Amharic Today Starter Series Inside Book

AMHARIC TODAY
STARTER SERIES
BY KEFLE YOHANNES
Amharic Today: Starter Series
By Kefle Yohannes
© Kefle Yohannes, 2015
ISBN 978-0-9931740-2-5
Published by
Rastafari Heritage
© Copyright 2015, Kefle Yohannes
No part of this book may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the writer.
Amharic Today
Starter Series
By
Kefle Yohannes
Amharic Today Foundation

Book 1 – Reading and Writing
Contents page
Introduction Pg 1
Part 1 Alphabet Pg 5 – 6
Part 2 Words Pg 7-14
Part 3 Sentences Pg 15 - 19
Part 4 Paragraphs Pg 20 - 22
Answers Pg 23 - 29
Bibliography Pg 30
Book 2 – Vocabulary for 30 topics
Contents page
Introduction Pg 1
Greetings Pg 2
Common Expressions Pg 2
Goodbyes Pg 3
Animals Pg 3
Body parts Pg 4
Places Pg 5
School Pg 6
Clothes Pg 7
Colors Pg 7
Days Pg 7
Kitchen items Pg 8
Transport Pg 8
Family relatives Pg 9
Feelings Pg 9
Senses Pg 9
Food and drinks Pg 10
Fruit Pg 11
Months Pg 11
Musical instruments Pg 11
Numbers Pg 12
Professions Pg 12
Playground Pg 13
Classroom Pg 13
Rooms Pg 13
Shapes Pg 13
Sports Pg 14
Bedroom stuff Pg 14
House stuff Pg 14
Living room stuff Pg 15
Weather Pg 15
Alphabet Chart Pg 16
Bibliography Pg 19
Book 3 – Questions for translation
Contents page
Introduction
Translation
Words Pg 2-12
Sentences Pg 13-16
Paragraphs Pg 17-18
Answers
Words Pg 19-26
Sentences Pg 26- 27
Paragraphs Pg 27-28
Bibliography Pg 29
Book 4 – Verb Speech with power
Contents
Introduction Pg 2
Verb groups and Forms Pg 3-19
Verb list Pg 20-32
Bibliography Pg 33
Additional Book - Grammar
Introduction Pg 1-6
Alphabet Pg 6-8
Question words Pg 9
Personal pronoun Pg 9 -11
Verb “to be” Pg 9- 11
Possessive suffixes Pg 11 – 12
Demonstrative pronouns Pg 13
Reflexive pronouns Pg 13
Nouns Pg 14 -15
Verbs Pg 15-23
Prepositions Pg 23-24
Conjunctions Pg 25-26
Relative clauses Pg 26-27
Object suffix and impersonal Pg 27-28
Numbers Pg 29-30
Greetings Pg 30-31
Sentences Pg 31-32
Conclusion Pg 32
Amharic Today:
Book 1
Reading
AN D
WRITING
Workbook
By Kefle Yohannes
My
Dedication
Thank you Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Who is like unto you O Lord?
There is none.
Contents page
Introduction
Pg 1
Part 1 Alphabet
Pg 5 – 6
Part 2 Words
Pg 7-14
Part 3 Sentences
Pg 15 - 19
Part 4 Paragraphs
Pg 20 - 22
Answers
Pg 23 - 29
Bibliography
Pg 30
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the writer.
Introduction
Besime Ab We Weld We Menfes Qidus Ahadu Amlak

Amen
This book is designed to help you learn the Amharic

alphabet and improve your reading and writing skills, by
using this book you will be able to start to write using
Amharic characters, this will help you to read all sorts of
things when you are in an Amharic environment. This
book will also help you to expand your vocabulary.
This book has a similar structure to the ‘Questions for
Translation’ book in this series, although they are
fundamentally different. The exercises in this book are
about rewriting transliterated texts using Amharic
characters, whereas that book is a bit more advanced as it
is about translating the text itself from Amharic to
English or English to Amharic.
Tips
 Use a separate piece of paper to answer the
questions.
 Always attempt to answer honestly before
checking the answer key.
 Master the alphabet before anything else.
 Use the other books in this series to help develop
your own sentences.
 The weakest ink is stronger than the strongest
mind....writing is essential.
If you have any questions or suggestions please visit

www.amharictoday.blogspot.com
1
Alphabet
The Amharic alphabet has 33 basic characters, each of

which has seven forms; each form is built with a
consonant and a vowel.
Table 1
Form 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Vowels a u ee a ay i O
h ሀ ሁ ሂ ሃ ሄ ህ ሆ
As h in he (same as ሀ)
l ለ ሉ ሊ ላ ሌ ል ሎ
As initial l in let
As he in he (same as
h ሐ ሑ ሒ ሓ ሔ ሕ ሖ
ሀ)
m መ ሙ ሚ ማ ሜ ም ሞ As m in me
s ሰ ሱ ሲ ሳ ሴ ስ ሶ As s in so
r ረ ሩ ሪ ራ ሬ ር ሮ Rolled like scotch r
s ሠ ሡ ሢ ሣ ሤ ሥ ሦ As s in so
sh ሸ ሹ ሺ ሻ ሼ ሽ ሾ As sh in she
K ቀ ቁ ቂ ቃ ቄ ቅ ቆ Explosive
b በ ቡ ቢ ባ ቤ ብ ቦ As b in be
t ተ ቱ ቲ ታ ቴ ት ቶ A t in tin
ch ቸ ቹ ቺ ቻ ቼ ች ቾ As ch in church
h ኀ ኁ ኂ ኃ ኄ ኅ ኆ As h in he (same as ሀ)
n ነ ኑ ኒ ና ኔ ን ኖ As n in no
GN ኘ ኙ ኚ ኛ ኜ ኝ ኞ As ny in canyon
none አ ኡ ኢ ኣ ኤ እ ኦ Pure first form vowel
k ከ ኩ ኪ ካ ኬ ክ ኮ As k in key
h ኸ ኹ ኺ ኻ ኼ ኽ ኾ As h in he (same as ሀ)
As w in won (very
w ወ ዉ ዊ ዋ ዌ ው ዎ
open)
2
Pure first form vowel
none ዐ ዑ ዒ ዓ ዔ ዕ ዖ
same as አ
z ዘ ዙ ዚ ዛ ዜ ዝ ዞ As z in size
zh ዠ ዡ ዢ ዣ ዤ ዥ ዦ As s in measure
y የ ዩ ዪ ያ ዬ ይ ዮ As y in you
d ደ ዱ ዲ ዳ ዴ ድ ዶ As d in did
j ጀ ጁ ጂ ጃ ጄ ጅ ጆ As j in jam
g ገ ጉ ጊ ጋ ጌ ግ ጎ As g in go
T ጠ ጡ ጢ ጣ ጤ ጥ ጦ Explosive
CH ጨ ጩ ጪ ጫ ጬ ጭ ጮ Explosive
P ጰ ጱ ጲ ጳ ጴ ጵ ጶ Explosive
TS ጸ ጹ ጺ ጻ ጼ ጽ ጾ Explosive
TS ፀ ፁ ፂ ፃ ፄ ፅ ፆ Explosive
f ፈ ፉ ፊ ፋ ፌ ፍ ፎ As f in fence
p ፐ ፑ ፒ ፓ ፔ ፕ ፖ As p in pot
v ቨ ቩ ቪ ቫ ቬ ቭ ቮ As v in voice
Vowel sounds
1. The first form vowel is fronted and rounded, with a

sound between the vowels of the English word ‘but’ and
‘bet’.
2. The second form vowel (u) is a fronted, rounded u-

sound, as in ‘mood’.
3. The third form vowel (ee) is a narrow i- soind, as in

‘seat’, but generally shorter.
3
4. The fourth form vowel (a) is forward and wide, as in
‘alms’, but more fronted.
5. The fifth form vowel (ay) is as the e in ‘eight’.
6. The sixth form vowe (i) is short and unrounded,

similiar to the i in ‘bit’. This is the only vowel which can
also be used as a pure consonant.
7. The seventh form vowel (o) is strongly rounded and

forward, similar to the vowel sound in ‘caught’
*You sometimes need to emit the 6th form vowel e.g.

mehayd has 3 characters (me – hay – di) but when
pronounced and written in transliteration we sometime
omit the “i” from the 6th form.
*Some of the words in part 2 are not actual words, this is

highlighted in the answer key, but they were used to test
your ability to transliterate.
*Some non capitalized consonants are sometimes

capitalized this is to denote the stress which should be
placed on the consonant in some words, this can change
the meaning of words completely. E.g. wana –
swimming / waNA - main
4
Part 1 – Alphabet Letters
Fill in the blank spaces with the correct Amharic character.
Form 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Vowel a u ee a ay i o
s
H As h in he (same as ሀ)
L As initial l in let
H As he in he (same as
ሀ)
M As m in me
S As s in so
R Rolled like scotch r
S As s in so
Sh As sh in she
K Explosive
B As b in be
T A t in tin
Ch As ch in church
N As n in no
GN As ny in canyon
None Pure first form vowel
K As k in key
W As w in won (very
open)
None Pure first form vowel
5
same as አ
Z As z in size
Zh As s in measure
Y As y in you
D As d in did
J As j in jam
G As g in go
T Explosive
CH Explosive
P Explosive
TS Explosive
TS Explosive
F As f in fence
P As p in pot
V As v in voice
6
Part 2 – Words
Read the transliterated words and rewrite them using the

correct Amharic characters.
ሀ (hasab) ሉ (lul) ሒ (heesab)

___________ ___________ ___________
ሁ (hulet) ሊ (leeK) ሓ (hareg)
___________ ___________ ___________
ሂ (heeyaj) ላ (lak) ሔ (haywan)
___________ ___________ ___________
ሃ (hayK) ሌ (layba) ሕ (hig)
___________ ___________ ___________
ሄ (hayde) ል (liK) ሖ (hora)
___________ ___________ ___________
ህ (hiliwina) ሎ (lomee) መ (mesrat)
___________ ___________ ___________
ሆ (hotel) ሐ (hamlay) ሙ (mulu)
___________ ___________ ___________
ለ (lem) ሑ (hudad) ሚ (mist)
___________ ___________ ___________
7
ማ (mata) ረ (reKeeK) ሤ (sayra)
___________ ___________ ___________
ሜ (mayda) ሩ (ruK) ሥ (silTan)
___________ ___________ ___________
ም (misa) ሪ (reez) ሦ (sost)
___________ ___________ ___________
ሞ (moges) ራ (ras) ሸ (shemeez)
___________ ___________ ___________
ሰ (sebat) ሬ (raysa) ሹ (shum)
___________ ___________ ___________
ሱ (suK) ር (ribrab) ሺ (shee)
___________ ___________ ___________
ሲ (seenee) ሮ (rob) ሻ (shambel)
___________ ___________ ___________
ሳ (same) ሠ (selasa) ሼ (shayh)
___________ ___________ ___________
ሴ (sayt) ሡ (sumen) ሽ (shilimat)
___________ ___________ ___________
ስ (sim) ሢ (seesay) ሾ (shorba)
___________ ___________ ___________
ሶ (sofa) ሣ (saTin) ቀ (Kelem)
___________ ___________ ___________
8
ቁ (KulKwal) ብ (birK) ቺ (cheenga)
___________ ___________ ___________
ቂ (KeeTa) ቦ (borsa) ቻ (chay)
___________ ___________ ___________
ቃ (Kata) ተ (temaree) ቼ (chayk)
___________ ___________ ___________
ቄ (Kays) ቱ (tuba) ች (chilota)
___________ ___________ ___________
ቅ (Kibay) ቲ (teeyatir) ቾ (chok)
___________ ___________ ___________
ቆ (Kob) ታ (talaK) ኀ (habhab)
___________ ___________ ___________
በ (beLa) ቴ (tap) ኁ (hunayta)
___________ ___________ ___________
ቡ (buko) ት (tirf) ኂ (heerut)
___________ ___________ ___________
ቢ (beela) ቶ (tombola) ኃ (hayl)
___________ ___________ ___________
ባ (barnet) ቸ (cherinet) ኄ (haylen)
___________ ___________ ___________
ቤ (bayt) ቹ (chuchu) ኅ (hitem)
___________ ___________ ___________
9
ኆ (hora) ኛ (iGNa) ከ (kebero)
___________ ___________ ___________
ነ (nebir) ኜ (hoGNay) ኩ (kuku)
___________ ___________ ___________
ኑ (nuro) ኝ (tiniGN) ኪ (kees)
___________ ___________ ___________
ኒ (sinee) ኞ (baGNo) ካ (kaport)
___________ ___________ ___________
ና (nafKot) አ (ahun) ኬ (kayk)
___________ ___________ ___________
ኔ (inay) ኡ (uber) ክ (kibreet)
___________ ___________ ___________
ን (nibab) ኢ(eetiyoPiya) ኮ (kot)
___________ ___________ ___________
ኖ (nore) ኣ (arada) ወ (wenber)
___________ ___________ ___________
ኘ (waGNe) ኤ (aylee) ዉ (wust)
___________ ___________ ___________
ኙ (teGNu) እ(inKurareet) ዊ (weeg)
___________ ___________ ___________
ኚ (sheGNee) ኦ (omo) ዋ (wana)
___________ ___________ ___________
10
ዌ (waybisayt) ዙ (zuriya) ዥ (ZHiwaZHiway)
___________ ___________ ___________
ው (wisha) ዚ (zeep) ዦ (ZHowa)
___________ ___________ ___________
ዎ (adliwo) ዛ (zaf) የ (yelem)
___________ ___________ ___________
ዐ (ayn) ዜ (zayna) ዩ (ayu)
___________ ___________ ___________
ዑ (udet) ዝ (zilay) ዪ (neyee)
___________ ___________ ___________
ዒ (eelama) ዞ (zoma) ያ (yawina)
___________ ___________ ___________
ዓ (asa) ዠ (ZHema) ዬ(Konjeeyay)
___________ ___________ ___________
ዔ (aylee) ዡ (ZHumay) ይ (yih)
___________ ___________ ___________
ዕ (inba) ዢ (ZHeewa) ዮ(meeleeyon)
___________ ___________ ___________
ዖ (ot) ዣ (ZHanTila) ደ (dewel)
___________ ___________ ___________
ዘ (zemen) ዤ (ZHayna) ዱ (duba)
___________ ___________ ___________
11
ዲ (deeda) ጆ (jog) ጣ (Tat)
___________ ___________ ___________
ዳ (damena) ገ (genda) ጤ (Tayna)
___________ ___________ ___________
ዴ (daday) ጉ (gundan) ጥ (TiKur)
___________ ___________ ___________
ድ (dimet) ጊ (geenT) ጦ (Tor)
___________ ___________ ___________
ዶ (doro) ጋ (gazayTa) ጨ(CHereKa)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጀ (jet) ጌ (gayT) ጩ (Chuhet)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጁ (jus) ግ (ginbar) ጪ (CHeeKa)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጂ (jeegira) ጎ (gobez) ጫ (CHama)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጃ (jakayt) ጠ (Termus) ጬ(CHuCHayl)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጄ (ijayta) ጡ (Tub) ጭ(CHimaKee)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጅ (jimat) ጢ(Teenzeeza) ጮ (CHoma)
___________ ___________ ___________
12
ጰ (PeTwa) ጼ aTSay) ፉ (fuCHet)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጱ (Pulo) ጽ (TSinaTSil) ፊ (feerma)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጲ (laPees) ጾ (TSom) ፋ (faseel)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጳ (PaPas) ፀ (TSehafee) ፌ (merfay)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጴ (PayTros) ፁ (fiTSum) ፍ (fiKir)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጵ (PiPisina) ፂ (anaTSeew) ፎ (foK)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጶ(PoraKilaTos) ፃ (hinTSa) ፐ (pelp)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጸ (TSelot) ፄ (KilaTSay) ፑ (pul)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጹ (niTSuh) ፅ (TSiyon) ፒ (peekok)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጺ anaTSee) ፆ (TSomu) ፓ (pasta)
___________ ___________ ___________
ጻ (TSahafee) ፈ (feres) ፔ (paylay)
___________ ___________ ___________
13
ፕ (pilasteek) ቩ (vum) ቬ (vayla)
___________ ___________ ___________
ፖ (polees) ቪ (veeseedee) ቭ (vigor)
___________ ___________ ___________
ቨ (vent) ቫ (vas) ቮ (vot)
___________ ___________ ___________
14
Part 3 – Sentences
The purpose of this exercise is to further revise the fidel

and how to recognise and write them
*You sometimes need to emit the 6th form vowel e.g.

mehayd has 3 characters (me – hay – di) but when
pronounced and written in transliteration we sometime
omit the “i” from the 6th form.
Read the transliterated sentences and rewrite them using

the Amharic fidel.
1. selam new, simay yohanis new

Answer:
2. simih man new?/simish man new?

Answer:
3. amariGNa melemed ifeligalehu

Answer:
4. Tena yisTiliGN indemin aderu?

Answer:
5. inkuwan dehna meTah/meTash/meTu

Answer:
6. hotelu yet new yalew?

Answer:
7. Sint seat new?
15
Answer:
8. sera indayt new?

Answer:
9. baytesebeh/ baytesebish indayt new?

Answer:
10. nuro indet new?

Answer:
11. sint ametih/ametish new?

Answer:
12. agerih/ agerish yet new?

Answer:
13. silk KuTerih/KuTerish sint new?

Answer:
14. serah/serash mindin new?

Answer:
15. yet new yarefkew?

Answer:
16. min meTeTat tifeligaleh/tifeligeeyalesh?

Answer:
17. wede baytekristeeyan iniheed?

Answer:
16
18. taksee tifeligaleh/tifeligeeyalesh?
Answer:
19. min yahil be eetiyoPiya tiKoyaleh/tiKoyalesh?

Answer:
20. agerun wededkew/wededshew?

Answer:
21. melkam idil

Answer:
22. yabasha migib yaKerbalu?

Answer:
23. yeferenj migib yaKerbalu?

Answer:
24. Tiru migib bayt yet indale tawKaleh/tawKeeyalesh?

Answer:
25. min yahil yaskefilalu?

Answer:
26. ambulans Tiru

Answer:
27. wede hakeem bayt wisedeGN

Answer:
28. beTam wid new

Answer:
17
29. ya rikash new
Answer:
30. yeteshale waga siTeGN

Answer:
31. nege temelishay imeTalehu

Answer:
32. awtobus maKomyaw yet new yalew?

Answer:
33. yet new yihay awtobus yemeehaydew?

Answer:
34. yawtobus masaferya heesab sint new?

Answer:
35. kezeeh beTam yirKal?

Answer:
36. yet new taksee lageGN yemichilew?

Answer:
37. heesab sint new?

Answer:
38. wana wana yetureest mesihiboch mindin nachew?

Answer:
39. kifil mekerayet ifeligalehu
18
Answer:
40. yekifil KuTer sint new?

