50 Amharic Phrases That Will Change How You Travel in Ethiopia

The five Amharic phrases that do the most work on a trip to Ethiopia are ሰላም (selam), hello; አመሰግናለሁ (ameseginalehu), thank you; እባክህ / እባክሽ (ebakih / ebakish), please, to a man or a woman; ይቅርታ (yiqirta), excuse me or sorry; and ስንት ነው? (sint new?), how much is it? With those you can get through most short exchanges.

Below are 50 phrases in all, grouped by the situations a traveller actually meets: greetings, conversation, the market, the road, the table and the pharmacy. Each one is given in Ge'ez script, the alphabet Amharic is written in, with a plain English transliteration. Every phrase was checked against at least one published phrasebook or dictionary before it went in. Amharic transliteration is not standardised, so you will see other spellings elsewhere. The script is the reliable part.

Before you start

Amharic changes with who you are talking to

Many phrases have one form for a man and another for a woman. "Please" is ebakih to a man and ebakish to a woman. Where a phrase changes, both forms are given, man first. A third form ending in -u is used for more than one person and, as a mark of respect, for an elder. "Turn" is tatef to a man, tatefi to a woman and tatefu to a group or an older person.

Respect for elders is built into the greetings

Wikivoyage's Amharic phrasebook is clear on this: keep the informal greetings for friends, not elders or people you do not know. Selam counts as informal. With an older person or someone you have just met, start with ጤና ይስጥልኝ (tena yistilign).

A note on sounds

A few Amharic consonants are "ejectives", made with a short pop of air from the throat. In the transliterations below, q is a k sound made further back in the throat, as in yiqirta. The letters gn sound like the ny in canyon, as in negn. You will still be understood without perfect ejectives.

Greetings and courtesy

#	English	Amharic	Say it
1	Hello	ሰላም	selam
2	Hello (formal, to elders and strangers)	ጤና ይስጥልኝ	tena yistilign
3	How are you? (man / woman)	እንደምን ነህ? / እንደምን ነሽ?	endemin neh? / endemin nesh?
4	I'm fine	ደህና ነኝ	dehna negn
5	Good morning (man / woman / elder)	ደህና አደርክ? / ደህና አደርሽ? / ደህና አደሩ?	dehna aderk? / dehna adersh? / dehna aderu?
6	Good night (man / woman)	ደህና እደር / ደህና እደሪ	dehna eder / dehna ederi
7	Thank you	አመሰግናለሁ	ameseginalehu
8	Thank you very much	በጣም አመሰግናለሁ	betam ameseginalehu
9	You're welcome, no problem	ምንም አይደለም	minim aydelem
10	Please (man / woman)	እባክህ / እባክሽ	ebakih / ebakish
11	Yes	አዎ	awo
12	No	አይ	ay
13	OK, all right	እሺ	ishi
14	Excuse me, sorry	ይቅርታ	yiqirta
15	Goodbye (man / woman)	ደህና ሁን / ደህና ሁኚ	dehna hun / dehna hugni

The morning greeting literally asks whether the person spent the night well, which is why it changes for a man, a woman and an elder. Ishi means OK or fine, and it is the natural reply when a driver or waiter confirms what you asked for.

Getting by in conversation

#	English	Amharic	Say it
16	My name is …	ስሜ … ነው	sime … new
17	What is your name? (man / woman)	ስምህ ማን ነው? / ስምሽ ማን ነው?	simih man new? / simish man new?
18	Do you speak English? (man / woman)	እንግሊዘኛ ትችላለህ? / እንግሊዘኛ ትችያለሽ?	englizegna tichilaleh? / englizegna tichiyalesh?
19	Is there someone here who speaks English?	እንግሊዘኛ የሚችል ሰው አለ?	englizegna yemichil sew ale?
20	I don't understand	አልገባኝም	algebagnim
21	It's very good	በጣም ጥሩ ነው	betam tiru new

Phrase 19 is the one to keep for a bank, a pharmacy or a bus station, where the person in front of you may not speak English but a colleague might. Phrase 21 works as praise for almost anything, from a meal to a view.

At the market

#	English	Amharic	Say it
22	How much is it?	ስንት ነው?	sint new?
23	What is the price?	ዋጋው ስንት ነው?	wagaw sint new?
24	It's expensive	ውድ ነው	wid new
25	Is there a discount?	ቅናሽ አለ?	qinash ale?
26	What is this?	ይህ ምንድን ነው?	yih mindin new?
27	I don't want it	አልፈልግም	alfeligim
28	Birr, the Ethiopian currency	ብር	birr

Sint new? is the market's working phrase. Prices will come back as Amharic numbers, so the number table further down is worth a look before a visit to a market such as Mercato in Addis Ababa. Our guide to money in Ethiopia covers birr, cash and cards.

Wid new, "it's expensive", said with a smile, is a polite way to question a price. Alfeligim, "I don't want it", is a polite way to keep walking.

On the road and finding your way

#	English	Amharic	Say it
29	Where is …?	… የት ነው?	… yet new?
30	Where is the toilet?	መጸዳጃ ቤት የት ነው?	metsedaja bet yet new?
31	Right	ቀኝ	qegn
32	Left	ግራ	gra
33	Straight ahead	ቀጥታ መንገድ	qetita menged
34	Turn right (man / woman / elder)	ወደ ቀኝ ታጠፍ / ታጠፊ / ታጠፉ	wede qegn tatef / tatefi / tatefu
35	Turn left (man / woman / elder)	ወደ ግራ ታጠፍ / ታጠፊ / ታጠፉ	wede gra tatef / tatefi / tatefu

Put any place name in front of yet new? and you have a question: "Hotel … yet new?", "Bank yet new?". In practice the answer will often come as a pointed hand, so qegn and gra are the two words worth knowing by ear.

