorry | ይቅርታ |
| ameseginalehu | thank you | አመሰግናለሁ |
| chigir yellem | no problem | ችግር የለም |
| dehna hun | goodbye (to a man) | ደህና ሁን |
| dehna hugni | goodbye (to a woman) | ደህና ሁኚ |
He and she, always
Amharic greets by gender
Every you-word splits: -h to a man, -sh to a woman. Elders get erswo forms. Getting the split right is basic courtesy, and locals warmly correct you when you miss.
| dehna neh? | are you well? (to a man) | ደህና ነህ? |
| dehna nesh? | are you well? (to a woman) | ደህና ነሽ? |
| dehna newot? | are you well? (polite, elders) | ደህና ነዎት? |
| dehna negn | I am well | ደህና ነኝ |
| ibakih | please (to a man) | እባክህ |
| ibakish | please (to a woman) | እባክሽ |
| gash | warm address for an older man | ጋሽ |
Meeting someone
The first minute
Names and origins come fast and warmly. Amarigna imaralehu — I am learning Amharic — is the sentence that turns any conversation into a free lesson.
| simih man new? | what is your name? (to a man) | ስምህ ማን ነው? |
| simish man new? | what is your name? (to a woman) | ስምሽ ማን ነው? |
| sime ... new | my name is … | ስሜ … ነው |
| keyet neh? | where are you from? (to a man) | ከየት ነህ? |
| ke-amerika negn | I am from America | ከአሜሪካ ነኝ |
| amarigna imaralehu | I am learning Amharic | አማርኛ እማራለሁ |
| gebagn | got it! | ገባኝ |
What you will hear
Meant kindly — answer warmly
Inkwan dehna metah greets every arrival; giba waves you in; bila insists you eat. Hospitality speaks in commands here — the loving kind. Obey the food ones.
| inkwan dehna metah | welcome! (to a man) | እንኳን ደህና መጣህ |
| giba | come in! | ግባ |
| buna tetu | drink coffee (the invitation) | ቡና ጠጡ |
| bila | eat! (to a man) | ብላ |
| biyi | eat! (to a woman) | ብዪ |
| na | come! (to a man) | ና |
| ney | come! (to a woman) | ነይ |
| meche timetaleh? | when are you coming? | መቼ ትመጣለህ? |
Numbers & the two clocks
Count — then confirm WHICH clock
Ethiopia counts hours from sunrise: one o-clock habesha time is 7 AM, noon is six. ALWAYS confirm habesha or ferenj se-at when arranging anything. This one note saves whole mornings.
| and | one | አንድ |
| hulett | two | ሁለት |
| sost | three | ሶስት |
| arat | four | አራት |
| amest | five | አምስት |
| asser | ten | አስር |
| haya | twenty | ሃያ |
| hamsa | fifty | ሃምሳ |
| meto | hundred | መቶ |
| sint se-at new? | what time is it? | ስንት ሰዓት ነው? |
| habesha se-at | Ethiopian time | ሀበሻ ሰዓት |
| ferenj se-at | European time | ፈረንጅ ሰዓት |
The minibus
How Ethiopia moves
Blue-white minibuses run fixed routes; the weyala hangs from the door chanting destinations and taking fares. To get off, shout weraj alle! In smaller towns, the bajaj rules.
| taksi | minibus taxi | ታክሲ |
| weyala | the conductor | ወያላ |
| weraj alle! | getting off! | ወራጅ አለ! |
| bajaj | three-wheeler | ባጃጅ |
| wedet | where to? | ወዴት |
| qes bel | slow down (to a driver) | ቀስ በል |
| qoy | wait | ቆይ |
Finding the way
Lost — briefly
Nobody leaves a lost visitor lost; expect an escort, not just directions. Open with yikirta, state tefahu, and let Ethiopian hospitality do the rest.
| yet new? | where is it? | የት ነው? |
| izih | here | እዚህ |
| iziya | there | እዚያ |
| kirb new? | is it near? | ቅርብ ነው? |
| ruk | far | ሩቅ |
| tefahu | I am lost | ጠፋሁ |
| irdagn | help me | እርዳኝ |
| menged | road · street | መንገድ |
Eating
Injera is plate, fork and food
Everyone shares one injera, tearing with the RIGHT hand only. On Wednesdays and Fridays much of the menu goes fasting — vegan, ancient and excellent. Order either lane happily.
| injera | injera | እንጀራ |
| wet | stew | ወጥ |
| doro wet | chicken stew (the festival dish) | ዶሮ ወጥ |
| misir wet | lentil stew | ምስር ወጥ |
| wiha | water | ውሃ |
| rabegn | I am hungry | ራበኝ |
| temagn | I am thirsty | ጠማኝ |
| tafach new | it is delicious | ጣፋጭ ነው |
| bekagn | I have had enough | በቃኝ |
The coffee ceremony
Three rounds of friendship
Buna is roasted, ground and brewed in front of you, poured in three rounds — abol, tona, bereka. Leaving before the third is leaving early. A gursha — being fed by hand — is pure affection: accept it.