Answer:
19
Part 4 – Paragraphs
Read the transliterated paragraphs and rewrite them

using the Amharic fidel.
Paragraph 1 – selam new? simay yilma yibalal፡፡ haya ametay

new፡፡ yeminorew be adees abeba seehon serayay gimbeGNa
new:: be samint amist Kenat iseralehu፤ huletun Kenat be
meznanat asalifalehu:: sost wendimoch ina andeet ihit aluGN
ke inat ina abatachin gar be bale sost kifil bayt wisT
ininoralen፡፡
Answer
Paragraph 2 – dehina nachihu? fred iBalalehu፡፡

amayreekawee neGN፡፡ idmay selasa sost new፡፡ baletidar ina
yand lij abat neGN፡፡ balebaytay sarah tiBalalech lijay luke
yiBalal፡፡ eetiyoPeeya menor kejemerku sost amet
honoGNal፡፡ be tebaberut mengistat dirijit wist new
yemiserew፡፡ shiro weT beTam iwedalehu doro weT gin
alwedim::
Answer
20
Paragraph 3 – talaK ina neCH zufanin bersum lay
yeteKemeTewin ayehu፤ midir ina semayim kefeetu
sheshu sifram altegeGNelachewim፡፡ mutaninim
tananashochinina talalaKochin bezufanu feet Komew
ayehu፤ meTSahifitim tekefetu፤ layla meTSihafim
tekefete irsum yehiywet meTSihaf new፤ mutanim
bemeTSahift teTSifo inde nebere inde sirachiw meTen
tekefelu፡፡
Answer
Paragraph 4 – bemenfes dihoch yehonu biTSuan

nachew፤ mengist semayat yenersu natina:: yemeeyazinu
biTSuan nachew፤ meTSinanatin yageGNaluna::
yewahoch biTSuan nachew፤ midiron yiwersaluna::
TSidiKin yemeerabuna yemeeTemu biTSuan nachew፤
yiTegibaluna:: yemeemiru biTSuan nachew፤
yimaraluna::
Answer
21
Paragraph 5 – halayluya፡፡ igzeeabihayrin bemeKdesu
amesginut፤ behaylu Tefer amesginut፡፡ bechilotu
amesginut፤ betalaKinetu izat amesginut:: bemeleket
dimTS amesginut፤ be begenana bemesenKo amesginut::
bekeberona bezefen amesginut፤ bawtarna bimbeelta
amesginut:: dimTSu melkam behone TSenaTSil
amesginut፤ ililta balew TSenaTSil amesginut:: istinfas
yalew hulu igzeeabihayrin yamesgin:: halayluya::
Answer
22
Answer key
Part 1
*See alphabet chart
Part 2
ሀ (hasab) ሀሳብ ሚ (mist) ሚስት

ሁ (hulet) ሁለት ማ (mata) ማታ
ሂ (heeyaj) ሂያጅ ሜ (mayda) ሜዳ
ሃ (hayK) ሃይቅ ም (misa) ምሳ
ሄ (hayde) ሄደ ሞ (moges) ሞገስ
ህ (hiliwina) ህልውና ሰ (sebat) ሰባት
ሆ (hotel) ሆተል ሱ (suK) ሱቅ
ለ (lem) ለም ሲ (seenee) ሲኒ
ሉ (lul) ሉል ሳ (same) ሳመ
ሊ (leeK) ሊቅ ሴ (sayt) ሴት
ላ (lak) ላክ ስ (sim) ስም
ሌ (layba) ሌባ ሶ (sofa) ሶፋ
ል (liK) ልቅ ረ (reKeeK) ረቂቅ
ሎ (lomee) ሎሚ ሩ (ruK) ሩቅ
ሐ (hamlay) ሐምሌ ሪ (reez) ሪዝ
ሑ (hudad) ሑዳድ ራ (ras) ራስ
ሒ (heesab) ሒሳብ ሬ (raysa) ሬሳ
ሓ (hareg) ሓረግ ር (ribrab) ርብራብ
ሔ (haywan) ሔዋን ሮ (rob) ሮብ
ሕ (hig) ሕግ ሠ (selasa) ሠላሳ
ሖ (hora) ሖራ ሡ (sumen) ሡመን
መ (mesrat) መስራት ሢ (seesay) ሢሳይ
ሙ (mulu) ሙሉ ሣ (saTin) ሣጥን
23
ሤ (sayra) ሤራ ቸ (cherinet) ቸርነት
ሥ (silTan) ሥልጣን ቹ (chuchu) ቹቹ
ሦ (sost) ሦስት ቺ (cheenga) ቺንጋ
ሸ (shemeez) ሸሚዝ ቻ (chay) ቻይ
ሹ (shum) ሹም ቼ (chayk) ቼክ
ሺ (shee) ሺ ች (chilota) ችሎታ
ሻ (shambel) ሻምበል ቾ (chok) ቾክ
ሼ (shayh) ሼህ ኀ (habhab) ኀብኃብ
ሽ (shilimat) ሽልማት ኁ (hunayta) ኁኔታ
ሾ (shorba) ሾርባ ኂ (heerut) ኂሩት
ቀ (Kelem) ቀለም ኃ (hayl) ኃይል
ቁ (KulKuwal) ቁልቁዋል ኄ (haylen) ኄይለን
ቂ (KeeTa) ቂጣ ኅ (hitem) ኅተም
ቃ (Kata) ቃታ ኆ (hora) ኆራ
ቄ (Kays) ቄስ ነ (nebir) ነብር
ቅ (Kibay) ቅቤ ኑ (nuro) ኑሮ
ቆ (Kob) ቆብ ኒ (sinee) ስኒ
በ (beLa) በላ ና (nafKot) ናፍቆት
ቡ (buko) ቡኮ ኔ (inay) እኔ
ቢ (beela) ቢላ ን (nibab) ንባብ
ባ (barnet) ባርነት ኖ (nore) ኖረ
ቤ (bayt) ቤት ኘ (waGNe) ወኘ
ብ (birK) ብርቅ ኙ (teGNu) ተኙ
ቦ (borsa) ቦርሳ ኚ (sheGNee) ሸኚ
ተ (temaree) ተማሪ ኛ (iGNa) እኛ
ቱ (tuba) ቱባ ኜ (hoGNay) ሆኜ
ቲ (teeyatir) ቲያትር ኝ (tiniGN) ትንኝ
ታ (talaK) ታላቅ ኞ (baGNo) ባኞ
ቴ (tap) ታፕ አ (ahun) አሁን
ት (tirf) ትርፍ ኡ (uber) ኡበር
ቶ (tombola) ቶምቦላ ኢ(eetiyoPiya) ኢትዮጵያ
24
ኣ (arada) አራዳ ዞ (zoma) ዞማ
ኤ (aylee) ኤሊ ዠ (ZHema) ዠማ
እ(inKurareet) እንቁራሪት ዡ (ZHumay) ዡሜ
ኦ (omo) ኦሞ ዢ (ZHeewa) ዢዋ
ከ (kebero) ከበሮ ዣ (ZHanTila) ዣንጥላ
ኩ (kuku) ኩኩ ዤ (ZHayna) ዤና
ኪ (kees) ኪስ ዥ (ZHiwaZHiway) ዥዋዠዌ
ካ (kaport) ካፖርት ዦ (ZHowa) ዦዋ
ኬ (kayk) ኬክ የ (yelem) የለም
ክ (kibreet) ክብሪት ዩ (ayu) አዩ
ኮ (kot) ኮት ዪ (neyee) ነዪ
ወ (wenber) ወንበር ያ (yawina) ያውና
ዉ (wust) ዉስት ዬ(Konjeeyay) ቆንጂዬ
ዊ (weeg) ዊግ ይ (yih) ይህ
ዋ (wana) ዋና ዮ (meeleeyon) ሚሊዮን
ዌ (waybisayt) ዌብሴት ደ (dewel) ደወል
ው (wisha) ውሻ ዱ (duba) ዱባ
ዎ (adliwo) አድልዎ ዲ (deeda) ዲዳ
ዐ (ayn) ዐይን ዳ (damena) ዳመና
ዑ (udet) ዑደት ዴ (daday) ዳዴ
ዒ (eelama) ዒላማ ድ (dimet) ድመት
ዓ (asa) ዓሳ ዶ (doro) ዶሮ
ዔ (aylee) ዔሊ ጀ (jet) ጀት
ዕ (inba) ዕንባ ጁ (jus) ጁስ
ዖ (ot) ዖት ጂ (jeegira) ጂግራ
ዘ (zemen) ዘመን ጃ (jakayt) ጃኬት
ዙ (zuriya) ዙሪያ ጄ (ijayta) እጄታ
ዚ (zeep) ዚፕ ጅ (jimat) ጅማት
ዛ (zaf) ዛፍ ጆ (jog) ጆግ
ዜ (zayna) ዜና ገ (genda) ገንዳ
ዝ (zilay) ዝላይ ጉ (gundan) ጉንዳን
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ጊ (geenT) ጊንጥ ጽ (TSinaTSil) ጽናጽል
ጋ (gazayTa) ጋዜጣ ጾ (TSom) ጾም
ጌ (gayT) ጌጥ ፀ (TSehafee) ፀሃፊ
ግ (ginbar) ግንባር ፁ (fiTSum) ፍፁም
ጎ (gobez) ጎበዝ ፂ (anaTSeew) አናፂው
ጠ (Termus) ጠርሙስ ፃ (hinTSa) ህንፃ
ጡ (Tub) ጡብ ፄ (KilaTSay) ቂላፄ
ጢ(Teenzeeza) ጢንዚዛ ፅ (TSiyon) ፅዮን
ጣ (Tat) ጣት ፆ (TSomu) ፆሙ
ጤ (Tayna) ጤና ፈ (feres) ፈረስ
ጥ (TiKur) ጥቁር ፉ (fuCHet) ፉጨት
ጦ (Tor) ጦር ፊ (feerma) ፊርማ
ጨ(CHereKa) ጨረቃ ፋ (faseel) ፋሲል
ጩ (Chuhet) ጩሀት ፌ (merfay) መርፌ
ጪ (CHeeKa) ጪቃ ፍ (fiKir) ፍቅር
ጫ (CHama) ጫማ ፎ (foK) ፎቅ
ጬ (CHuCHayl) ጩጬል ፐ (pelp) ፐልፕ
ጭ(CHimaKee) ጭማቂ ፑ (pul) ፑል
ጮ (CHoma) ጮማ ፒ (peekok) ፒኮክ
ጰ (PeTwa) ጰጥዋ ፓ (pasta) ፓስታ
ጱ (Pulo) ጱሎ ፔ (paylay) ፔሌ
ጲ (laPees) ላጲስ ፕ (pilasteek) ፕላስቲክ
ጳ (PaPas) ጳጳስ ፖ (polees) ፖሊስ
ጴ (PayTros) ጴጥሮስ ቨ (vent) ቨንት
ጵ (PiPisina) ጵጵስና ቩ (vum) ቩም
ጶ(PoraKilaTos) ጶራቅላጦስ ቪ (veeseedee) ቪሲዲ
ጸ (TSelot) ጸሎት ቫ (vas) ቫስ
ጹ (niTSuh) ንጹህ ቬ (vayla) ቬላ
ጺ anaTSee) አናጺ ቭ (vigor) ቭጎር
ጻ (TSahafee) ጻሃፊ ቮ (vot) ቮት
ጼ (aTSay) አጼ
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Part 3
1. ሰላም ነው ስሜ ዮሐንስ ነው
2. ስምህ/ስምሽ ማን ንው?
3. አማርኛ መለመድ እፈልጋለሁ
4. ጠና ይስጥልኝ እንደምን አደሩ?
5. እንቁዋን ደህና መጣህ/ መጣሽ/ መጡ
6. ሆተሉ የት ነው ያለው?
7. ስንት ሰአት ነው?
8. ሰራ እንዴት ነው?
9. ቤተሰበህ/ቤተሰብሽ እንዴት ነው?
10. ኑሮ እንዴት ነው?
11. ስንት አመትህ/አመትሽ ነው?
12. አገርህ/ አገርሽ የት ነው?
13. ስልክ ቁጠርህ/ቁጠርሽ ስንት ነው?
14. ሰራህ/ሰራሽ ምንድን ነው?
15. የት ነው ያረፍከው?
16. ምን መጠጣት ትፈልጋለህ/ ትፈልጊያለሽ?
17. ወደ ቤተክርስቲያን እንሂድ
18. ታክሲ ትፈልጋለህ/ ትፈልጊያለሽ?
19. ምን ያህል በ ኢትዮጵያ ትቆያለህ/ ትቆያለሽ?
20. አገሩን ወደድከው/ ወደድሸው?
21. መልካም እድል
22. ያባሻ ምግብ ያቀርባሉ?
23. የፈረንጅ ምግብ ያቀርባሉ?
24. ጥሩ ምግብ ቤት የት እንዳለ ታውቃለህ/ታውቂያለሽ?
25. ምን ያህል ያስከፍላሉ?
26. አምቡላንስ ጥሩ
27. ወደ ሃኪም ቤት ውሰደኝ
28. በጣም ውድ ነው
29. ያ ርካሽ ነው
30. የተሸለ ዋጋ ስጠኝ
27
31. ነገ ተመልሼ እመጣለሁ
32. አውቶቡስ ማቆምያው የት ነው ያለው?
33. የት ነው ይሄ አውቶቡስ የሚሄደው?
34. ያውቶቡስ ማሳፈርያ ሂሳብ ስንት ነው?
35. ከዚህ በጣም ይርቃል?
36. የት ነው ታክሲ ላገኝ የምችለው?
37. ሂሳብ ስንት ነው?
38. ዋና ዋና የቱሪስት መስህቦች ምንድን ናቸው?
39. ክፍል መከራየት እፈልጋለሁ
40. የክፍል ቁጠር ስንት ነው?
Part 4
Paragraph 1 – ሰላም ነው? ስሜ ይልማ ይባላል፡፡ ሃያ አመቴ ነው፡፡

የምኖረው በ አዲስ አበባ ሲሆን ስራዬ ግምበኛ ነው፡፡ በ ሳምንት አምስት
ቀናት እሰራለሁ፤ ሁለቱን ቀናት በ መዝናናት አሳልፋለሁ ሶሰት ወንድሞች
እና አንዲት እህት አልኝ፡፡ከ እናት እና አባታችን ጋር በ ባለ ሶስት ክፍል
ቤት ውስጥ እንኖራለን፡፡
Paragraph 2 – ደህና ናችሁ ፍረድ እባላለሁ፡፡ አሜሪካዊ ነኝ፡፡ እድሜ

ሰላሳ ሶስት ነው፡፡ ባለትዳር እና ያንድ ልጅ አባት ነኝ፡፡ ባለቤቴ ሳራ
ትባላለች፤ ልጄ ሉክ ይባላል፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ መኖር ከጀመርኩ ሶስት አመት
ሆኖኛል፡፡ በተባበሩት መንግስታት ድርጅት ውስት ነው የምሰረው፡፡ ሽሮ
ወጥ በጣም እወዳለሁ ዶሮ ወጥ ግን አልወድም፡፡
Paragraph 3 – ታላቅ እና ነጭ ዙፋንን በርሱም ላይ የተቀመጠውን

አየሁ፣ ምድር እና ሰማይም ከፊቱ ሸሹ ስፍራም አልተገኘላቸውም፡፡
ሙታንንም ታናናሾችንና ታላላቆችን በዙፋኑ ፊት ቆመው አየሁ፤
መጻሕፍትም ተከፈቱ፤ ሌላ መጽሐፍም ተከፈተ እርሱም የህይወት
መጽሐፍ ነው፤ ሙታንም በመጻሕፍት ተጽፎ እንደ ነበረ እን ስራችው
መጠን ተከፈሉ፡፡
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Paragraph 4 – በመንፈስ ድሆች የሆኑ ብፁአን ናቸው፤ መንግስት
ሰማያት የነርሱ ናትና፡፡ የሚያዝኑ ብፁአን ናቸው፤ መጽናናትን ያገኛሉና፡፡
የዋሆች ብፁአን ናችው፤ ምድሮን ይወርሳሉና፡፡ ጽድቅን የሚራቡና
የሚጠሙ ብፁአን ናችው፤ ይጠግባሉና፡፡ የሚምሩ ብፁአን ናችው፤
ይማራሉና፡፡
Paragraph 5 – ሃሌሉያ፡፡ እግዚአብሔርን በመቀደሱ አመስግኑት፤

በሃይሉ ጠፈር አመስግኑት፡፡ በችሎቱ አመስግኑት፤ በታላቅነቱ እዛት
አመስግኑት፡፡ በመለከት ድምጽ አመስግኑት፤ በ በገናና በመሰንቆ
አመስግኑት፡፡ በከበሮና በዘፈን አመስግኑት፤ ባውታርና ብምቢልታ
አመስግኑት፡፡ ድምጹ መልካም በሆነ ጸናጽል አመስግኑት፤ እልልታ ባለው
ጸናጽል አመስግኑት፡ እስትንፋስ ያለው ሁሉ እግዚአብሔርን ያመስግን፡፡
ሃሌሉያ፡፡
29
Bibliography
Concise Amharic Dictionary: Amharic-English : English-

Amharic dictionary, Wolf leslau, Otto Harrassowitz
Verlag, 1976
FSI Amharic Basic Course, Serge Obolensky,
International Learning Systems, 1964
Amharic-English Dictionary, Amsalu Aklilu, Kuraz-Publ.
Agency, 1980
የፊደል መማሪያዬ, ህትመት እሌኒ ማ.ቤ.ኃ.የተ.የግ.ማ, 2008
Holy Bible in Amharic digital version
30
Amharic Today:
Book 2
Vocabulary
Fo r
30 Topics
By Kefle Yohannes
Go to www.amharictoday.blogspot.com for Audio to help you
with Book 2 Vocabulary for 30 topics
My
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my daughter, you are a sweet honey,

and you are fresh milk that God hath promised.
He has answered,
Blessings
Dad loves you

Contents page
Introduction 1
Greetings 2
Common Expressions 2
Goodbyes 3
Animals 3
Body parts 4
Places 5
School 6
Clothes 7
Colors 7
Days 7
Kitchen items 8
Transport 8
Family relatives 9
Feelings 9
Senses 9
Food and drinks 10
Fruit 11
Months 11
Musical instruments 11
Numbers 12
Professions 12
Playground 13
Classroom 13
Rooms 13
Shapes 13
Sports 14
Bedroom stuff 14
House stuff 14
Living room stuff 15
Weather 15
Alphabet Chart 16
Bibliography 19
Introduction
Besime Ab We Weld We Menfes Qidus Ahadu Amlak Amen

This book is designed to help beginners and intermediate
students learn the basic vocabulary of the Amharic language.
The book is a selection of words from key topics. The English

words are followed by the Amharic text and the Amharic
transliteration in English characters.
If you can learn the words in this book and grasp the basics
of the grammar you will be able to express yourself well.
Learning the letters and how to read will help you invaluably.
So I have added them below.