One trap catches almost every visitor. When someone tells you a time in Amharic, they are usually using the Ethiopian clock, which starts counting at dawn. Wikivoyage's phrasebook gives "1 se'at ke tewatu", one o'clock in the morning, as 7am. Ask whether a time is the Ethiopian or the international one, and read our guide to the Ethiopian calendar and clock before you agree a pickup time. If you travel with a car and driver, agree pickup times in the clock you use.

At the table and over coffee

#	English	Amharic	Say it
36	Water	ውሃ	wuha
37	Coffee	ቡና	buna
38	Coffee with milk	ቡና በወተት	buna bewetet
39	Injera, the sourdough flatbread	እንጀራ	injera
40	Chicken stew	ዶሮ ወጥ	doro wot
41	I don't eat meat	ስጋ አልበላም	siga albelam
42	Fasting (as in fasting food)	ጾም	tsom
43	Mild, not spicy	አልጫ	alicha
44	That's enough for me	ይበቃኛል	yibeqagnal
45	The bill, please (to a man)	ሂሳብ እባክህ	hisab ebakih

Two of these do a lot of quiet work. Siga albelam, "I don't eat meat", is the vegetarian's phrase, and tsom points you at fasting food, which in the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition contains no meat, dairy or eggs. On fasting days it is often the default on the menu. Our guide to eating vegan in Ethiopia explains when the fasts fall, and the Ethiopian food guide covers the dishes.

Yibeqagnal, "that's enough for me", followed by ameseginalehu, is the polite way to say you have had enough.

Health and emergencies

#	English	Amharic	Say it
46	Doctor	ሐኪም	hakim
47	Hospital	ሆስፒታል	hospital
48	Pharmacy	መድሃኒት ቤት	medhanit bet
49	Police	ፖሊስ	polis
50	I am sick	ታምሜያለሁ	tammeyalehu

Hospital and polis are borrowed words, so they are easy to recognise. Pair any of them with yet new? from the road section: "hospital yet new?" is "where is the hospital?". Save the number for your accommodation and your tour contact in your phone before you set out, so you have someone to call who can talk to the people around you.

Amharic numbers for prices

Numbers are not in the count of 50, but you will need them as soon as you ask sint new?

Number	Amharic	Say it
1	አንድ	and
2	ሁለት	hulet
3	ሶስት	sost
4	አራት	arat
5	አምስት	amist
6	ስድስት	sidist
7	ሰባት	sebat
8	ስምንት	simint
9	ዘጠኝ	zetegn
10	አስር	asir
20	ሀያ	haya
50	ሀምሳ	hamsa
100	መቶ	meto
1,000	ሺህ	shi

Bigger numbers are built the way they are in English: ሁለት መቶ (hulet meto) is two hundred, and ሁለት ሺህ (hulet shi) is two thousand.

Amharic is not the only language you will hear

Ethiopia has dozens of languages, and Amharic is the one most widely used between them, which is why it is the one to learn first. Outside the Amharic-speaking areas, a greeting in the local language goes even further.

Afaan Oromo is the main language of Oromia, the region that surrounds Addis Ababa. It is written in the Latin alphabet, called Qubee, which was adopted as the official script in 1991. Hello is akkam, and thank you is galatoomi.

Tigrinya is spoken in Tigray, in the north, and is written in the same Ge'ez script as Amharic. Hello is the same word, ሰላም (selam), and thank you is የቐንየለይ (yekenyeley).

On a guided trip, ask your guide for the local greeting in each area you visit. It is one of the easiest ways into a conversation.

How to practise before you go

Start with the five phrases from the top of this page and say them out loud until they come without thinking. Then learn the numbers to ten, because prices and times depend on them. Write the script versions of phrases 19, 29 and 30 into your phone notes. If you cannot make yourself understood, showing the written phrase usually works. Once you arrive, use selam and ameseginalehu at every chance. The rest will follow from people correcting you, kindly, in the moment.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say hello in Amharic?

The everyday hello is ሰላም (selam), which also means peace. With elders, officials or people you do not know, the respectful greeting is ጤና ይስጥልኝ (tena yistilign).

How do you say thank you in Amharic?

Thank you is አመሰግናለሁ (ameseginalehu). To say thank you very much, add በጣም (betam) in front: betam ameseginalehu. The reply, "you're welcome", is ምንም አይደለም (minim aydelem).

How do you ask "how much" in Amharic?

Ask ስንት ነው? (sint new?), which means "how much is it?". To ask about the price specifically, say ዋጋው ስንት ነው? (wagaw sint new?).

Why do Amharic phrases change for men and women?

Amharic marks gender in its verbs and pronouns, so "please", "how are you" and "turn right" each have a form for a man and a form for a woman. A third form ending in -u is used for a group and, as a mark of respect, for an older person.

Do I need to speak Amharic to travel in Ethiopia?

No. On a guided tour or with a driver, the logistics are handled for you. A few phrases still change how the trip feels. Greeting people in their own language and asking a price yourself both open conversations that English alone does not.

Is Amharic spoken everywhere in Ethiopia?

Amharic is the language most widely used between Ethiopia's many language groups, but it is not everyone's first language. Afaan Oromo is the main language of Oromia, around Addis Ababa, and Tigrinya is spoken in Tigray. A local greeting such as akkam in Oromo is always welcome.

Practise them on a real trip

The best place to use these phrases is on the road, at a market, at a coffee ceremony or at a roadside lunch stop. Our Ethiopia tours take you to all of them, and the Addis Ababa city tour is a good first day to try selam and sint new? for yourself.

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Market photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Street photo: Radosław Botev, CC BY 3.0 PL, via Wikimedia Commons.