| buna | coffee | ቡና |
| shay | tea | ሻይ |
| jebena | the clay coffee pot | ጀበና |
| inibla | let us eat | እንብላ |
| gursha | the honor bite (fed by hand) | ጉርሻ |
| betam tafach new | it is very delicious | በጣም ጣፋጭ ነው |
| ameseginalehu, dehna hugni | thank you, goodbye (to her) | አመሰግናለሁ, ደህና ሁኚ |
The gebeya & the suk
Where bargaining lives — and where it does not
Suk prices are fixed; gebeya prices are an opening bid. Ask sint new?, gasp betam wid new!, offer qenes — with a smile. The dance is expected and enjoyed.
| gebeya | open-air market | ገበያ |
| suk | corner shop | ሱቅ |
| sint new? | how much is it? | ስንት ነው? |
| yih sint new? | how much is this? | ይህ ስንት ነው? |
| birr | birr (the currency) | ብር |
| wid new | it is expensive | ውድ ነው |
| qenes | reduce it! (bargaining) | ቀንስ |
| rikash new | it is cheap | ርካሽ ነው |
| mels | change | መልስ |
| yistugn | please give me (polite) | ይስጡኝ |
When things go wrong
The rescue kit
Algebagnem plus ibakih digem rescue any conversation. For anything medical, hakim bet yet new? finds the clinic; medhanit is the medicine you leave with.
| algebagnem | I do not understand | አልገባኝም |
| ibakih digem | please say it again | እባክህ ድገም |
| qes bel | slow down · gently | ቀስ በል |
| amemegn | I am sick | አመመኝ |
| hakim bet yet new? | where is the clinic? | ሐኪም ቤት የት ነው? |
| medhanit | medicine | መድሃኒት |
| silk | phone | ስልክ |
Leaving well
Blessings for the road
Chaw handles friends; melkam guzo blesses any journey; berta — keep it up! — is what Ethiopia will say when it hears your Amharic. Believe it.
| chaw | bye (informal) | ቻው |
| melkam guzo | good journey! | መልካም ጉዞ |
| dehna ider | good night (to a man) | ደህና እደር |
| dehna ideri | good night (to a woman) | ደህና እደሪ |
| behuala | later | በኋላ |
| berta | keep it up! | በርታ |
| ityoppyan iwedalehu | I love Ethiopia | ኢትዮጵያን እወዳለሁ |
Ask where anything is
Where is ___?
| shint bet yet new? | Where is the toilet? | ሽንት ቤት የት ነው? |
| bank yet new? | Where is the bank? | ባንክ የት ነው? |
| hotel yet new? | Where is the hotel? | ሆቴል የት ነው? |
| gebeya yet new? | Where is the market? | ገበያ የት ነው? |
| hospital yet new? | Where is the hospital? | ሆስፒታል የት ነው? |
Check before you ask
Is there ___?
| wiha alle? | Is there water? | ውሃ አለ? |
| buna alle? | Is there coffee? | ቡና አለ? |
| shay alle? | Is there tea? | ሻይ አለ? |
| sikwar alle? | Is there sugar? | ስኳር አለ? |
| dabo alle? | Is there bread? | ዳቦ አለ? |
Say what you need
I want ___
| wiha ifeligalehu | I want water | ውሃ እፈልጋለሁ |
| buna ifeligalehu | I want coffee | ቡና እፈልጋለሁ |
| dabo ifeligalehu | I want bread | ዳቦ እፈልጋለሁ |
| taksi ifeligalehu | I want a taxi | ታክሲ እፈልጋለሁ |
| iskribto ifeligalehu | I want a pen | እስክሪብቶ እፈልጋለሁ |
Ask any price
How much is ___?
| yih sint new? | How much is this? | ይህ ስንት ነው? |
| dabo sint new? | How much is the bread? | ዳቦ ስንት ነው? |
| buna sint new? | How much is the coffee? | ቡና ስንት ነው? |
| sikwar sint new? | How much is the sugar? | ስኳር ስንት ነው? |
Common questions
How do you say hello in Amharic?
Selam. The greetings section above has the full set, including the reply you are likely to hear back.
Do I need an account to use these Amharic phrases?
No. Every phrase on this page is open to read, and you can hear all of them in Bhasaly without signing up.
Do I need to read the Amharic script to use these?
No. Every line is romanized first, so you can say it straight away. The script is there alongside if you want to start reading it.
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