Topics
1 Greetings
Good morning -እንደምን አደርክ/አደርሽ/አደሩ/አደራቹ (indemin

aderk/adersh/aderu/aderachu)
Good afternoon - እንደምን ዋልክ/ዋልሽ/ ዋሉ/ዋላቹ (indemin
walk/walsh/walu/walachu)
Good Evening - እንደምን አመሸህ/ አመሸሽ/ አመሹ/ አመሻቹ
(indemin amesheh/ameshesh/ameshu/ameshachu)
Peace - ሰላም (selam)
2 Common Expressions
How are you? እንዴት ነህ/ነሽ/ኖት/ናችሁ (indayt

neh/nesh/not/nachihu)
I am fine - ደህና ነኝ (dehna neGN)
They are fine - ደህና ናቸው (dehna nachew)
May God give you for me - እግዚአብሔር ይስጥልኝ (egzeeabher
yisTiliGN)
May God be praised - እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን (egzeeabher
yimesgen)
Ok - እሺ (ishee)
Of course - እንዴታ (indayta)
Thats fine - ችግር የለም (chigir yelem)
Thats right - ልክ ነው (lik no)
Sure - እርግጥ (irgiT)
Possible - የሚቻል (yemeechal)
Thats enough - ይበቃል (yibeKal)
I’ve got to go - መሄድ አለብኝ (mehayd alebiGN)
Same to you - ላንተም/ ላንቺም/ ለርሶም/ ለናንተም
(lantem/lancheem/lersom/lenantem)
Me too - እኔም (inaym)
Not bad - መጥፎ አይደለም (metfo aydelem)
I like it - ወድጄዋለሁ (wedijaywalehu)
2
Thanks - አመሰግናለሁ (amesagenalehu)
Im sorry - ይቅርታ (yiKerta)
Great! - ድንቅ (dinK)
Bless you! - ተባረክ/ተባረኪ/ተባረኩ (tebarek/tebarekee/tebareku)
One moment- አንድ ግዜ (and gizay)
Stop it! - በቃ (beKa)
Really? እውነት (iwnet)
Why? -ለምን (lemin)
Where? የት (yet)
When? - መች (mech)
Who? - ማን (man)
How? - እነዴት (indayt)
What happened? - ምን ተፈጠረ (min tefeTere)
Well done! - በጣም ጥሩ (beTam Tiru)
Happy birthday - መልካም ልደት (melkam lidet)
Happy new year! - መልካም አዲስ አመት (melkam adees amet)
Happy Easter! - መልካም ፋሲካ (melkam faseeka)
Happy Christmas! - መልካም ገና (melkam gena)
Thats true - እውነት ነው (iwnet no)
Thats not true - እውነት አይደለም (iwnet aydelem)
Its right - ልክ ነው (lik no)
Its wrong - ልክ አይደለም (lik aydelem)
I dont mind - ምንም አይመስለኝም (minim aymesileGNim)
3 Goodbyes
Bye - ደህና ሁን (dehina hun)

Have a good day - መልካም ቀን (melkam Ken)
Good night – ደህና እደር (dehina ider)
4 Animals
Bird - ወፍ (wef)
Cat - ድመት (dimet)
Chicken -ዶሮ (doro)
3
Dog-ውሻ (wisha)
Duck- ዳክዬ (dakiyay)
Fish -አሳ (asa)
Frog- እንቁራሪት (inKurareet)
Cow - ላም (lam)
Horse - ፈረስ (feres)
Mouse - አይጥ (ayiT)
Pig - አሳማ (asama)
Rabbit - ጥንቸል (Tinchel)
Sheep - በግ (beg)
Turtle - ኤሊ (aylee)
Fox - ቀበሮ (Kebero)
Goat - ፍየል (fiyel)
Monkey - ጦጣ (ToTa)
Kangaroo - ካንጋሮ (kangaro)
Giraffe - ቀጭኔ (KeCHinay)
Panda - ፓንዳ (panda)
Lion - አንበሳ (anbesa)
Tiger - ነብር (nebir)
Elephant - ዝሆን (zihon)
Snake - እባብ (ibab)
Aligator - አዞ (azo)
Bear - ድብ (dib)
Zebra - የሜዳ እህያ (yemayda ihiya)
Hippo - ጉማሬ (gumaray)
Whale - ትልቅ አሳ (tiliK asa)
Shark - አሳ ነባሪ (asa nebaree)
5 Body parts
Arm - ክንድ (kind)

Back - ጀርባ (jerba)
Belly button - እምብርት (imbirt)
Bottom - ቂጥ (KeeT)
Ear - ጆሮ (joro)
4
Elbow - ክርን (kirn)
Eye - አይን (ayin)
Face - ፊት (feet)
Finger - ጣት (Tat)
Foot - እግር (igir)
Hair - ፀጉር (TSigur)
Hand -እጅ (ij)
Head - ራስ (ras)
Hips - ዳሌ (dalay)
Knee - ጉልበት (gulbet)
Leg - እግር (igir)
Lips - ከንፈር (kenfer)
Mouth - አፍ (af)
Neck - አንገት (anget)
Nose - አፍንጫ (afinCHa)
Shoulder - ትከሻ (tekesha)
Teeth - ጥርስ (Tirs)
Toe - የእግር ጣት (yigir Tat)
Tongue - ምላስ (milas)
Tummy - ሆድ (hod)
6 Places
Bank -ባንክ (bank)

Bus stop-አውቶቡስ ማቆሚያ (awtobus maKomeeya)
Church-ቤተ ክርስትያን (bayte kristiyan)
City hall- የከተማ አስተዳደር (yeketema astedader)
Gas station-የጋዝ መቅጃ ቦታ (yegaz meKija bota)
Hospital-ሀኪም ቤት (hakeem bayt)
Hotel-ሆቴል (hotayl)
Library-መጻሕፍት ቤት (meTSahift bayt)
Movie theater-ፊልም ቤት (feelm bayt)
Museum-ሙዚየም (muzeeyem)
Park-የአራዊት መጠበቂያ/ፓርክ/ (yaraweet meTebeKeeya/ park)
Police station-ፖሊስ ጣቢያ (polees Tabeeya)
5
Post office-ፖስታ ቤት (posta bayt)
Restaurant-ምግብ ቤት (migib bayt)
School-ትምህርት ቤት (timhirt bayt)
Station-መናኸሪያ (menahereeya)
Supermarket-የሸቀጣ ሸቀጥ ገበያ (yesheKeTa sheKeT gebeya)
University-ዩኒቨርስቲ (yuneeversitee)
7 School
Blackboard - ጥቁር ሰሌዳ (TiKur selayda)

Book - መጽሐፍ (meTSihaf)
Cd player - የሲዲ ማጫወቻ (yeseedee maCHawecha)
Chair - ወንበር (wenber)
Classroom - መማሪያ ክፍል (memareeya kifil)
Clock - ሰአት (se at)
Computer - ኮምፒተር (kompeeter)
Door - በር (ber)
Eraser - ላጲስ (laPees)
Glue - ሙጫ (muCHa)
Notebook - ደብተር (debter)
Paper - ወረቀት (wereKet)
Pen - እስክርቢቶ (iskribeeto)
Pencil - እርሳስ(irsas)
Pencil sharpener - መቅረጫ (meKireCHa)
Scissor - ማስመሪያ (masmereeya)
Stamp - መሀተም (mehatem)
Students - ተማሪዎች (temareewoch)
Table - ጠረጴዛ (TerePayza)
Tape player - ካስት (kast)
Teacher - አስተማሪ (astemaree)
Wall whiteboard - ነጭ ሰሌዳ (neCH selayda)
Window - መስኮት (meskot)
6
8 Clothes
Boots - ቦት/ቡትስ (bot/buts)

Coat - ኮት (kot)
Dress - ቀሚስ (Kemees)
Gloves - ጓንት (gwant)
Hat - ኮፍያ (kofiya)
Jacket - ጃክት (jakit)
Pyjamas - የለሊት ልብስ (yeleleet libs)
Pants - የጨርቅ ሱሪ (yeCHerK suree)
Scarf - ሻርፕ (sharp)
Shirt - ከነቲራ (keneteera)
Shoes - ጫማ (CHama)
Shorts - ቁምጣ (KumTa)
Skirt - ጉርድ ቀሚስ (gurid Kemees)
Socks - ካልሲ (kalsee)
Sweater - ሹራብ (shurab)
9 Colors
Red - ቀይ (Key)
White - ነጭ (neCH)
Pink - ሮዝ (roz)
Green - አረንጓዴ (arengwaday)
Orange - ብርቱካን (birtukan)
Black - ጥቁር (TiKur)
Blue - ሰማያዊ (semayawee)
Brown - ቡኒ (bunee)
Yellow - ቢጫ (beeCHa)
Grey - ግራጫ (giraCHa)
Purple - ወይንጠጅ (weynTej)
10 Days
Sunday - እሁድ (ihud)
7
Monday - ሰኞ (seGNo)
Tuesday - ማክሰኞ (makseGNo)
Wednesday - እሮብ (irob)
Thursday - ሀሙስ (hamus)
Friday - አርብ (arb)
Saturday - ቅዳሜ (Kidamay)
11 Kitchen items
Knife - ቢላ (beela)
Fork - ሹካ (shuka)
Spoon - ማንኪያ (mankeeya)
Cup - ኩባያ (kubaya)
Glass - ብርጭቆ (birCHiKo)
Bowl -ጎርጓዳ ሰሀን (gorgwada sehan)
Plate - ሰሀን (sehan)
Pan - መጥበሻ (meTbesha)
Pot - ድስት (dist)
12 Transport
Ambulance - አምቡላንስ (ambulans)

Police car - የፖሊስ መኪና (yepolees mekeena)
Fire truck - የእሳት አደጋ መከላከያ መኪና (yisat adega mekelakeya
mekeena)
Helicopter - ኢሊኮፍተር (ayleekofter)
Motorcycle - ሞተርሳይክል (motersaykil)
Bicycle - ብስክልት (biskilit)
Car - መኪና (mekeena)
Taxi - ታክሲ (taksee)
Truck - አጭነት መኪና (aCHinet mekeena)
Bus - አውቶቡስ (awtobus)
Train - ባቡር (babur)
Boat - ጀልባ (jelba)
Airplane - አውሮፕላን (awroplan)
8
13 Family relatives
Brother - ወንድም (wendim)

Sister - እህት (ihit)
Father - አባት (abat)
Mother – እናት (inat)
Baby - ህጻን (hiTSan)
Me - እኔ (inay)
Grandfather - የወንድ አያት (yewend ayat)
Grandmother - የሴት አያት (yesayt ayat)
14 Feelings
Angry - ማዘን (mazen)

Bored - መሰልት (meselt)
Fine - ደህና (dehina)
Great - ድንቅ (dinK)
Happy - ደስተኛ (desteGNa)
Okay - እሺ (ishee)
Sad - ማዘን (mazen)
Scared - መፍራት (mefrat)
Sick - መታመም (metamem)
Tired - መድከም (medkem)
15 Senses
See - ማየት (mayet)

Hear - መስማት (mesmat)
Smell - ማሽተት (mashtet)
Taste - መቅመስ (meKmes)
Touch – መንካት (menkat)
9
16 Food and drinks
Bread - ዳቦ (dabo)
Broccoli - አበባ ጎመን (abeba gomen)
Cabbage - ጥቅል ጎመን (TiKil gomen)
Cake - ኬክ (kayk)
Candy - ከረሜላ (keremayla)
Carrot - ካሮት (karot)
Cheese - አይብ (ayib)
Chicken - ዶሮ (doro)
Chocolate - ቸኮላት (chekolat)
Coffee - ቡና (buna)
Cookies - ብስኩት (biskut)
Corn - በቆሎ (beKolo)
Egg - እንቁላል (inKulal)
Fish - አሳ (asa)
French fries - ቺብስ (cheebs)
Hamburger - ሀምበርገር (hamberger)
Ice cream - አይስ ክርም (ayis krim)
Milk - ወተት (wetet)
Onion - ሽንኩርት (shinkurt)
Pizza - ፒዛ (peeza)
Potatochips - ድንች ጥብስ/ቺብስ (dinech Tibs/cheebs)
Potatoes -ድንች (dinich)
Rice - ሩዝ (ruz)
Salad - ሰላጣ (selaTa)
Sandwich - ሳንዱች (sanduch)
Soda - ለስላሳ (leslasa)
Sweet potato - ስኳር ድንች (sikwar dinich)
Tea - ሻይ (shay)
Toast - የተጠበሰ ዳቦ (yeteTebese dabo)
Tomato - ቲማቲም (teemateem)
Water - ውሃ (wiha)
10
17 Fruit
Apple - ፖም (pom)
Banana - ሙዝ (muz)
Lemon - ሎሚ (lomee)
Strawberry - እንጆሪ (injoree)
Grapes - ወይን (weyn
Watermelon - ፓፓያ (popoya)
Pineapple – አናናስ (ananas)
18 Month
January-ጥር (Tir)
February-የካቲት (yekateet)
March-መጋቢት (megabeet)
April-ሚያዝያ (meyaziya)
May-ግንቦት (ginbot)
Jue-ሰኔ (senay)
July-ሀምሌ (hamlay)
August-ነሀሴ (nehasay)
September-መስክረም (meskirem)
October-ጥቅምት (TiKimt)
November-ህዳር (hidar)
December-ታህሳስ (tahisas)
19 Musical instruments
Drums-ከበሮ (kebero)
Guitar-ጊታር (geetar)
Piano-ፒያኖ (peeyano)
11
20 Numbers
One-አንድ (and)
Two-ሁለት (hulet)
Three-ሶስት (sost)
Four-አራት (arat)
Five-አምስት (amist)
Six-ስድስት (sidist)
Seven-ሰባት (sebat)
Eight-ስምንት (simint)
Nine-ዘጠኝ (zeteGN)
Ten-አስር (asir)
Twenty -ሃያ (haya)
Thirty-ሰላሳ (selasa)
Forty-አርባ (arba)
Fifty-ሀምሳ (hamsa)
Sixty-ስልሳ (silsa)
Seventy-ሰባ (seba)
Eighty-ሰማንያ (semanya)
Ninety-ዘጠና (zeTena)
Hundred-መቶ (meto)
Thousand-ሺህ (sheeh)
Million-ሚሊዮን (meeleeyon)
21 Professions
Chef-ምግብ አብሳይ (migib absay)

Doctor-ሀኪም (hakeem)
Firefighter-እሳት አደጋ መከላከያ (isat adega mekelakeya)
Mailman-ፖስተኛ (posteGNa)
Nurse-ነርስ (ners)
Police officer-ፖሊስ (polees)
Shopkeeper-የሱቅ ሰራተኛ (yesuK serateGNa)
Teacher-አስተማሪ (astemaree)
12
22 Playground
Basketball-ቅርጫት ኳስ (KirCHat kwas)

Hopscotch-ሰኞ ማክሰኞ (seGNo makseGNo)
Slide-ሸርተቴ (shertetay)
Swing-ዥዋዥዌ (ZHiwaZHiway)
23 Classroom
Ball-ኳስ (kwas)
Bicycle-ብስክሌት (biskilayt)
Book-መጽሀፍ (meTSihaf)
Car-መኪና (mekeena)
Cards-ካርዶች (kardoch)
Clothes-ልብሶች (libsoch)
Doll-አሻንጉሊት (ashanguleet)
Game-ጨዋታ (CHewata)
Jump rope-ገመድ ዝላይ (gemed zilay)
Marbles-ብይ (biy)
Train-ባቡር (babur)
Video game-የቪዲዮ ጌም (yeveedeeyo gaym)
24 Rooms
Bathroom-መጸዳጃ ቤት (meTSedaja bayt)

Bedroom-መኝታ ቤት (meGNita bayt)
Kitchen-ማዕድ ቤት (ma id bayt)
Living room-ሳሎን ቤት (salon bayt)
Classroom-ክፍል (kifil)
25 Shapes
Circle-ክብ (kib)
Square-አራት መአዘን (arat maazen)
13
Triangle-ሶስት መአዘን (sost maazen)
Star-ኮከብ (kokeb)
Heart-ልብ ቅርጽ (lib KirTS)
26 Sports
Basketball-የቅርጫት ኳስ (yeKirCHat kwas)

Karate-ካራቴ (karatay)
Running-ሩጫ (ruCHa)
Soccer-እግር ኳስ (igir kwas)
Swimming-ዋና (wana)
Tennis-ቴኒስ (taynees)
Volleyball-ቮሊቦል (voleebol)
27 Bedroom stuff
Bed - አልጋ (alga)

Bookcase -መጽኀፍ ማስቀመጫ (meTSihaf masKemeCHa)
Cd player -የሲዲ ማጫወቻ (yeseedee maCHawecha)
Chair - ወንበር (wenber)
Clothes - ልብሶች (libsoch)
Computer - ኮምፒዩተር (kompeeyuter)
Cupboard - ቡፌ (bufay)
Shelf - መደርደሪያ (mederdereeya)
28 House stuff
Bath - ግላ መታጠቢያ (gela metaTebeeya)

Mirror - መስታዎት (mestawot)
Picture - ስዕል (siil)
Refrigerator -ፍሪጅ (fireej)
Oven - ምግብ ማሞቂያ (migib mamoKeeya)
Toilet - መጸዳጃ ቤት (meTSedaja bayt)
Broom - መጥረጊያ (meTregeeya)
Mop - መወልወያ (meweliweya)
14
Soap - ሳሙና (samuna)
29 Living room stuff
Sofa - ሶፋ (sofa)
Table - ጠረቤዛ (Terebayza)
Television - ቴሌቢዥን (taylaybeeZHen)
Toys - መጫወቻዎች (meCHawechawoch)
Rug - ምንጣፍ (minTaf)
30 Weather
Sunny -ጸሀያማ (TSehayama)

Rainy - ዝናባማ (zinabama)
Cloudy - ደመናማ (demenama)
Snowy - በረድዋማ (beredwama)
Windy - ንፋሳማ (nifasama)
Stormy - ነጎድጋዳማ (negodgadama)
Hot - ሙቅ (muK)
Cold - ቀዝቃዛ (KeZKaza)
15
Alphabet
The Amharic alphabet has 33 basic characters, each of which has

seven forms; each form is built with a consonant and a vowel.
Table 1
Form 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Vowels A U ee a ay i o
H ሀ ሁ ሂ ሃ ሄ ህ ሆ
As h in he (same as ሀ)
L ለ ሉ ሊ ላ ሌ ል ሎ
As initial l in let
H ሐ ሑ ሒ ሓ ሔ ሕ ሖ
ሀ)
As w in won (very
open)
none ዐ ዑ ዒ ዓ ዔ ዕ ዖ Pure first form vowel
16
same as አ
p ጰ ጱ ጲ ጳ ጴ ጵ ጶ Explosive
Vowel sounds
1. The first form vowel is fronted and rounded, with a sound

between the vowels of the English word ‘but’ and ‘bet’.
2. The second form vowel (u) is a fronted, rounded u-sound, as in

‘mood’.
3. The third form vowel (i) is a narrow i- soind, as in ‘seat’, but

generally shorter.
4. The fourth form vowel (a) is forward and wide, as in ‘alms’, but
more fronted.
5. The fifth form vowel (e) is as the e in ‘eight’.
17
6. The sixth form vowel (e) is short and unrounded, similiar to the
i in ‘bit’. This is the only vowel which can also be used as a pure
consonant.
7. The seventh form vowel (o) is strongly rounded and forward,

similar to the vowel sound in ‘caught’
18
Bibliography
1. The Genius: English – Amharic dictionary, Hinsene
Mekuria, Addis Ababa, 2009.
19
Amharic Today:
Book 3
Questions
Fo r
Translation
Workbook
By Kefle Yohannes
My
Dedication
To my wife, my special helper.

