Amharic is spoken by around 35 million people in Ethiopia, where it is one of the official languages. Written in the unique Ge'ez (fidel) script, it is the language of Africa's second most populous nation. With this kit, you have the bare minimum to greet, find your way and order food during a trip to Addis Ababa, Lalibela or Gondar.
Amharic (Amarinya) is a Semitic language spoken by around 35 million people in Ethiopia, where it is an official language alongside Oromo, Tigrinya and a few others. It is the mother tongue of the Amhara, the country's second ethnic group, and a lingua franca for millions of Ethiopians of other origins, especially in cities.
Descended from Ge'ez, Amharic retains its abugida, Fidel: a unique writing system in which each sign represents a consonant combined with a vowel. This written tradition goes back to the Aksumite kingdom (1st to 7th centuries), one of the great civilisations of late antiquity. Literature in Ge'ez and then in Amharic still nourishes the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, deeply anchored in national culture.
Amharic grammar is typically Semitic, with a tri-consonantal root system and rich verbal morphology. Gender marking is central: "neh" is said to a man, "nesh" to a woman. For travellers, Amharic offers an exceptional gateway to a millennia-old culture: Addis Ababa, Lalibela, Gondar, Aksum, Lake Tana and the Simien are all places where a sincere "selam" opens warm conversations.
This kit gathers the bare essentials to handle an arrival in Addis Ababa, a taxi or bajaj ride, a market order, a small medical concern and a smooth departure. You will find indispensable greetings, survival words for orientation, key vocabulary for daily life and cultural tips to avoid faux pas. Memorise these expressions before leaving and you will gain confidence from the first hours on the ground.
Here is how these phrases play out in real life. Each scene sets the stage and gathers the useful expressions.
You arrive in Addis Ababa and greet your host. A "selam" (peace) is enough in most cases, or a more formal "tena yistilign". Depending on gender, you ask "indemin neh" (to a man) or "indemin nesh" (to a woman).
The taxi or bajaj driver asks for your destination. You indicate the "bet" (house), "təmhərt bet" (school), "gäbäya" (market) or "kätäma" (city) you are heading to. Confirm the fare before leaving.
At the restaurant, you order water ("wəha"), milk ("wätät") for your buna, injera (the teff flatbread) or bread ("dabbo"). "Ebakih" (to a man) or "ebakish" (to a woman) opens a polite request.
You don't feel well: your head ("ras") aches, your eye ("ayn") burns, your ear ("joro") rings, your mouth ("af") is dry. You point to the area and name the body part. Pointing often saves time before a diagnosis.
Before leaving Lalibela or Gondar, you answer "dehna negn" (I am fine) to last questions. You thank with a sincere "ameseginalehu". "Awo" (yes) or "aydellem" (no) close the last exchanges.
What you need to know before travelling to a amharique-speaking country.
Amharic is written with Fidel, the Ethiopian abugida inherited from Ge'ez. Each character represents a consonant followed by a vowel, and the system counts over 200 signs. Even learning greetings in Fidel impresses Ethiopians.
Politeness forms differ by gender: you say "indemin neh" (how are you?) to a man, "indemin nesh" to a woman. This gender distinction runs through the whole grammar and deserves to be memorised.
Injera, a fermented teff flatbread, is at the heart of Ethiopian cuisine. People eat by hand, sharing the same large dish. Refusing to taste can come across as cold.
The coffee ceremony (buna) is a major social ritual that can last over an hour. Being invited to share one means being accepted. Declining without reason is almost unthinkable.
Ethiopia has its own calendar (seven or eight years behind the Gregorian one) and its own way of counting hours (the day starts at 6am = 0:00 Ethiopian time). Double-check for appointments.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church plays a central role. Rituals are solemn, young people still largely practise, and many feasts (Genna, Timkat, Meskel) shape the year.
"Ameseginalehu" is the formal thank-you: a long, melodic word. For everyday use, "Amesegnalehu" works, but attention paid to politeness is much appreciated.
At the Mercato in Addis Ababa, bargaining is expected. Greeting in Amharic before discussing prices always shifts the tone of the negotiation.
Preview. The full glossary (30 words) and all the phrases are in the PDF.
ebakih
please (m.)
ebakish
please (f.)
yikirta
sorry, excuse me
dehna hun
goodbye (m.)
tadiyas
hi (informal)
näbbärä
he was, existed
näw
he/it is
alläw
he has
hedä
he went
mätta
he came
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Every translation is cross-checked against at least two concordant sources among the references below.
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