And
To all my friends who helped me translate meanings during my
first years in Ethiopia, especially my brother and teacher Dereje
Mama
Contents page
Introduction
Translation
Words
2-12
Sentences
13-16
Paragraphs
17-18
Answers
Words
19-26
Sentences
26- 27
Paragraphs
27-28
Bibliography
29
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the writer.
Introduction
Besime Ab We Weld We Menfes Qidus Ahadu Amlak

Amen
This book is designed to help you practice your

translation skills and to learn new words, this is essential
because when listening you are likely to want to translate
it into English and vice versa, the same when reading
texts or if you want to translate a document etc.
This book has a similar structure to the ‘Reading and

Writing’ book in this series, although they are
fundamentally different. The exercises in that book are
about rewriting transliterated texts using Amharic
characters, whereas this book is a bit more advanced as it
is about translating the text itself from Amharic to
English or English to Amharic.
Tips
 Use a separate piece of paper to answer the
questions.
 Always attempt to answer honestly before
checking the answer key.
 Master the alphabet before anything else.
 Use the other books in this series to help develop
your own sentences.
 The weakest ink is stronger than the strongest
mind....writing is essential.

1
Part 1 – Words
Translate the following words from Amharic to English:

*Words in italics are not actual words
(hasab) ሀሳብ (leeK) ሊቅ

_________________ _________________
(hulet) ሁለት (lak) ላክ
_________________ _________________
(heeyaj) ሂያጅ (layba) ሌባ
_________________ _________________
(hayK) ሃይቅ (liK) ልቅ
_________________ _________________
(hayde) ሄደ (lomee) ሎሚ
_________________ _________________
(hiliwina) ህልውና (hamlay) ሐምሌ
_________________ _________________
(hotayl) ሆቴል (hudaday) ሑዳዴ
_________________ _________________
(lem) ለም (heesab) ሒሳብ
_________________ _________________
(lul) ሉል (hareg) ሓረግ
_________________ _________________
2
(haywan) ሔዋን (suK) ሱቅ
_________________ _________________
(hig) ሕግ (seenee) ሲኒ
_________________ _________________
(hora) ሖራ (same) ሳመ
_________________ _________________
(mesrat) መስራት (sayt) ሴት
_________________ _________________
(mulu) ሙሉ (sim) ስም
_________________ _________________
(mist) ሚስት (sofa) ሶፋ
_________________ _________________
(mata) ማታ (reKeeK) ረቂቅ
_________________ _________________
(mayda) ሜዳ (ruK) ሩቅ
_________________ _________________
(misa) ምሳ (reez) ሪዝ
_________________ _________________
(moges) ሞገስ (ras) ራስ
_________________ _________________
(sebat) ሰባት (raysa) ሬሳ
_________________ _________________
3
(ribrab) ርብራብ (shee) ሺ
_________________ _________________
(rob) ሮብ (shambel) ሻምበል
_________________ _________________
(selasa) ሠላሳ (shayh) ሼህ
_________________ _________________
(suree) ሡሪ (shilimat) ሽልማት
_________________ _________________
(seesay) ሢሳይ (shorba) ሾርባ
_________________ _________________
(saTin) ሣጥን (Kelem) ቀለም
_________________ _________________
(sayra) ሤራ (KulKuwal) ቁልቁዋል
_________________ _________________
(silTan) ሥልጣን (KeeTa) ቂጣ
_________________ _________________
(sost) ሦስት (Kata) ቃታ
_________________ _________________
(shemeez) ሸሚዝ (Kays) ቄስ
_________________ _________________
(shum) ሹም (Kibay) ቅቤ
_________________ _________________
4
(Kob) ቆብ (talaK) ታላቅ
_________________ _________________
(beLa) በላ (tayp) ቴፕ
_________________ _________________
(buko) ቡኮ (tirf) ትርፍ
_________________ _________________
(beela) ቢላ (tombola) ቶምቦላ
_________________ _________________
(barnet) ባርነት (cherinet) ቸርነት
_________________ _________________
(bayt) ቤት (chuchu) ቹቹ
_________________ _________________
(birK) ብርቅ (cheenga) ቺንጋ
_________________ _________________
(borsa) ቦርሳ (chay) ቻይ
_________________ _________________
(temaree) ተማሪ (chayk) ቼክ
_________________ _________________
(tuba) ቱባ (chilota) ችሎታ
_________________ _________________
(teeyatir) ቲያትር (chokele) ቾከለ
_________________ _________________
5
(habhab) ኀብኃብ (inay) እኔ
_________________ _________________
(hunayta) ኁኔታ (nibab) ንባብ
_________________ _________________
(heerut) ኂሩት (nore) ኖረ
_________________ _________________
(hayl) ኃይል (waGNe) ዋኘ
_________________ _________________
(haylen) ኄይለን (teGNu) ተኙ
_________________ _________________
(hitmet) ኅትመት (sheGNee) ሸኚ
_________________ _________________
(hora) ኆራ (iGNa) እኛ
_________________ _________________
(nebir) ነብር (hoGNay) ሆኜ
_________________ _________________
(nuro) ኑሮ (tiniGN) ትንኝ
_________________ _________________
(sinee) ስኒ (baGNo) ባኞ
_________________ _________________
(nafKot) ናፍቆት (ahun) አሁን
_________________ _________________
6
(uraeyl) ኡራኤል (kibreet) ክብሪት
_________________ _________________
(eetiyoPiya) ኢትዮጵያ (kot) ኮት
_________________ _________________
(arada) አራዳ (wenber) ወንበር
_________________ _________________
(aylee) ኤሊ (wust) ዉስት
_________________ _________________
(inKurareet) እንቁራሪት (weeg) ዊግ
_________________ _________________
(omo) ኦሞ (wana) ዋና
_________________ _________________
(kebero) ከበሮ (waybisayt) ዌብሴት
_________________ _________________
(kurat) ኩራት (wisha) ውሻ
_________________ _________________
(kees) ኪስ (adliwo) አድልዎ
_________________ _________________
(kaport) ካፖርት (ayn) ዐይን
_________________ _________________
(kayk) ኬክ (udet) ዑደት
_________________ _________________
7
(eelama) ዒላማ (zoma) ዞማ
_________________ _________________
(asa) ዓሳ (ZHema) ዠማ
_________________ _________________
(aylee) ዔሊ (ZHumay) ዡሜ
_________________ _________________
(inba) ዕንባ (ZHeewa) ዢዋ
_________________ _________________
(omo) ዖሞ (ZHanTila) ዣንጥላ
_________________ _________________
(zemen) ዘመን (ZHayna) ዤና
_________________ _________________
(zuriya) ዙሪያ (ZHiwaZHiway) ዥዋዠዌ
_________________ _________________
(zeep) ዚፕ (ZHowa) ዦዋ
_________________ _________________
(zaf) ዛፍ (yelem) የለም
_________________ _________________
(zayna) ዜና (ayu) አዩ
_________________ _________________
(ziliyt) ዝልይት (neyee) ነዪ
_________________ _________________
8
(yared) ያረድ (jebena) ጀበና
_________________ _________________
(Konjeeyay) ቆንጂዬ (jus) ጁስ
_________________ _________________
(yih) ይህ (jeegira) ጂግራ
_________________ _________________
(meeleeyon) ሚሊዮን (jakayt) ጃኬት
_________________ _________________
(dewel) ደወል (ijayta) እጄታ
_________________ _________________
(duba) ዱባ (jimat) ጅማት
_________________ _________________
(deeda) ዲዳ (jog) ጆግ
_________________ _________________
(damena) ዳመና (genda) ገንዳ
_________________ _________________
(daday) ዳዴ (gundan) ጉንዳን
_________________ _________________
(dimet) ድመት (geenT) ጊንጥ
_________________ _________________
(doro) ዶሮ (gazayTa) ጋዜጣ
_________________ _________________
9
(gayT) ጌጥ (Chuhet) ጩሀት
_________________ _________________
(ginbar) ግንባር (CHeeKa) ጪቃ
_________________ _________________
(gobez) ጎበዝ (CHama) ጫማ
_________________ _________________
(Termus) ጠርሙስ (CHuCHay) ጩጬ
_________________ _________________
(Tub) ጡብ (CHimaKee) ጭማቂ
_________________ _________________
(Teenzeeza) ጢንዚዛ (CHoma) ጮማ
_________________ _________________
(Tat) ጣት (PeTwa) ጰጥዋ
_________________ _________________
(Tayna) ጤና (Pulo) ጱሎ
_________________ _________________
(TiKur) ጥቁር (laPees) ላጲስ
_________________ _________________
(Tor) ጦር (PaPas) ጳጳስ
_________________ _________________
(CHereKa) ጨረቃ (PayTros) ጴጥሮስ
_________________ _________________
10
(PiPisina) ጵጵስና (anaTSeew) አናፂው
_________________ _________________
(PoraKilaTos) ጶራቅላጦስ (hinTSa) ህንፃ
_________________ _________________
(TSelot) ጸሎት (KilaTSay) ቂላፄ
_________________ _________________
(niTSuh) ንጹህ (TSiyon) ፅዮን
_________________ _________________
anaTSee) አናጺ (TSomu) ፆሙ
_________________ _________________
(TSahafee) ጻሃፊ (feres) ፈረስ
_________________ _________________
(aTSay) አጼ (fuCHet) ፉጨት
_________________ _________________
(TSinaTSil) ጽናጽል (feerma) ፊርማ
_________________ _________________
(TSom) ጾም (fanos) ፋኖስ
_________________ _________________
(TSehafee) ፀሃፊ (merfay) መርፌ
_________________ _________________
(fiTSum) ፍፁም (fiKir) ፍቅር
_________________ _________________
11
(foK) ፎቅ (vas) ቫስ
_________________ _________________
(persent) ፐርሰንት (vaylo) ቬሎ
_________________ _________________
(pul) ፑል (vigor) ቭጎር
_________________ _________________
(peekok) ፒኮክ (vot) ቮት
_________________ _________________
(pasta) ፓስታ
_________________
(paylay) ፔሌ
_________________
(pilasteek) ፕላስቲክ
_________________
(polees) ፖሊስ
_________________
(vent) ቨንት
_________________
(vum) ቩም
_________________
(veeseedee) ቪሲዲ
_________________
12
Part 2 – Sentences
Translate the following sentences from Amharic to

English:
1. ሰላም ነው ስሜ ዮሐንስ ነው
Answer:
2. ስምህ/ስምሽ ማን ንው?
Answer:
3. አማርኛ መለመድ እፈልጋለሁ

Answer:
4. ጠና ይስጥልኝ እንደምን አደሩ?

Answer:
5. እንቁዋን ደህና መጣህ/ መጣሽ/ መጡ

Answer:
6. ሆተሉ የት ነው ያለው?
Answer:
7. ስንት ሰአት ነው?

Answer:
8. ሰራ እንዴት ነው?
Answer:
9. ቤተሰበህ/ቤተሰብሽ እንዴት ነው?

Answer:
13
10. ኑሮ እንዴት ነው?
Answer:
11. ስንት አመትህ/አመትሽ ነው?

Answer:
12. አገርህ/ አገርሽ የት ነው?

Answer:
13. ስልክ ቁጠርህ/ቁጠርሽ ስንት ነው?

Answer:
14. ሰራህ/ሰራሽ ምንድን ነው?

Answer:
15. የት ነው ያረፍከው?
Answer:
16. ምን መጠጣት ትፈልጋለህ/ ትፈልጊያለሽ?

Answer:
17. ወደ ቤተክርስቲያን እንሂድ

Answer:
18. ታክሲ ትፈልጋለህ/ ትፈልጊያለሽ?

Answer:
19. ምን ያህል ጊዜ በኢትዮጵያ ትቆያለህ/ ትቆያለሽ?

Answer:
20. አገሩን ወደድከው/ ወደድሸው?

Answer:
14
21. መልካም እድል
Answer:
22. ያባሻ ምግብ ያቀርባሉ?

Answer:
23. የፈረንጅ ምግብ ያቀርባሉ?

Answer:
24. ጥሩ ምግብ ቤት የት እንዳለ ታውቃለህ/ታውቂያለሽ?

Answer:
25. ምን ያህል ያስከፍላሉ?

Answer:
26. አምቡላንስ ጥሩ
Answer:
27. ወደ ሃኪም ቤት ውሰደኝ

Answer:
28. በጣም ውድ ነው
Answer:
29. ያ ርካሽ ነው
Answer:
30. የተሸለ ዋጋ ስጠኝ!

Answer:
31. ነገ ተመልሼ እመጣለሁ
15
Answer:
32. አውቶቡስ ማቆምያው የት ነው ያለው?

Answer:
33. የት ነው ይሄ አውቶቡስ የሚሄደው?

Answer:
34. ያውቶቡስ መሳፈርያ ሂሳብ ስንት ነው?

Answer:
35. ከዚህ በጣም ይርቃል?

Answer:
36. የት ነው ታክሲ ላገኝ የምችለው?

Answer:
37. ሂሳብ ስንት ነው?

Answer:
38. ዋና ዋና የቱሪስት መስህቦች ምንድን ናቸው?

Answer:
39. ክፍል መከራየት እፈልጋለሁ

Answer:
40. የክፍል ቁጠር ስንት ነው?

Answer:
16
Part 3 – Paragraphs
Translate the following paragraphs from Amharic to

English:
Paragraph 1 – ሰላም ነው? ስሜ ይልማ ይባላል፡፡ ሃያ አመቴ ነው፡፡

የምኖረው በ አዲስ አበባ ሲሆን ስራዬ ግምበኛ ነው፡፡ በ ሳምንት አምስት
ቀናት እሰራለሁ፤ ሁለቱን ቀናት በ መዝናናት አሳልፋለሁ ሶሰት ወንድሞች
እና አንዲት እህት አልኝ፡፡ከ እናት እና አባታችን ጋር በ ባለ ሶስት ክፍል
ቤት ውስጥ እንኖራለን፡፡
Paragraph 2 – ደህና ናችሁ ፍረድ እባላለሁ፡፡ አሜሪካዊ ነኝ፡፡ እድሜ

ሰላሳ ሶስት ነው፡፡ ባለትዳር እና ያንድ ልጅ አባት ነኝ፡፡ ባለቤቴ ሳራ
ትባላለች፤ ልጄ ሉክ ይባላል፡፡ ኢትዮጵያ መኖር ከጀመርኩ ሶስት አመት
ሆኖኛል፡፡ በተባበሩት መንግስታት ድርጅት ውስጥ ነው የምሰረው፡፡ ሽሮ
ወጥ በጣም እወዳለሁ ዶሮ ወጥ ግን አልወድም፡፡
Paragraph 3 – ታላቅ እና ነጭ ዙፋንን በርሱም ላይ የተቀመጠውን

አየሁ፣ ምድር እና ሰማይም ከፊቱ ሸሹ ስፍራም አልተገኘላቸውም፡፡
ሙታንንም ታናናሾችንና ታላላቆችን በዙፋኑ ፊት ቆመው አየሁ፤
መጻሕፍትም ተከፈቱ፤ ሌላ መጽሐፍም ተከፈተ እርሱም የህይወት
መጽሐፍ ነው፤ ሙታንም በመጻሕፍት ተጽፎ እንደ ነበረ እንደ ስራቸው
መጠን ተከፈሉ፡፡ የዮሐንስ ራእይ 20:11-12
Paragraph 4 – በመንፈስ ድሆች የሆኑ ብፁአን ናቸው፤ መንግስት

ሰማያት የነርሱ ናትና፡፡ የሚያዝኑ ብፁአን ናቸው፤ መጽናናትን ያገኛሉና፡፡
የዋሆች ብፁአን ናቸው፤ ምድሮን ይወርሳሉና፡፡ ጽድቅን የሚራቡና
የሚጠሙ ብፁአን ናቸው፤ ይጠግባሉና፡፡ የሚምሩ ብፁአን ናቸው፤
ይማራሉና፡፡ የማቴዎስ ወንጌል 5:3-7
Paragraph 5 – ሃሌሉያ፡፡ እግዚአብሔርን በመቀደሱ አመስግኑት፤

በሃይሉ ጠፈር አመስግኑት፡፡ በችሎቱ አመስግኑት፤ በታላቅነቱ ብዛት
አመስግኑት፡፡ በመለከት ድምጽ አመስግኑት፤ በበገናና በመሰንቆ
አመስግኑት፡፡ በከበሮና በዘፈን አመስግኑት፤ ባውታርና ብምቢልታ
17
አመስግኑት፡፡ ድምጹ መልካም በሆነ ጸናጽል አመስግኑት፤ እልልታ ባለው
ጸናጽል አመስግኑት፡ እስትንፋስ ያለው ሁሉ እግዚአብሔርን ያመስግን፡፡
ሃሌሉያ፡፡ መዝሙረ ዳዊት 150:1-6
18
Answer key
Part 1 Words
(hasab) ሀሳብ - Idea

(hulet) ሁለት- Two
(heeyaj) ሂያጅ - Goer
(hayK) ሃይቅ - Lake
(hayde) ሄደ - He went
(hiliwina) ህልውና - Existence
(hotel) ሆቴል - Hotel
(lem) ለም - Verde
(lul) ሉል - Globe
(leeK) ሊቅ - Scholar
(lak) ላክ - He sent
(layba) ሌባ - Thief
(liK) ልቅ - Free
(lomee) ሎሚ - Lemon
(hamlay) ሐምሌ - July
(hudaday) ሑዳዴ - Great lent
(heesab) ሒሳብ - Math, Bill
(hareg) ሓረግ - Clause
(haywan) ሔዋን - Eve
(hig) ሕግ - Law
(hora) ሖራ - (Name of a lake in Ethiopia)
(mesrat) መስራት - To work
(mulu) ሙሉ - Full
(mist) ሚስት - Wife
(mata) ማታ - Evening
(mayda) ሜዳ - Field
(misa) ምሳ - Lunch
(moges) ሞገስ - Grace
19
(sebat) ሰባት - Seven
(suK) ሱቅ - Shop
(seenee) ሲኒ - Cup
(same) ሳመ - He kissed
(sayt) ሴት - Woman
(sim) ስም - Name
(sofa) ሶፋ - Couch
(reKeeK) ረቂቅ - Delicate
(ruK) ሩቅ - Far
(reez) ሪዝ - Wool or Moustache
(ras) ራስ - Head
(raysa) ሬሳ - Dead body
(ribrab) ርብራብ - Stacked
(rob) ሮብ - Wednesday
(selasa) ሠላሳ - Thirty
(suree) ሡሪ - Trousers
(seesay) ሢሳይ - Fortune
(saTin) ሣጥን - Box
(sayra) ሤራ - Plot or Conspiracy
(silTan) ሥልጣን - Authority
(sost) ሦስት - Three
(shemeez) ሸሚዝ - Shirt
(shum) ሹም - Appointed person
(shee) ሺ - Thousand
(shambel) ሻምበል - Army captain
(shayh) ሼህ - Sheikh
(shilimat) ሽልማት - Award
(shorba) ሾርባ - Soup
(Kelem) ቀለም - Colour
(KulKuwal) ቁልቁዋል - Cactus
(KeeTa) ቂጣ - Unleavened bread
(Kata) ቃታ - Trigger
20
(Kays) ቄስ - Priest
(Kibay) ቅቤ - Butter
(Kob) ቆብ - Religious headwear
(beLa) በላ - He ate
(buko) ቡኮ - Mixed flour
(beela) ቢላ - Knife
(barnet) ባርነት - Slavery
(bayt) ቤት - House
(birK) ብርቅ - Precious or Rare
(borsa) ቦርሳ - Bag
(temaree) ተማሪ - Student
(tuba) ቱባ - Depraved or Corrupt
(teeyatir) ቲያትር - Theater
(talaK) ታላቅ - Great
(tayp) ቴፕ (Tape)
(tirf) ትርፍ - Extra
(tombola) ቶምቦላ - Lottery
(cherinet) ቸርነት - Generosity
(chuchu) ቹቹ (no meaning)
(cheenga) ቺንጋ Whip
(chay) ቻይ - Able or Tolerant
(chayk) ቼክ (Cheque)
(chilota) ችሎታ - Ability
(chokele) ቾከለ - He hurried
(habhab) ኀብኃብ - Watermelon
(hunayta) ኁኔታ - Situation
(heerut) ኂሩት - (Actual name)
(hayl) ኃይል - Power
(haylen) ኄይለን (actual name)
(hitmet) ኅትመት - Printing
(hora) ኆራ (actual lake)
(nebir) ነብር - Tiger
21
(nuro) ኑሮ - Life
(sinee) ስኒ - Cup
(nafKot) ናፍቆት - Longing
(inay) እኔ - I or Me
(nibab) ንባብ - Reading passage
(nore) ኖረ - He lived
(waGNe) ዋኘ - He swam
(teGNu) ተኙ - They slept
(sheGNee) ሸኚ - Accompanier
(iGNa) እኛ - We or Us
(hoGNay) ሆኜ - My being
(tiniGN) ትንኝ Mosquito
(baGNo) ባኞ - Bath
(ahun) አሁን - Now
(uraeyl) ኡራኤል (Angel Uriel)
(eetiyoPiya) ኢትዮጵያ - Ethiopia
(arada) አራዳ - (actual place in Ethiopia)
(aylee) ኤሊ - Turtle
(inKurareet) እንቁራሪት - Frog
(omo) ኦሞ - (one of ethiopias nations)
(kebero) ከበሮ - Drum
(kurat) ኩራት - Proud
(kees) ኪስ - Pocket
(kaport) ካፖርት - Big coat
(kayk) ኬክ - Cake
(kibreet) ክብሪት - Match
(kot) ኮት - Coat
(wenber) ወንበር - Chair
(wust) ዉስት - Inside
(weeg) ዊግ - Wig
(wana) ዋና - Main
(waybisayt) ዌብሴት - (Website)
22
(wisha) ውሻ - Dog
(adliwo) አድልዎ - Special treatment
(ayn) ዐይን - Eye
(udet) ዑደት - Coincidence
(eelama) ዒላማ - Aim
(asa) ዓሳ - Fish
(aylee) ዔሊ - Turtle
(inba) ዕንባ - Tear
(omo) ዖሞ - (Nationality in Ethiopia)
(zemen) ዘመን - Era
(zuriya) ዙሪያ - Around
(zeep) ዚፕ - Zip
(zaf) ዛፍ - Tree
(zayna) ዜና - News
(ziliyt) ዝልይት - Unprofessional
(zoma) ዞማ - Silky
(ZHema) ዠማ - (no meaning)
(ZHumay) ዡሜ - (no meaning)
(ZHeewa) ዢዋ - (no meaning)
(ZHanTila) ዣንጥላ - Umbrella
(ZHayna) ዤና - (no meaning)
(ZHiwaZHiway) ዥዋዠዌ - Swing
(ZHowa) ዦዋ - (no meaning)
(yelem) የለም - There is no
(ayu) አዩ - They saw
(neyee) ነዪ - Come! (f)
(yared) ያረድ - Ethiopian saint
(Konjeeyay) ቆንጂዬ - My beautiful
(yih) ይህ - This
(meeleeyon) ሚሊዮን - Million
(dewel) ደወል - Bell
(duba) ዱባ - Pumpkin
23
(deeda) ዲዳ - Mute person
(damena) ዳመና - Cloud
(daday) ዳዴ አለ - To toddle
(dimet) ድመት - Cat
(doro) ዶሮ - Chicken
(jebena) ጀበና - (Coffee pot)
(jus) ጁስ - Juice
(jeegira) ጂግራ - (Type of bird)
(jakayt) ጃኬት - Jacket
(ijayta) እጄታ - Shirt cuff
(jimat) ጅማት - Tendon
(jog) ጆግ - Jog
(genda) ገንዳ - Trough
(gundan) ጉንዳን - Ant
(geenT) ጊንጥ - Scorpion
(gazayTa) ጋዜጣ - Newspaper
(gayT) ጌጥ - Decoration
(ginbar) ግንባር - Forehead
(gobez) ጎበዝ - Clever
(Termus) ጠርሙስ - Flask
(Tub) ጡብ - Brick
(Teenzeeza) ጢንዚዛ - Beetle
(Tat) ጣት - Finger
(Tayna) ጤና - Health
(TiKur) ጥቁር - Black
(Tor) ጦር - War
(CHereKa) ጨረቃ - Moon
(Chuhet) ጩሀት - Yelling
(CHeeKa) ጪቃ - Mud
(CHama) ጫማ - Shoe
(CHuCHay) ጩጬ - Minature
(CHimaKee) ጭማቂ - Juice
24
(CHoma) ጮማ - Fat
(PeTwa) ጰጥዋ - (Carribean language)
(Pulo) ጱሎ - (no meaning)
(laPees) ላጲስ - Rubber
(PaPas) ጳጳስ - Pope
(PayTros) ጴጥሮስ - Peter
(PiPisina) ጵጵስና - Popehood
(PoraKilaTos) ጶራቅላጦስ - Holy Spirit
(TSelot) ጸሎት - Prayer
(niTSuh) ንጹህ - Clean
(anaTSee) አናጺ - Carpenter
(TSahafee) ጻሃፊ - Writer
(aTSay) አጼ - King
(TSinaTSil) ጽናጽል - (Church instrument)
(TSom) ጾም - Fast
(TSehafee) ፀሃፊ - Writer
(fiTSum) ፍፁም - End
(anaTSeew) አናፂው - Carpenter
(hinTSa) ህንፃ - Building
(KilaTSay) ቅላፄ - Harmony
(TSiyon) ፅዮን - Zion
(TSomu) ፆሙ - They fasted
(feres) ፈረስ - Horse
(fuCHet) ፉጨት - Whistling
(feerma) ፊርማ - Signature
(fanos) ፋኖስ - Oil lamp
(merfay) መርፌ - Needle
(fiKir) ፍቅር - Love
(foK) ፎቅ - Floor
(persent) ፐርሰንት - (Percent)
(pul) ፑል - (no meaning)
(peekok) ፒኮክ - (Peacock)
25
(pasta) ፓስታ - (Pasta)
(paylay) ፔሌ (no meaning)
(pilasteek) ፕላስቲክ - (Plastic)
(polees) ፖሊስ - (Police)
(vent) ቨንት (no meaning)
(vum) ቩም - (no meaning)
(veeseedee) ቪሲዲ - (Vcd)
(vas) ቫስ - (Vase)
(vaylo) ቬሎ - Veil
(vigor) ቭጎር - (Vigor)
(vot) ቮት - (Vote)
Part 2: Sentences
1. Hello, my name is John.

2. What is your name?
3. I want to practice Amharic
4. May God give you health(for me), how was the night?
5. Welcome! (At your coming)
6. Where is the hotel?
7. What time is it?
8. How is work?
9. How is your family?
10. How is life?
11. How old are you?
12. Where is your country?
13. What is your phone number?
14. What is your work?
15. Where are you staying?
16. What do you want to drink?
17. Let’s go to Church.
18. Do you want a taxi?
26
19. How long will you stay in Ethiopia?
20. Do you like the country?
21. Good luck
22. Do they offer Ethiopian food?
23. Do they offer foreign food?
24. Do you know where there is a good restaurant?
25. How much do they charge?
26. Call an ambulance
27. Take me to a hospital
28. It’s very expensive
29. That is cheap
30. Give me a better price
31. I will return tomorrow
32. Where is a bus stop?
33. Where does this auto bus go?
34. How much is the auto bus charge?
35. Is it far from here?
36. Where can I find a taxi?
37. How much is the bill?
38. What are the main tourist attractions?
39. I want to change room
40. What is the room number?
Part 3: Paragraphs
1. Is it peace? My name is called yilma. I am 20 years

old. I live in Addis Ababa, my work is building. I work 5
days a week. I spend the other 2 days relaxing. I have 3
brothers and 1 sister. We live in a 3 bedroom house with
our mother and father.
27
2. Are you fine, I am called Fred. I am American. I am
33 years old. I have a wife and 1 child. My wife is called
Sara, my son is called Luke. I have been living in
Ethiopia for 3 years. I work in the United Nations. I like
shiro sauce but I don’t like chicken sauce.
3. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and
there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead,
small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book
of life: and the dead were judged out of those things
which were written in the books, according to their
works. Rev 20: 11-12
4. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom

of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be
comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit
the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are
the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Matt 5:3-7
5. Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise

him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his
mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent
greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:
praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with
the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed
instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud
cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding
cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord.
Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 150:1-6
28
Bibliography
Holy Bible in Amharic digital version

Holy Bible in English digital version King James
Version Bible
Amharic-English Dictionary, Amsalu Aklilu, Kuraz-Publ.
Agency, 1980
Amharic Today Book 1: Reading and Writing Workbook,
Kefle Yohannes, 2014
29
Amharic Today:
Book 4
Speech
With
Power
Verb Forms
By Kefle Yohannes
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my wife and daughter for

helping me develop my spoken Amharic skills.
ተኽሊ ፍረ
Contents
Introduction
Pg 2
Verb groups and Forms

Pg3-19
Verb list
Pg20-32
Bibliography
Pg 33
Introduction
Besime Ab We Weld We Menfes Qidus Ahadu Amlak Amen
This book is the last book of a four book series, by now

you should have the ability to read, write, transliterate
and translate Amharic words, using the Amharic script.
This is a much needed resource for every Amharic
student. This book will provide you with a short
introduction to verb forms and provide you with a verb
list.
This book is probably the most technical book in the
Amharic today series, it is a starter book for the larger
verb subject.

2
Verbs
Verb groups
We can separate the verbs in Amharic into groups, when

the verbs of each of these groups are changed to their
various forms they undergo a change of the letters
themselves, if there is not an actual change in the verbs
then the tone of the speaker must change.
Groups
ወሰደ (111 A) – wesede (he took)
ፈለገ (111 B) – felege (he wanted, sought)
ሰማ (14 A) – sema (he heard)
ጠጣ (14 B) – TeTa (he drank)
ሰጠ (11 A) – seTe (he gave)
ለየ (11 B) – leye (he separated)
ጻፈ (41) – Tsafe (he wrote)
ሄደ (51) – Heyde (he went)
ቆመ (71) – Kome (he stood)
አለቀሰ (Direct.Causitive) - aleKese (he wept)
አሳደገ (Indirect.Causitive) – asadege (he fostered)
ለመለመ (Group 1111) – lemeleme (he became green)
ጎበኝ (Group v1) – gobeGN (he visited)
ዘገየ (Group v2) – zegeye (he arrived late)
ተገኘ (Passives v1) – tegeGNe (he was found)
ተከተለ (Passives) teketele (he followed after)
ራራ (Pure changed stem verbs) – rara (he pitied)
ቶሎ አለ (አለ verbs) – tolo ale (he hurried)
3
Verb forms
These are the verb forms found in the Amharic language,

in the next section we will see how 1 of the verbs, from
the verb groups above, fits into all of the forms below:
Past simple tense (he took)

Past simple tense (he did not take)
Past progressive tense (he was taking)
Past progressive tense (he was not taking)
Present continuous tense (he is taking)
Present continuous tense (he is not taking)
Future tense (he will take)
Future tense (he will not take)
Jussive (let him take)
Jussive (let him not take)
Imperative (take!)
Imperative (Don’t take!)
Infinitive To take (his taking)
Infinitive Not to take (his not taking)
Simple Gerund (having taken)
Compound Gerund (he has taken)
Simple imp + ነበር (he used to take)
Simple imp + ነበር (he did not used to take)
Simple imp + ይሆናል (he might take)
Simple imp + ይሆናል (he might not take)
ከ...በኋላ conj. (after he took)
ከ....በፊት (before he took)
ስ conj. (when he takes)
ስ conj. (without him taking)
4
ብ conj. (if he takes)
ብ conj. (if doesn’t he take)
ስለ conj. (because he took)
ስለ conj. (because he did not take)
ስለም conj. (because he will take)
ስለም conj. (because he won’t take)
እንደ conj. (that he took)
እንደ conj. (that he did not take)
እንደም conj.(that he will take)
እንደም conj. (that he won’t take)
ል conj. (He is about to take)
ል conj. (He is not about to take)
እንድ conj. (in order to take)
እንድ conj. (in order not to take)
Direct causative (አ) (He caused to take)
Direct causative (አ) (He did not cause to take)
Indirect causative (አስ) (He caused s/o to take)
Indirect causative (አስ) (He did not cause s/o to take)
Relative past clause (የ) (he who took)
Relative past clause (የ) (he who did not take)
Relative future clause (የም) (he who will take)
Relative future clause (የም) (he who will not take)
Passive past (it was taken)
Passive past (it was not taken)
Passive present (it is being taken)
Passive present (it is not being taken)
Passive future (It will be taken)
Passive future (It will not be taken)
ከ (if he took)
ከ (if he did not take)
5
Example of the various verb forms
Each form has been given in both positive and negative.
E.g. 111A - ወሰደ

Past Past simple Past
Past
simple tense (he progressive
progressive
tense (he did not tense (he
tense (he
took) take) was not
was taking)
taking)
እየ ወሰደ
He ወሰደ አልወሰደም እየ ወሰደ ነበር
አልነበረም
እየ ወሰደች እየ ወሰደች
She ወሰደች አልወሰደችም
ነበር አልነበረም
You አየ ወሰድክ አየ ወሰድክ
ወሰድክ አልወሰድክም
(m) ነበር አልነበረም
You እየ ወሰድሽ እየ ወሰድሽ
ወሰድሽ አልወሰድሽም
(f) ነበር አልነበረም
እየ ወሰድኩ እየ ወሰድኩ
I ወሰድኩ አልወሰድኩም
እየ ወሰድን እየ ወሰድን
We ወሰድን አልወሰድንም
You እየ ወሰዳችሁ እየ ወሰዳችሁ
ወሰዳችሁ አልወሰዳችሁም
(pl) ነበር አልነበረም
እየ ወሰዱ
They ወሰዱ አልወሰዱም እየ ወሰዱ ነበር
አልነበረም
6
Present Future
Present Future
continuo tense (he
continuous tense (he
us tense will not
tense (he is will take)
(he is take)
not taking)
taking)
እየ ወሰደ እየ ወሰደ
He ይወስዳል አይወስድም
ነው አይደለም
እየ ወሰደች እየ ወሰደች
She ትወስዳለች አትወስድም
You አየ ወሰድክ አየ ወሰድክ
ትወስዳለህ አትወስድም
(m) ነው አይደለም
You እየ ወሰድሽ እየ ወሰድሽ
ትወስጃለሽ አትወስጂም
(f) ነው አይደለም
እየ ወሰድኩ እየ ወሰድኩ
I እወስዳለሁ አልወስድም
እየ ወሰድን እየ ወሰድን
We እንወስዳለን አንወስድም
እየ
You እየ ወሰዳችሁ
ወሰዳችሁ ትወስዳላችሁ አትወስዱም
(pl) አይደለም
ነው
እየ ወሰዱ እየ ወሰዱ
They ይወስዳሉ አይወስዱም
7
Jussive Jussive (let
Imperative
(let him him not Imperative
(Don’t
take) take) (take!)
take!)
He ይውሰድ አይውሰድ - -
She ትውሰድ አትውሰድ - -
You - - ውሰድ አትውሰድ
(m)
You - - ውሰጂ አትውሰጂ
(f)
I ልውሰድ አልውሰድ - -
We እንውሰድ አንውሰድ - -
You - - ውሰዱ አትውሰዱ
(pl)
They ይውሰዱ አይውሰዱ - -
8
Infinitive Infinitive
Simple
መውሰድ = አለመውሰድ =
Gerund -
To take Not to take
(having
(his (his not
taken)
taking) taking)
He መውሰዱ አለመውሰዱ ወስዶ -
She መውሰዷ አለመውሰዷ ወስዳ -
You መውሰድህ አለመውሰድህ ወስደህ -
(m)
You መውሰድሽ አለመውሰድሽ ወስደሽ -
(f)
I መውሰዴ አለመውሰዴ ወስጄ -
We መውሰዳችን አለመውሰዳችን ወስደን -
You መውሰዳችሁ አለመውሰዳችሁ ወስዳችሁ -
(pl)
They መውሰዳቸው አለመውሰዳቸው ወስደው -
9
Simple
Compound Simple
imp + ነበር
Gerund See past imp + ነበር
(he did not
(he has simple (he used to
used to
taken) negative take)
take)
አይወስድም
He ወስዷል አልወሰደም ይወስድ ነበር
ነበር
አትወስድም
She ወስዳለች አልወሰደችም ትወስድ ነበር
ነበር
You አትወስድም
ወስደሃል አልወሰድክም ትወስድ ነበር
(m) ነበር
You አትወስጂም
ውስደሻል አልወሰድሽም ትወስጂ ነበር
(f) ነበር
አልወስድም
I ወስጃለሁ አልወሰድኩም እወስድ ነበር
ነበር
አንወስድም
We ወስደናል አልወሰድንም እንወስድ ነበር
ነበር
You አትወስዱም
ወስዳችኋል አልወሰዳችሁም ትወስዱ ነበር
(pl) ነበር
አይወስዱም
They ወስደዋል አልወሰዱም ይወስዱ ነበር
ነበር
10
Simple Simple
imp + imp + ከ...በኋላ ከ....በፊት
ይሆናል ይሆናል conj. (after (before he
(he might (he might he took) took)
take) not take)
ይወስድ አይወስድ ከ መውሰዱ
He ከ ወሰደ በኋላ
ይሆናል ይሆናል በፊት
ትወስድ አትወስድ ከ ወሰደች ከ መውሰዷ
She ይሆናል ይሆናል በኋላ በፊት
You ትወስድ አትወስድ ከ ወሰድክ ከ መውሰድህ
(m) ይሆናል ይሆናል በኋላ በፊት
You ትወስጂ አትወስጂ ከ ወሰድሽ ከ መውሰድሽ
(f) ይሆናል ይሆናል በኋላ በፊት
እወስድ አልወስድ ከ ወሰድኩ ከ መውሰዴ
I ይሆናል ይሆናል በኋላ በፊት
ከ
እንወስድ አንወስድ ከ ወሰድን
We መውሰዳችን
ይሆናል ይሆናል በኋላ
በፊት
ከ
You ትወስዱ አትወስዱ ከ ወሰዳችሁ
መውሰዳችሁ
(pl) ይሆናል ይሆናል በኋላ
በፊት
ከ
ይወስዱ አይወስዱ
They ከ ወሰዱ በኋላ መውሰዳቸው
ይሆናል ይሆናል
በፊት
11
ስ conj. ብ conj. (if
ስ conj. ብ conj. (if
(when doesn’t he
(without him he takes)
he take)
taking)
takes)
He ሲወስድ ሳይወስድ ቢወስድ ባይወስድ
She ስትወስድ ሳትወስድ ብትወስድ ባትወስድ
You ስትወስድ ሳትወስድ ብትወስድ ባትወስድ
(m)
You ስትወስጂ ሳትወስጂ ብትወስጂ ባትወስጂ
(f)
I ስወስድ ሳልወስድ ብወስድ ባልወስድ
We ስንወስድ ሳንወስድ ብንወስድ ባንወስድ
You ስትወስዱ ሳትወስዱ ብትወስዱ ባትወስዱ
(pl)
They ሲወስዱ ሳይወስዱ ቢወስዱ ባይወስዱ
12
ስለም
ስለ conj. ስለም conj.
ስለ conj. conj.
(because he (because
(because he (because
did not he will
took) he won’t
take) take)
take)
ስለማይወስ
He ስለወሰደ ስላልወሰደ ስለሚወስድ
ድ
ስለማትወስ
She ስለወሰደች ስላልወሰደች ስለምትወስድ
ድ
You ስለማትወስ
ስለወሰድክ ስላልወሰድክ ስለምትወስድ
(m) ድ
ስለወሰድሽ ስላልወሰድሽ ስለምትወስጂ
(f) ጂ
ስለማልወስ
I ስለወሰድኩ ስላልወሰድኩ ስለምወስድ
ድ
ስለማንወስ
We ስለወሰድን ስላልወሰድን ስለምንወስድ
ድ
ስለወሰዳችሁ ስላልወሰዳችሁ ስለምትወስዱ
(pl) ዱ
ስለማይወስ
They ስለወሰዱ ስላልወሰዱ ስለሚወስዱ
ዱ
13
እንደ እንደም conj.
እንደ conj. እንደም conj.
conj. (that he
(that he did (that he
(that he won’t take)
not take) will take)
took)
He እንደ ወሰደ እንዳልወሰደ እንደሚወስድ እንደማይወስድ
እንደ
She እንዳልወሰደች እንደምትወስድ እንደማትወስድ
ወሰደች
You እንደ
እንዳልወሰድክ እንደምትወስድ እንደማትወስድ
(m) ወሰድክ
You እንደ
እንዳልወሰድሽ እንደምትወስጂ እንደማትወስጂ
(f) ወሰድሽ
እንደ
I እንዳልወሰድኩ እንደምወስድ እንደማልወስድ
ወሰድኩ
እንደ
We እንዳልወሰድን እንደምንወስድ እንደማንወስድ
ወሰድን
You እንደ
እንዳልወሰዳችሁ እንደምትወስዱ እንደማትወስዱ
(pl) ወሰዳችሁ
They እንደ ወሰዱ እንዳልወሰዱ እንደሚወስዱ እንደማይወስዱ
14
ል conj. ል conj. እንድ conj. (in እንድ conj.
(He is (He is not order to (in order
about to about to take) not to
take) take) take)
ሊወስድ
He ሊወስድ ነው እንዲወስድ እንዳይወስድ
አይደለም
ልትወስድ እንድትወስድ እንዳትወስድ
She ልትወስድ ነው
አይደለም
You ልትወስድ እንድትወስድ እንዳትወስድ
ልትወስድ ነው
(m) አይደለም
You ልትወስጂ እንድትወስጂ እንዳትወስጂ
ልትወስጂ ነው
(f) አይደለም
ልወስድ እንድወስድ እንዳልወስድ
I ልወስድ ነው
አይደለም
ልንወስድ እንድንወስድ እንዳንወስድ
We ልንወስድ ነው
አይደለም
You ልትወስዱ እንድትወስዱ እንዳትወስዱ
ልትወስዱ ነው
ሊወስዱ እንዲወስዱ እንዳይወስዱ
They ሊወስዱ ነው
አይደለም
15
Indirect Indirect
Direct Direct
causative causative
causative causative
(አስ) (He (አስ) (He did
(አ) (He (አ) (He did
caused s/o not cause s/o
caused to not cause
to take) to take)
take) to take)
He አወሰደ አላወሰደም አስወሰደ አላስወሰደም
She አወሰደች አላወሰደችም አስወሰደች አላስወሰደችም
You አወሰድህ አላወሰድህም አስወሰድክ አላስወሰድክም
(m)
You አወሰድሽ አላወሰድሽም አስወሰድሽ አላስወሰድሽም
(f)
I አወሰድኩ አላወሰድኩም አስወሰድኩ አላስወሰድኩም
We አወሰድን አላወሰድንም አስወሰድን አላስወሰድንም
You አወሰዳችሁ አላወሰዳችሁም አስወሰዳችሁ አላስወሰዳችሁም
(pl)
They አወሰዱ አላወሰዱም አስወሰዱ አላስወሰዱም
16
Relative Relative Relative
Relative
past future future
past
clause (የ) clause clause (የም)
clause (የ)
(he who (የም) (he (he who
(he who
did not who will will not
took)
take) take) take)
He የወሰደ ያልወሰደ የሚወስድ የማይወስድ
She የወሰደች ያልወሰደች የምትወስድ የማትወስድ
You የወሰድክ ያልወሰድክ የምትወስድ የማትወስድ
(m)
You የወሰድሽ ያልወሰድሽ የምትወስጂ የማትወስጂ
(f)
I የወሰድኩ ያልወሰድኩ የምወስድ የማልወስድ
We የወሰድን ያልወሰድን የምንወስድ የማንወስድ
You የወሰዳችሁ ያልወሰዳችሁ የምትወስዱ የማትወስዱ
(pl)
They የወሰዱ ያልወሰዱ የሚወስዱ የማይወስዱ
17
Passive
Passive
Passive present
Passive past present (it is
past (it (it is
(it was not not being
was being
taken) taken)
taken) taken)
እየ ተወሰደ እየ ተወሰደ
He ተወሰደ አልተወሰደም
እየ
እየ ተወሰደች
She ተወሰደች አልተወሰደችም ተወሰደች
አይደለም
ነው
አየ
You አየ ተወሰድክ
ተወሰድክ አልተወሰድክም ተወሰድክ
(m) አይደለም
ነው
እየ
You እየ ተወሰድሽ
ተወሰድሽ አልተወሰድሽም ተወሰድሽ
(f) አይደለም
ነው
እየ
እየ ተወሰድኩ
I ተወሰድኩ አልተወሰድኩም ተወሰድኩ
አይደለም
ነው
እየ
እየ ተወሰድን
We ተወሰድን አልተወሰድንም ተወሰድን
አይደለም
ነው
እየ
You እየ ተወሰዳችሁ
ተወሰዳችሁ አልተወሰዳችሁም ተወሰዳችሁ
ነው
እየ ተወሰዱ እየ ተወሰዱ
They ተወሰዱ አልተወሰዱም
18
Passive Passive ከ (if he did not
future (It future (It ከ (if he take)
will be will not took)
taken) be taken)
He ይወሰዳል አይወሰድም ከወሰደ ካልወሰደ
She ትወሰዳለች አትወሰድም ከወሰደች ካልወሰደች
You ትወሰዳለህ አትወሰድም ከወሰድክ ካልወሰድክ
(m)
You ትወሰጃለሽ አትወሰጂም ከወሰድሽ ካልወሰድሽ
(f)
I እወሰዳለሁ አልወሰድም ከወሰድኩ ካልወሰድኩ
We እንወሰዳለን አንወሰድም ከወሰድን ካልወሰድን
You ትወሰዳላችሁ አትወሰዱም ከወሰዳችሁ ካልወሰዳችሁ
(pl)
They ይወሰዳሉ አይወሰዱም ከወሰዱ ካልወሰዱ
This is a short introduction to the verb study, in the

“Amharic Today Master Verbs” book, this concept has
been expounded upon in that book, where I have given
all of the verb groups and all of their various changes in
that book. As you can see this is only an example of the
111A group.
*Most other verbs follow a similar pattern, although

there are important changes.
19
Verb list
111 A verbs
ወሰደ - He took
ለበሰ - He dressed
መረጠ - He chose
መለሰ - He returned
ሰበረ - He broke
ሰረቀ - He stole
ሰቀለ - He crucified
ቀበረ - He buried
ቆረጠ - He cut
ቆጠረ - He counted
ነገረ - He told
ነፈሰ - It blew
አጠበ - He washed
አደረ - He stayed
አረሰ - He ploughed
አዘነ - He mourned
አሰረ - He arrested
አለቀ - It was finished
አለፈ - He passed
አመነ - He believed
አወቀ - He knew
ከፈተ - He opened
ከፈለ - He paid
ወረደ - He descended
ወደቀ - He fell down
ወደደ - He liked
20
ደረሰ - He arrived
ደረቀ - He dried
ደከመ - He became tired
ደፈረ - He became bold
ገደለ - He killed
ዘነበ - It rained
ጠቀመ - It became useful
ጠረገ - He swept
ጠበሰ - He fried
ጠገበ - He became full
ፈጠረ - He created
ፈቀደ - He allowed
ፈረደ - He judged
ፈጠነ - He quickened
ገለጸ - He revealed
ገፈፈ - He stripped off
ጎደለ - It was less
አረፈ - He rested
አዘዘ - He ordered
አደገ- He grew
አመመ - It pained (impersonal
ቀረበ - He approached
ቀመሰ - He tasted
ቀደደ - He tore
ቀደመ - He preceded
ደገመ - He repeated
ደከመ - It wearied (impersonal)
ተከለ - He planted
ተረፈ - It was left over
ለቀመ - He picked
ገረመ - It surprised
21
ሰገደ - He bowed
ሰደሰ - He sent away
ጸደቀ - He was justified
ጨነቀ - It distressed
አነሰ - It became less
አደፈ - It became dirty
አጠረ - It became short
ረጠበ - It became wet
ረዘመ - It became long
ፈሰሰ - It leaked, flowed
ቀለለ - It became easy
ቀጠነ - He became thin
ከበደ - It became heavy
ከሰሰ - He accused
ከበበ - He surrounded
ነደደ - It kindled, burnt
ነፈሰ - It blew
በረረ - He flew
ወለደች - She bore
ወረረ - He occupied, invaded
ለቀቀ - He abandoned, let go
111 B verbs
ፈለገ - He sought/He wanted

ለመነ - He begged, prayed
መለሰ - He answered, returned, gave back
መዘነ - He weighed
ሸፈነ - He covered
ቀቀለ - He cooked
ቀነሰ - He reduced
22
ቆለፈ - He locked
ቆፈረ - He dug
ሞከረ - He tried
በደለ - He sinned, did wrong
አሰበ - He thought
አደሰ - He renewed
ዘመረ - He sang
ደወለ -He rang
ጀመረ - He began
ጠበቀ - He protected
ጠየቀ - He asked
ጨመረ - He added
ጨረሰ - He finished
ጸለየ - He prayed
ፈተነ - He tested
ፈጸመ - He fulfilled
ፈተነ - He tempted
አበረ - He associated
መለሰ - He answered
በጠሰ - He tore
ቀጠለ - He continued
ቀደሰ - He sanctified
ዐረገ - He ascended
ተኮሰ - He ironed
ተረከ - He narrated
ቸገረ - It became difficult
ፈወሰ - He healed
አከመ - He treated
አደሰ - He renewed
አበበ - It bloomed
ወፈረ - He became fat
23
ጎተተ - He dragged
ገሠጸ - He rebuked
14 A verbs
መታ - He hit
መጣ - He came
ሞላ - He filled
ሠራ - He worked
ረሳ - He forgot
ረዳ - He helped
ሰማ - He heard
ሰፋ - He sewed
ቆላ - He roasted
በላ - He ate
በቃ - It was enough
ነዳ - He drove
ወጣ - He went out
ዘራ - He sowed
ገባ - He entered
ገዛ - He bought
ገፋ - He pushed
ጎዳ - He hurt
ጠራ - He called
ጠፋ - It was lost
ፈላ - It boiled
ፈራ - He feared
ፈታ - He untied
ዘጋ - He shut
ጸና - It became solid, firm
ጠላ - He hated
24
ወጋ - It pierced, stung
አጣ - He failed to get, missed
ነካ - He touched
ነዳ - He drove
በዛ - It became much
ነጣ - It became clean, white
ጠማ - It thirsted (impersonal)
14 B verbs
ለካ - He measured
ቀባ - He painted
ተኛ - He slept
ጠጣ - He drank
11 A verbs
መሸ - It became evening
ሰጠ - He gave
ቀረ - He remained
ሸሸ - He fled
አለ - He said
አየ - He saw
ፈጨ - He ground
11 B verbs
ለየ - He separated
ሸኘ - He accompanied
ቆየ - He waited
25
41 verbs
ላከ - He sent
ማረ - He was merciful to, forgave, pitied
ሳቀ - He laughed, smiled
ሳበ - He pulled
ቻለ - He was able
አለ - He said (irregular)
ይቀር አለ - He forgave
ዋለ - He spent the day
ዋጠ - He swallowed
ያዘ - He held
ዳነ - He was saved
ጣለ - He cast
ጫነ - He loaded
ጻፈ - He wrote
ራበ - It hungered (impersonal)
ራቀ - It became far
51 verbs
ሄደ - He went
ሸጠ - He sold
ተወ - He left
71 verbs
ሆነ - He became
ሮጠ - He ran
ሞቀ - It became hot
ሞተ - He died
26
ቆመ - He stood
ኖረ - He lived
ዞረ - He turned
ጮኸ - He shouted
ጾመ - He fasted
Direct causatives
አለቀሰ - He wept
አበጠረ - He combed
አነበበ - He read
አነደደ - He burnt
አከበረ - He honoured
አደረገ - He did
አፈቀረ - He loved
አመጣ - He brought
አበጀ - He mended
አነሳ - He raised
አወራ - He spoke
አወጣ - He took out
አገባ - He married
አጠፋ - He destroyed
አጠና - He studied
አጸዳ - He cleaned
አፈላ - He boiled
አገኘ - He found
አማረ - He was handsome (irregular)
አዳነ - He saved
አመሰገነ - He praised
አለበሰ - He put clothes on s/o
አቀረበ - He brought near, served
27
አመለጠ - He escaped
አመለከ - He deified, worshipped
አመለከተ - He pointed
አደነቀ - He admired
አዳመጠ - He listened
አጠበቀ - He emphasized
አሸከመ - He made s/o carry
አረከሰ - He defiled
አስተዋለ - He understood
አስነሣ - He raised
አንኳኳ - He knocked, clattered
አስቀደመ - He did first
አንቀላፋ - He slept
አስጨነቀ - It caused trouble
አስተካከለ - He levelled, cut hair
አስረዳ - He explained
አስታረቀ - He reconciled
አቃተ - It failed to succeed
Indirect causatives
አሳደገ - He fostered
አስቀመጠ - He put, placed
አስቸገረ - He caused trouble
አስፈለገ - It was needed
አሳቀ - He amused
አሳተ - He caused to err
አሳየ - He showed
አስገባ - He enrolled, permitted to enter
28
Passives
ተመለሰ - He came back, returned

ተሰቀለ - He was crucified
ተቀመጠ - He sat down
ታጠበ - He washed himself, It was washed
ተቀበለ - He recieved
ተደሰተ - He rejoiced
ተነሳ - He rose, set off
ተጫወተ - He played
ተናገረ - He spoke
ተማረ - He learned
ተከተለ - He followed after
ተሻገረ - He crossed over
ተቀበለ - He recieved
ተቆጣ - He was angry
ተቃጠለ - It burned
ተሸከመ - He carried
ተጠነቀቀ - He was careful
ተመለከተ - He looked at
ታመመ - He became sick
ተጠማ - He became thirsty
ተከበረ - He was honoured
ተሰረየ - He was forgiven
ተደነቀ - He was surprised, wondered
ተገረመ - He was suprised
ታዘዘ - He obeyed
ተወራ - It was told, reported
ተባለ - It was said
ተባባሉ - They said to one another
ተናወጠ - It shook
29
ተጎዳ - He was hurt
ተገኘ - He was found
ተጎዳ - He was hurt
ተሰማ - It was hurt, felt
ተቻለ - It was possible
ተሳነ - It was impossible
ተመቸ - It was convenient
ተረዳ - He understood
ተረዳዱ - They help eachother
ተጣላ - He quarelled
ተዋጋ - He fought
ታረቀ - He was reconciled
ተከራከረ - He disputed, debated
ተባበረ - He united
ተበላሸ - It became spoiled
ተሰናከለ - He stumbled
ተዋረደ - He was humbled
ተናደደ - He became angry
Group 1111
ለመለመ - It became green

ከለከለ - He forbade, hindered
መሰከረ - He witnessed
ገለበጠ - He overturned, copied
ሰነበተ - He passed the time
ተረገመ - He translated
ተነፈሰ - He breathed
ወረወረ - He threw
ወለወለ - He wiped
መረመረ - He examined
30
ሰበሰበ - He collected
ደነገጠ - He was startled, alarmed, astonished
ሰነጠቀ - He cracked, split
Group v 1
ጎበኝ - He visited
ዘረጋ - He stretched forth
በረታ - He became strong
ፈነዳ - It exploded, burst
ደነፋ - He boasted
Group v 2
ዘገየ - He was late

ሰለቸ - He grew weary, was bored
ደኸየ - He became poor
Pure changed stem verbs
ራራ - He pitied
ባረከ - He blessed
ዳሰሰ - He touched, felt
ናፈቀ - He longed for
አለ Verbs
ቶሎ አለ - He hurried
ቀስ አለ - He was careful
ዝም አለ - He was silent
ፀጥ አለ - He was calm, still
31
እምቢ አለ - He refused
ከፍ አለ - He was high
ዝቅ አለ - He was low
ሰተት አለ - He went straight forward
ዘወር አለ - He turned, got out of the way
ፈቀቅ አለ - He moved away a little
ብንን አለ - He started violently
ቁጭ አለ - He sat down
ቀረት አለ - He lagged behind
ብቅ አለ - He appeared, turned up
ቅርት አለ - He completely stopped coming
ውድም አለ - It was desolate
ቸል አለ - He neglected
ይቅር አለ - He forgave
ደስ አለው - He was glad
ቅር አለው - He was displeased
ትዝ አለው - He remembered
32
Bibliography
1. Amharic for beginners, Marie Frydenlund and Kristine
Svensen, Norwegian Lutheran Mission language school,
Addis Ababa, 1980.
33
Additional:
Grammar
My
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my parents, Mom and Dad.

I couldn’t do it without you.
Jah be your Savior. Love from Love, sacrificial labour.
Blessings
I love you both.
V
Amharic
Ethiopia has more than 80 ethnic groups and hundreds of

different languages. Of these languages, the official language,
Amharic, is most widely accepted and used. Compared with
other African languages, Amharic has its own very particular
alphabet and digit system.
Amharic which is the official language of Ethiopia has more

than three thousand years of history. It is arguably the only
African language which has its own letters and features.
Although Ethiopia has more than 80 ethnic groups and
hundreds of different languages, Amharic is still the most
accepted and used language in the country’s history.
According to the scholars who studied this endemic language,
Amharic is showing its significance whether it is in the
literary works or as in working language in Ethiopia.
Dereje Gebre, Head, Amharic Language Dept., Addis Ababa

Univ., said, "According to the current crud information we
have, what makes Amharic language different from the other
African languages is-it has its own letters and a long history
of literature using the language itself. Because of this history
of Amharic literature one can simply find fictional, non
fictional and historical works everywhere."
Amharic is the second-most spoken Semitic language in the

world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official
status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or
working language of several of the states within the federal
system. It has been the working language of the government,
the military, and of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
throughout medieval and modern times. Outside Ethiopia,
Amharic is the language of some 2.7 million emigrants.
3
Unlike English language Amharic has more than 200 letters
and these letters represent each and every feature of the
language. If anyone wishes to acquire the knowledge of
speaking Amharic though it looks a bit tough, must try to
learn all of these words by heart.
Memehir Woldetensai Nebret, Traditional Amharic Teacher,

said, "These letters from the begging to the end belong to
Ethiopians only. And for anyone who can understand and
have the awareness of these letters, I don’t think Speaking
Amh5ric will be easy."
Mohamed Awol, Amharic Major, Addis Ababa University,

said, "The reason why I chose Amharic as my major area of
study in the university is because of the historical and
traditional path I have passed through. I used to even adore
Amharic literary works very much which influenced my
decisions to study Amharic for a degree program."
The other most important & unique thing about the

Ethiopian language is the way the numbers are written.
Ethiopia being one of them, it is known that only few
countries in the whole universe have their own way of
writing numbers. This style of writing numbers came
originally from the perishing language called ’Geez’ which is
now confined and used in churches only. Even if the local
style of writing numbers is in place, it is so unfortunate that
Ethiopians prefer using the usual method of writing in their
daily activities even in books as the public is not accustomed
to using them usually.
Dereje Gebre, Head, Amharic Language Dept, Addis Ababa

Univ., said, "Whether it was written thousands of years ago
of five hundred years ago, you will find Amharic written
4
works as it is. And for this language wealth to be preserved,
the role of literature is immense."
The name Amharic (Amarigna) comes from the district of

Amhara in northern Ethiopia, which is thought to be the
historic centre of the language. On the other hand, according
to the information we have got from Addis Abeba University,
Amharic language education will be given in Beijing foreign
studies University starting from September 2013.
At the moment Amharic language is getting wide

international acceptance and reputation. In Washington Dc
for an example it has become one of the working languages
there. Universities in France, Germany and Russia are also
giving lessons in Amharic language.
http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20130402/102321.sh
tml
5
Part 1: Grammar
Lesson 1: Alphabet
The Amharic alphabet has 33 basic characters, each of which

has seven forms; each form is built with a consonant and a
vowel.
Table 1
Form 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Vowels a u ee a ay i o
h ሀ ሁ ሂ ሃ ሄ ህ ሆ As h in he (same as ሀ)
l ለ ሉ ሊ ላ ሌ ል ሎ As initial l in let
h ሐ ሑ ሒ ሓ ሔ ሕ ሖ
ሀ)
6
As w in won (very
open)
Pure first form vowel
none ዐ ዑ ዒ ዓ ዔ ዕ ዖ
same as አ
7
P ጰ ጱ ጲ ጳ ጴ ጵ ጶ Explosive
Vowel sounds
1. The first form vowel is fronted and rounded, with a sound

between the vowels of the English word ‘but’ and ‘bet’.
2. The second form vowel (u) is a fronted, rounded u-sound,

as in ‘mood’.
3. The third form vowel (i) is a narrow i- soind, as in ‘seat’,

but generally shorter.
4. The fourth form vowel (a) is forward and wide, as in

‘alms’, but more fronted.
5. The fifth form vowel (e) is as the e in ‘eight’.
6. The sixth form vowel (e) is short and unrounded, similiar

to the i in ‘bit’. This is the only vowel which can also be used
as a pure consonant.
7. The seventh form vowel (o) is strongly rounded and

forward, similar to the vowel sound in ‘caught’
8
Lesson 2: Question words
Who ማን -(man), What ምንድን -(mindin), Why ለምን -(lemin),

When መቼ -(mechay), Where የት -(yet), Is there or he is
present? አለ- (alle), there are or they are አሉ- (allu), there is
no የለም- (yellem), it is or is it? - ነው (no)
Lesson 3: Personal Pronouns and Verb ‘To be’
Table 2
Personal The verb ‘To be’ Negative of verb ‘To be’
pronouns Present
እኔ - inay – I ነኝ - neGN – I am አይደለሁም - aydelehum – I
am not
አንተ - ante – ነህ - neh – You አይደለህም - aydelehem –
You (m) are You are not
አንቺ - anchee _ ነሽ - nesh – You አይደለሽም - aydeleshim –
You (f) are You are not
እርስዎ - irswo ነዎት - newot – አይደሉም - aydelum – You
You (pol) You are are not
እሱ - issu – He ነው - no – He is አይደለም - aydelem – He is
not
እሷ - isswa – ናት - nat – She is አይደለችም - aydelechim –
She She is not
እኛ - iGNa – ነን - nen – We are አይደለንም - aydelenim – We
We are not
እናንተ - innante ናችሁ - nachihu – አይደላችሁም - aydelachihum
– You (pl) You are – You are not
እነሱ - innesu – ናቸው - nachew - አይደሉም - aydelum – They
They They are are not
እሳቸው - ናቸው - nachew – አይደሉም - aydelum –
issachew – He/She is He/She is not
He/She (pol)
9
Table 3
Personal The verb ‘To be’ Negative of verb ‘To be’
pronouns (past)
እኔ - inay – Iእኔ ነበርኩ - inay እኔ አልነበርኩም - inay
neberku – I was alneberkum – I was not
አንተ - ante – አንተ ነበርክ - ante አንተ አልነበርክም - ante
You (m) neberk – You were alneberkim – You were not
አንቺ - አንቺ ነበርሽ - anchee አንቺ አልነበርሽም - anchee
anchee _ You nebersh – You alnebershim – You were not
(f) were
እርስዎ - እርስዎ ነበሩ - irswo እርስዎ አልነበሩም - irswo
irswo You neberu – You were alneberum – You were not
(pol)
እሱ - issu – እሱ ነበረ - issu እሱ አልነበረም - issu
He nebere – He was alneberem – He was not
እሷ - isswa – እስዋ ነበረች - isswa እስዋ አልነበረችም - isswa
She neberech – She alneberechim – She was not
was
እኛ - iGNa – እኛ ነበርን - igna እኛ አልነበርንም - igna
We nebern – We were alnebernim – We were not
እናንተ - እናንተ ነበራችሁ - እናንተ አልነበራችሁም - innante
innante – innante alneberachihum – You were
You (pl) neberachihu – You not
were
እነሱ - innesu እነሱ ነበሩ - innesu እነሱ አልነበሩም - innesu
– They neberu - They were alneberum - They were not
እሳቸው - እሳቸው ነበሩ - እሳቸው አልነበሩም - issachew
issachew – issachew neberu – alneberum – He/She was not
He/She (pol) He/She was
10
The position of the complement
The normal position of the complement is in between the
pronoun and the verb”to be”. The complement could be a
noun or an adjective.
Noun complement
isswa sayt nat – She is a woman

inay wend neGN – I am a man
isu dingay new – It is a stone
iGNa temareewoch nen – We are students
Adjective complement
isu asteway new – he is intelligent

issu asteway aydellem – he is not intelligent
inay TiKur neGN – I am black
iswa rejim aydelechim - she is not tall
Lesson 4: Possessive pronoun suffixes and independant

possessive pronouns
There are 2 ways to make a pronoun possessed; by attaching

a suffix at the end of a noun or by putting an independant
possessive word before the noun.
Method 1: Attaching a suffix

Table 4
ዬ - yay – my ውሻዬ - wishayay አባቴ - abatay (note: the
– my dog last letter joins the suffix)
ህ - huh – your ውሻህ - አባትህ - abatihuh – your
(m) wishahuh – father
your dog
ሽ - sh – your (f) ውሻሽ - wishash አባትሽ - abatish – your
– your dog father
11
ዎ - wo – your ውሻዎ - wishawo አባትዎ - abatiwo – your
(pol) – your dog father
ው - w – his ውሻው - wishaw አባቱ - abatu – his father
– his dog
ዋ - wa – her ውሻዋ - wishawa አባትዋ - abatiwa – her
– her dog father
አችን - achin – ውሻችን - አባታችን - abatachin – our
our wishachin – our father
dog
አችሁ - achihu – ውሻችሁ - አባታችሁ - abatachihu –
your (pl) wishachihu – your father
your dog
አቸው - achew – ውሻቸው - አባታቸው - abatachew –
their wishachew – their father
their dog
Method 2: Independant possessive pronoun

Table 5
የኔ - yenay – my/mine የኔ ውሻ - yenay wisha – my dog
ያንተ - yante – your/yours ያንተ ውሻ - yante wisha – your
(m) dog
ያንቺ - yanchee – your/yours ያንቺ ውሻ - yanche wisha – your
(f) dog
የርስዎ - yersiwo – የርስዎ ውሻ- yersiwo wisha – your
your/yours(pol) dog
የሱ - yesu – his የሱ ውሻ - yesu wisha – his dog
የስዋ - yeswa – her/hers የስዋ ውሻ - yeswa wisha – her dog
የኛ - yeGNa – our/ours የኛ ውሻ - yeGNa wisha – our dog
የናንተ - yenante – your/yours የናንተ ውሻ - yenante wisha – your
(pl) dog
የነሱ - yenesu – their/ theirs የነሱ ውሻ - yenesu wisha – their
dog
የርሳቸው - yersachew – his/ የርሳቸው ውሻ - yersachew wisha –
hers (pol) his/ her dog
12
Lesson 5: Demonstrative pronouns
Table 6
Singular Close objects Far objects
Subject ይህ - yih – this ያ - ya – that
Object ይህን -yihin – this ያን - yan – that
Plural Close objects Far objects
Subject እነዚህ - inezeeh – these እነዚያ - inezeeya –
those
Object እነዚህን - inezeehin - these እነዚያን - inezeeyan
– those
E.g. ይህ እስክርፕቶ - yih iscripto – This pen

ያ መጽሐፍ - ya meTSihaf – That book
Lesson 6: Reflexive pronouns

Table 7
ራሴ - rasay – myself
ራሰህ - raseh – yourself (m)
ራስሽ - rasish – yourself (f)
ራስዎ - raswo – yourself(pol)
ራሱ - rasu – himself
ራስዋ - raswa – herself
ራሳችን - rasachin – ourselves
ራሳችሁ - rasachihu – yourselves
(pl)
ራሳቸው - rasachew – themselves
ራሳቸው - rasachew – himself/
herself (pol)
13
Lesson 7: Noun
There are only 2 genders in Amharic; masculine and

feminine. The only way to know if the noun is masculine or
feminine is by looking at the verb, an article or a pronoun.
Table 8
By verb እሱ ልጅ ነው - issu lij እሷ ልጅ ናት - isswa
new- He is a boy lij nat- She is a girl
By article ልጁ - liju - The boy ልጂቱ - lijeetu - The
girl
By pronoun ያ ልጅ - ya lij- That ያች ልጅ - yach lij-
boy That girl
Plural construction
1. Nouns ending in the 7th form ‘o’ (ሮ, ጎ, ሞ, ሶ, ቶ etc.); just

add ች
e.g. ዶሮ doro (chicken)- ዶሮች – doroch (chickens)
2. Nouns ending in the 6th form (ት, ር, ስ, ሽ, ፍ etc.); just
change to 7th form and add ች
e.g. ቤት bayt (house)- ቤቶች baytoch (houses)
3. Nouns ending in other forms just add ዎች
e.g. ተማሪ temaree (student) - ተማሪዎች temareewoch
(students)
The definite article (From ‘a’ to ‘the’)
1. Those that end in 6th form change to 2nd form e.g. a house
ቤት (bayt) - the house ቤቱ (baytu)
2. For those that end in other forms add ው e.g. a student
ተማሪ (temaree)- the student ተማሪው (temareew)
3. There are irregular ones such as e.g a person ሰው (sew) –
the person ሰውዬው (sewyew)
14
4. For feminine nouns add ኢቱ e.g. a woman ሴት (sayt) – the
woman ሴቲቱ (sayteetu)
The object indicator
The object indicator ን is added to the end a noun, noun

equivalent or the adjective preceding the noun when the
noun is the direct object of the verb. E.g አንበሳው ጅቡን ነከሰ
(The lion bit the hyena)- (The lion bit the hyena). So the lion
is our subject, the verb is ‘he bit’ the object is the ‘hyena’.
Lesson 8: Verbs
Now it is necessary to say that each verb in Amharic has a

root, this root is the 3rd person male pronoun (he). This root
alone is a full sentence in the positive. E.g. ወሰደ - wesede –
he took.
Verb groups
We can separate the verbs in Amharic into groups, when the

verbs of each of these groups are changed to their various
forms they undergo a change of the letters themselves, if
there is not an actual change in the verbs then the tone of
the speaker must change. The numbers which are given
correspond to that letters vowel form. (Refer to Alphabet
chart)
Table 9
Groups
ወሰደ (111 A) – wesede (he took)
ፈለገ (111 B) – felege (he wanted)
ሰማ (14 A) – sema (he heard)
ጠጣ (14 B) – TeTa (he drank)
ሰጠ (11 A) – seTe (he gave)
15
ለየ (11 B) – leye (he separated)
ጻፈ (41) – Tsafe (he wrote)
ሄደ (51) – Heyde (he went)
ቆመ (71) – Kome (he stood)
Let’s take a look at the contingent or simple imperfect form.

By itself it has no meaning it is used to develop past, present
and future continuous tenses.
It is basically as follows:
Table 10
እ + ወስድ = እወስድ - iwesid
ይ + ወስድ = ይወስድ - yiwesid
ት + ወስድ = ትወስድ - tiwesid
ት + ወስድ = ትወስድ - tiwesid
ት + ወስጂ = ትወስጂ - tiwesijee
እን + ወስድ = እንወስድ - inniwesid
ት + ወስዱ = ትወስዱ - tiwesidu
ይ + ወስዱ = ይወስዱ - yiwesidu
These are the core of many verbs; they have no meaning on

their own,
Past tense conjugation – Positive and Negative
To change a verb from positive to negative (prefix አል) + root

+ (suffix ም)
Table 11
Positive Negative
ወሰደ - wesede -He took አልወሰደም - alwesedem – He
did not take
ወሰደች - wesedech - She አልወሰደችም - alwesedechm –
took She did not take
16
ወሰድኩ - wesedku - I took አልወሰድኩም - alwesedkum – I
did not take
ወሰድክ - wesedk - You took አልወሰድክም - alwesedkm –
(m) You did not take (m)
ወሰድሽ - wesedish - You took አልወሰድሽም - alwesedishm –
(f) You did not take (f)
ወሰድን - wesedin - We took አልወሰድንም - alwesedinm –
We did not take
ወሰዳችሁ - wesedachihu - አልወሰዳችሁም -
You took (pl) alwesedachihum – You did
not take (pl)
ወሰዱ - wesedu - They took አልወሰዱም - alwesedum –
They did not take
In essence all verbs are conjugated in this way, though there

are verb groups, these groups relate to the way verbs behave,
when conjugated in their various tenses.
Past continuous
To mean something a person used to do in the remote past.
Table 12
እወስድ ነበር - iwesid neber - I አልወስድም ነበር - alwesidim neber
was taking - I was not taking
ትወስድ ነበር - tiwesid neber - አትወስድም ነበር - atiwesidim neber
You (m) were taking - You (m) were not taking
ትወስጂ ነበር - tiwesijee neber - አትወስጂም ነበር - atiwesijeem
You (f) were taking neber - You (f) were not taking
ይወስድ ነበር - yiwesid neber - አይወስድም ነበር - aywesidim neber
He was taking - He was not taking
ትወስድ ነበር - tiwesid neber - አትወስድም ነበር - atiwesidim neber
She was taking - She was not taking
እንወስድ ነበር - iniwesid neber - አንወስድም ነበር - anwesidim neber
We were taking - We were not taking
17
ትወስዱ ነበር - tiwesidu neber - አትወስዱም ነበር - atiwesidum
You (pl) were taking neber - You (pl) were not taking
ይወስዱ ነበር - yiwesidu neber - አይወስዱም ነበር - aywesidum
They were taking neber - They were not taking
Present
To mean something that is happening in the present
Table 13
እየወሰድኩ ነው - iyewesed no - እየወሰድኩ አይደለም - iyewesedku
I am taking aydelem - I am not taking
እየወሰድክ ነው - iyewesdik no - እየወሰድክ አይደለም - iyewesedik
You (m) are taking aydelem - You (m) are not taking
እየወሰድሽ ነው - iyewesedish no እየወሰድሽ አይደለም - iyewesedish
- You (f) are taking aydelem - You (f) are not taking
እየወሰደ ነው - iyewesede no - እየወሰደ አይደለም - iyewesede
He is taking aydelem - He is not taking
እየወሰደች ነው - iyewesedech no እየወሰደች አይደለም - iyewesedech
- She is taking aydelem - She is not taking
እየወሰድን ነው - iyewesedin no - እየወሰድን አይደለም - iyewesedin
We are taking aydelem - We are not taking
እየወሰዳችሁ ነው - እየወሰዳችሁ አይደለም -
iyewesedachihu no - iyewesedachihu aydelem - You
You (pl) are taking (pl) are not taking
እየወሰዱ ነው - iyewesedu no - እየወሰዱ አይደለም - iyewesedu
They are taking aydelem - They are not taking
Future
To mean something that has not yet happened.

(Note: In most of the future forms, there is a change in the 2
p.female), this is called a twin form.
18
Table 14
Normal Twins
ሊ (lee) changes to ዪ (yee)
ሲ (see)changes to ሺ (shee)
ቲ (tee) changes to ቺ (chee)
ጢ (Tee)changes to ጪ (CHee)
ኒ (nee) changes to ኚ (GNee)
ዲ (dee) changes to ጂ (jee)
ዚ (zee) changes to ዢ (ZHee)
E.g.
Table 15
Note* This form is also used as the present simple form
እወስዳለሁ - iwesedalehu - I አልወስድም - aliwesidim - I will not
will take take
ትወስዳለህ - tiwesidaleh - You አትወስድም - atiwesidim - You (m)
(m) will take will not take
ትወስጂአለሽ - tiwesijeealesh - አትወስጂም - atiwesijeem - You (f)
You (f) will take will not take
ይወስዳል - yiwesidal - He will አይወስድም - ayiwesidim - He will
take not take
ትወስዳለች - tiwesidalech - አትወስድም - atiwesidim - She will
She will take not take
እንወስዳለን - iniwesidalen - አንወስድም - aniwesidim - We will
We will take not take
ትወስዳላችሁ - tiwesidalachihu አትወስዱም - atiwesidum - You (pl)
- You (pl) will take will not take
ይወስዳሉ - yiwesidalu - They አይወስዱም - ayiwesidum - They will
+ (pol) will take not take
Also note the simple contingent form discussed in table 10, it

is the root of the form
19
E.g. ትወስድ + አለህ = thus a contraction takes place between ድ
+ አ which becomes ዳ.
Commands
To change the Amharic verb into a command, there is a

change in the letters. Most verbs follow the pattern below.
To change any imperative into a negative, just prefix አት to

any of the following imperatives. (Note the numbers in the
group column correspond to the order of it alphabet letter.)
Table 16
Groups You You You Negative
(m) (f) (pl)
ወሰደ (111 ውሰድ ውሰጂ ውሰዱ Take! አትውሰድ Don’t
A)-616 wised wisejee wisedu atiwised take!
ፈለገ (111 B) ፈልግ ፈልጊ ፈልጉ Find! አትፈልግ Don’t
–166 felig feligee feligu atifelig find!
ሰማ (14 A) ስማ ስሚ ስሙ Listen አትስማ Don’t
–64 sima simee simu ! atisima listen!
ጠጣ (14 B) ጠጣ ጠጪ ጠጡ Drink አትጠጣ Don’t
-14 TeTa TeCHee TeTu ! atiTeTa drink!
ሰጠ (11 A) – ስጥ siT ስጪ ስጡ Give! አትስጥ Don’t
66 siCHee siTu atisiT give!
ለየ (11 B) – ለይ ley ለዪ leyee ለዩ liyu Split! አትለይ Don’t
16 atiley split!
ጻፈ (41) – ጻፍ TSaf ጻፊ ጻፉ Write አትጻፍ Don’t
46 TSafee TSafu ! atiTSaf write!
ሄደ (51) – ሂድ heed ሂጂ ሂዱ Go! አትሂድ Don’t
36 heejee heedu atiheed go!
ቆመ (71) – ቁም ቁሚ ቁሙ Stand አትቁም Don’t
26 Kum Kumee Kumu ! atiKum stand!
መጣ ና na ኔ nay ኑ nu Come አትመጣ Don’t
(come) ! atimeTa come!
Irregular
20
The jussive
This form corresponds to ‘let’, ‘may’ or ‘shall’. The meaning is

determined by the sound of the speaker; whether it is a
question or so on.
To make this form negative prefix አ
Table 17
ልውሰድ - liwised – let me አልውሰድ - aliwised - let me not
take take
ይውሰድ - yiwised – let him አይውሰድ - aywised - let him not
take take
ትውሰድ -tiwised – let her አትውሰድ - atiwised - let her not
take take
እንውሰድ - iniwised – let us አንውሰድ - aniwised - let us not
take take
ይውሰዱ - yiwisedu – let አይውሰዱ - aywisedu - let them not
them take take
The infinitive
Table 18
Groups Pure form Adding possessive Adding Possessive
pronoun suffixes pronoun suffixes in
the Negative
ወሰደ - መውሰድ - መውሰዴ - አለመውሰዴ -
wesed - mewised - mewiseday – my alemewiseday - My not
(111 A) To take taking taking
ፈለገ - መፍለግ - መውሰዱ - አለመውሰዱ -
felege - mefileg - mewisedu - His alemewisedu - His not
(111 B) To find taking taking
ሰማ - መስማት - መውሰድዋ - አለመውሰድዋ -
sema - mesimat - mewisediwa - Her alemewisediwa - Her
(14 A) To hear taking not taking
ጠጣ - መጠጣት - መውሰድህ - አለመውሰድህ -
21
TeTa - meTeTat - mewisedih - Your alemewisedih - Your
(14 B) To drink (m) taking (m) not taking
ሰጠ - መስጠት - መውሰድሽ - አለመውሰድሽ -
seTe - mesiTet - mewisedish - alemewisedish - Your
(11 A) To give Your (f) taking (f) not taking
ለየ - leye መለየት - መውሰዳችሁ - አለመውሰዳችሁ -
-(11 B) meleyet - mewisedachihu - alemewisedachihu -
To separate Your (pl) taking Your (pl) not taking
ጻፈ - መጻፍ - መውሰድዎት - አለመውሰድዎት -
TSafe - meTSaf - mewisediwot - alemewisediwot - Your
(41) To write Your (pol) taking (pol) not taking
ሄደ - መሄድ - መውሰዳችን - አለመውሰዳችን -
hayed - mehayd - mewisedachin - alemewisedachin - Our
(51) To go Our taking not taking
ቆመ - መቆም - መውሰዳቸው - አለመውሰዳቸው -
Kome - meKom - mewisedachew - alemewisedachew -
(71) To stand Their taking Their not taking
The passive voice
A transitive verb is made by prefixing ተ.
E.g. He hurt ጎዳ- He was hurt ተጎዳ, He opened ከፈተ- He was

opened ተከፈተ.
Don’t be confused many verbs are passive in form but active
in meaning e.g. ተከተለ means he followed, not that he was
followed. While other verbs actually have ተ as the first letter
so don’t confuse these with the passive form.
The verb ‘to have’
Table 19
አለኝ - aleGN - I ይኖረኛል - yinoreGNal - ነበረኝ - I had –
have I will have nebereGN
አለህ - aleh - ይኖርሃል - yinorehal - ነበረህ - You (m)
22
You (m) have You (m) will have had – nebereh
አለሽ - alesh - ይኖርሻል - yinoreshal - ነበረሽ - You (f) had
You (f) have You (f) will have – neberesh
አለው - alow - ይኖረዋል - yinorewal - ነበረው - He had –
He has He will have neberew
አላት - alat - She ይኖራታል - yinoratal - ነበራተ - She had –
has She will have neberat
አለን - alen - We ይኖረናል - yinorenal - ነበረን - We had –
have We will have neberen
አላችሁ - ይኖራችኋል - ነበራችሁ - You (pl)
alachihu - You yinorachihwal - You had – neberachihu
(pl) have (pl) will have
አላቸው - ይኖራቸዋል - ነበራቸው - They had
alachew - (They yinorachewal - They – neberachew
have) will have
አለዎት - alewot ይኖርዎታል - ነበረዎት - You (pol)
- You (pol) have yinoriwotal - You (pol) had – neberewot
will have
Lesson 9: Prepositions
There are 2 types of prepositions in Amharic; these are

‘simple prepositions’ and ‘compund prepositions’.
Simple prepositions
These are prefixed to a noun, a pronoun or an adjective. Let’s

look at the common ones.
Table 20
1. ለ - le - to, for
2. በ - be - at, in, on, with, by
3.ከ - ke - from, of, than, with
4. ወደ - wede - to, towards
5. ስለ - sile -concerning, about, for the sake of
23
6. እንደ - inde - like, according to
7. የ - ye - of, ..’s
8. እ - substitutes for በ
9. ያለ - yale – without
E.g. kebeerowa metach – She came from her office.
Compound prepositions
These consist of a prefix and a word following the noun or

pronoun. Let’s look at the common ones.
Table 21
በ...ውሰጥ - be...wisT – inside
ከ...ውጭ - ke...wiCH – outside
በ...ላይ - be...lay - on, upon, against
ከ...በላይ - ke...belay – above
ከ...በታች - ke...betach - below, under
በ...ሥር - be...sir - at the bottom of, under
በ...አጠገብ - be...aTegeb - beside, near
በ...ዙርያ - be...zureeya – around
ከ...በፊት - ke...befeet - before, ago
ከ...በኋላ - ke...behwala – after
ከ...ፊት - ke...feet - in front of
ከ...ኋላ - ke...hwala – behind
በ...ፊት ለፊት - be...feet lefeet – opposite
ከ...ጋር - ke...gar - with, together with
በ...በኩል - be...bekul - through ,in direction of
ከ...የተነሣ - ke...yetenesa - because of
E.g. be baytu wisT – inside the house

ke mekeenawu hwala – behind the car
24
Lesson 10: conjuctions and subordinating conjuctions
Conjunctions used with the past perfect tense
Table 22
1. በ...ጊዜ - be...geezay – when
2. ከ...በኋላ - ke...behwala – after
3. ስለ - sile – because
4. ከ - ke – since
5. እየ - iye – while
6. እንደ - inde – as
E.g. silewesede – because he took
Conjunctions used with the contingent
Table 23
1. ስ - si - when, while
2. ብ - bi - if, when
3. ል - li – to
4. እንድ - ind - in order that, so that
5. እስክ-ድረስ - isk – dires - until , so
much that
6. ዘንድ - zind - to, that (used in
Bible)
E.g. sinihayd – when we go

Inditibelu tifelegalachihu – Do you (pl) want to eat? (Lit. in
order that you will eat do you want?)
Some conjunctions used with the buffer ም before the

contingent (denoting future).
Table 24
25
1. ስለም - silem –because
2. እንደም - indem - as, that
E.g. indemitibelu awiKalehu – I know that you (pl) will eat.
Lesson 11: Relative clauses: Past and Future
The Relative Pronoun is a prefix which must be attached to

either the Simple perfect or the contingent.
Past
With the simple perfect it is የ (ye) the negative form is ያል

(yal)
Table 25
የመጣሁ - yemeTahu - I who ያልመጣሁ - yalmeTahu - I who
came did not come
የመጣህ - yemeTah - You (m) ያልመጣህ - yalmeTah - You
who came (m) who did not come
የመጣሽ - yemeTash - You (f) ያልመጣሽ - yalmeTash - You (f)
who came who did not come
የመጣ - yemeTa - He who ያልመጣ - yalmeTa - He who
came did not come
የመጣች - yemeTach - She who ያልመጣች - yalmeTach - She
came who did not come
የመጣን - yemeTan - We who ያልመጣን - yalmeTan - We who
came did not come
የመጣችሁ - yemeTachihu - You ያልመጣችሁ - yalmeTachihu -
(pl) who came You (pl) who did not come
የመጡ - yemeTu - They who ያልመጡ - yalmeTu - They who
came did not come
E.g. yemeTahu sew negn – I am the person who came
26
yalmeTash sayt nesh – You (f) are the person who did not
come
Future
With the contingent it is የም (yemi) the negative form is የማ

(yema)
Table 26
የምመጣ - yemimeTa - who የማልመጣ - yemalimeTa - I
will come who will not come
የምትመጣ - yemitimeTa - You የማትመጣ - yematimeTa - You
(m) who will come (m) who will not come
የምትመጪ - yemitimeCHee - የማትመጪ - yematimeCHee -
You (f) who will come You (f) who will not come
የሚመጣ - yemeemeTa - He የማይመጣ - yemayimeTa - He
who will come who will not come
የምትመጣ - yemitimeTa - She የማትመጣ - yematimeTa - She
የምንመጣ - yeminimeTa - We የማንመጣ - yemanimeTa - We
የምትመጡ - yemitimeTu - You የማትመጡ - yematimeTu - You
(pl) who will come (pl) who will not come
የሚመጡ - yemeemeTu - They የማይመጡ - yemayimeTu -
who will come They who will not come
E.g. yemeeweTa sew issu new – He is the man who will go

out.
yemayiTeTu sewoch inesu nachew – They are the people
who will not drink
Lesson 12: Object suffix + Impersonal verbs
The object in Amharic is denoted in the form of an infix (in

the future form) or a suffix (in the past tense), the following
are the object forms for each person.
27
E.g. Lets take the sentence “he gave me”. (Also note how
there are contractions in all the objects whose first letter
begins with አ)
In the 3rd person male form, there are 2 options, the regular
one is (wi) though when ever the letter before this object
suffix is a 2nd, 7th form we must use (ti).
Past tense
Table 27
Objects Past tense object as suffix Future tense object as
infix
ኝ - GN – ሰጠኝ - seTeGN - he gave ይሰጠኛል - yiseTeGNal -
me me he will give me
ህ-h– ሰጠህ - seTeh – he gave ይሰጠሃል - yiseTehal – he
you (m) you (m) will give you (m)
ሽ - sh – ሰጠሽ - seTesh – he gave ይሰጠሻል - yiseTeshal – he
you (f) you (f) will give you (f)
ው/ት - ሰጠው - seTew – he gave ይሰጠዋል - yiseTewal – he
(wi/ti) – him will give him
him
አት - at - ሰጣት - seTat – he gave ይሰጣታል - yiseTatal – he
her her will give her
ን - n – us ሰጠን - seTen – he gave ይሰጠናል - yiseTenal – he
us will give us
አችሁ - ሰጣችሁ - seTachihu – he ይሰጣችኋል - yiseTachihwal
achihu – gave you (pl) – he will give you (pl)
you (pl)
አቸው - ሰጣቸው - seTachew – he ይሰጣቸዋል - yiseTachewal
achew – gave them – he will give them
them
አዎት - ሰጣዎት - seTawot – he ይሰጣዎታል - yiseTawotal
awot – gave you (pol) – he will give you (pol)
28
you (pol)
Impersonal verbs
Some of the verbs in Amharic are impersonal when using

these verbs; we speak using the 3rd person singular masculine.
Each of the persons the verb pertains to will be expressed as
object suffixes.
Table 28
ራበኝ - rabeGN - It hungered ይርበኛል - yiribeGNal - It will
me hunger me
ራበህ - rabeh - It hungered you ይርብሃል - yiribihal - It will
(m) hunger you (m)
ራበሽ - rabesh - It hungered you ይርብሻል - yiribishal - It will
(f) hunger you (f)
ራበው - rabew - It hungered ይርበዋል - yiribewal - It will
him hunger him
ራባት - rabat - It hungered her ይርባታል - yiribatal - It will
hunger her
ራበን - raben - It hungered us ይርበናል - yiribenal - It will
hunger us
ራባችሁ - rabachihu - It ይርባችኋል - yiribachihwal - It
hungered you (pl) will hunger you (pl)
ራባቸው - rabachew - It ይርባቸዋል - yiribachewal - It
hungered them will hunger them
ራበዎት - rabewot - It hungered ይርብዎታል - yiribiwotal - It
you (pol) will hunger you (pol)
Lesson 13: Numbers
Nominal
Table 29
፩ - 1 – and ፳ - 20 – haya
፪ - 2 – hulet ፴ - 30 – selasa
29
፫ - 3 – sost ፵ - 40 – arba
፬ - 4 – arat ፶ - 50 – hamsa
፭ - 5 – amist ፷ - 60 – silsa
፮ - 6 – sadist ፸ - 70 – seba
፯ - 7 – sebat ፹ - 80 – semanya
፰ - 8 – simint ፺ - 90 – zetena
፱ - 9 – zeteGN ፻ - 100 – meto
፲ - 10 - asir ፼ - 10000 – asir shee
To say: 21 – haya-and, 45 – arba-amist, 150 – and-meto-

hamsa, 687 – sadist-meto-semanya-sebat
Ordinal
To make numbers ordinal suffix ኛ - GNa
andeGNa – 1st
huleteGNa – 2nd
sosteGNa – 3rd
Fractions
and-huleteGNa – ½
and-arateGNa – ¼
sost-sebateGNa – 3/7
Lesson 14: Greetings
Table 30
Good Indemin Indemin Indemin Indemin
morning aderk (m) adersh (f) aderachihu aderu (pol)
(pl)
afternoon walk (m) walsh (f) walachihu walu (pol)
(pl)
30
evening amesheh ameshesh ameshachih ameshu
(m) (f) u (pl) (pol)
How are Indemin Indemin Indemin Indemin
you? alleh (m) allesh (f) allachihu allu (pol)
(pl)
Good Dehina Dehina Dehina Dehina
night ider (m) ideree (f) ideru (pl) yideru (pol)
Good day Dehina Dehina Dehina Dehina
wal (m) way (f) walu (pl) yiwalu
(pol)
Good Dehina Dehina Dehina Dehina
evening amish (m) amishee amishu (pl) yamishu
(f) (pol)
Good bye Dehina Dehina Dehina Dehina
hun (m) huGNee hunu (pl) yihunu
(f) (pol)
Lesson 15: Sentences
The sentence structure of Amharic is sometimes different

from English
1. (Noun – Bold, Verb – Normal, Preposition – Italics, Direct

object – Underlined)
The cat sat on the tree (nvpd)– Demateetu bezafu lay

Komech (npdv)
2. (Noun – Bold, Verb – Normal, Adjective – Underlined)
The fat man is laughing (anv) – wuframun sew iyesaKe no

(anv)
3. (Noun – Bold, Verb – Normal, Adverb – Underlined,

Preposition – Italics)
31
He ran quickly to his house (vapn) - befiTnet wede betun
roTe (apnv)
Conclusion
It can not go without saying that this is truly a brief

introduction to Amharic grammar; there are many more
areas that one could go into to give a deeper insight into the
grammar of Amharic. The aim of this section is only to give
the learner a framework in which to understand the
following section. In the bibliography at the end of this book
you will find a list of the sources used in writing this part of
the book, I recommend you find a copy of the books listed
and you will lack nothing in knowledge on this topic.
32
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AMHARIC TODAY

© Kefle Yohannes, 2015

No part of this book may be reproduced or

Amharic Today Foundation

Book 2 – Vocabulary for 30 topics

Book 3 – Questions for translation

Book 4 – Verb Speech with power

Additional Book - Grammar

Thank you Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

Besime Ab We Weld We Menfes Qidus Ahadu Amlak

This book is designed to help you learn the Amharic

If you have any questions or suggestions please visit

The Amharic alphabet has 33 basic characters, each of

1. The first form vowel is fronted and rounded, with a

2. The second form vowel (u) is a fronted, rounded u-

3. The third form vowel (ee) is a narrow i- soind, as in

5. The fifth form vowel (ay) is as the e in ‘eight’.

6. The sixth form vowe (i) is short and unrounded,

7. The seventh form vowel (o) is strongly rounded and

*You sometimes need to emit the 6th form vowel e.g.

*Some of the words in part 2 are not actual words, this is

*Some non capitalized consonants are sometimes

Read the transliterated words and rewrite them using the

ሀ (hasab) ሉ (lul) ሒ (heesab)

___________ ___________ ___________

ጅ (jimat) ጢ(Teenzeeza) ጮ (CHoma)

___________ ___________ ___________

The purpose of this exercise is to further revise the fidel

*You sometimes need to emit the 6th form vowel e.g.

Read the transliterated sentences and rewrite them using

1. selam new, simay yohanis new

2. simih man new?/simish man new?

3. amariGNa melemed ifeligalehu

4. Tena yisTiliGN indemin aderu?

5. inkuwan dehna meTah/meTash/meTu

6. hotelu yet new yalew?

7. Sint seat new?

8. sera indayt new?

9. baytesebeh/ baytesebish indayt new?

10. nuro indet new?

11. sint ametih/ametish new?

12. agerih/ agerish yet new?

13. silk KuTerih/KuTerish sint new?

14. serah/serash mindin new?

15. yet new yarefkew?

16. min meTeTat tifeligaleh/tifeligeeyalesh?

17. wede baytekristeeyan iniheed?

19. min yahil be eetiyoPiya tiKoyaleh/tiKoyalesh?

20. agerun wededkew/wededshew?

21. melkam idil

22. yabasha migib yaKerbalu?

23. yeferenj migib yaKerbalu?

24. Tiru migib bayt yet indale tawKaleh/tawKeeyalesh?

25. min yahil yaskefilalu?

26. ambulans Tiru

27. wede hakeem bayt wisedeGN

28. beTam wid new

30. yeteshale waga siTeGN

31. nege temelishay imeTalehu

_____ _ _______

_____ _ _______