Blog

Home » 100 Essential Amharic Words and Phrases for Travelers

100 Essential Amharic Words and Phrases for Travelers

Welcome to your ultimate Amharic travel guide! This book gives you the most important words and phrases you need for your trip to Ethiopia.

We broken this guide down into 6 daily topics. Read them, practice the sounds in the parentheses, and you will be ready to talk to locals!

1. Greetings

Greetings are very important in Ethiopia. People love it when you say hello in their language. It shows respect.

Words

  • ሰላም (Selam) – Hello

  • አመሰግናለሁ (Ameseginalehu) – Thank you

  • እባክህ (Ebakeh) – Please (said to a man)

  • እባክሽ (Ebakish) – Please (said to a woman)

  • አዎ (Awo) – Yes

  • አይደለም (Aydellem) – No

  • ቻው (Chaw) – Goodbye

  • ይቅርታ (Yiqerta) – Excuse me / Sorry

Phrases

  • ሰላም ነህ? (Selam neh?) – Hi, how are you? (to a man)

  • ሰላም ነሽ? (Selam nesh?) – Hi, how are you? (to a woman)

  • ደህና ነኝ (Dehna negn) – I am fine.

  • ስምህ ማን ነው? (Simih man new?) – What is your name? (to a man)

  • ስምሽ ማን ነው? (Simish man new?) – What is your name? (to a woman)

  • ስሜ… ነው (Sime… new) – My name is…

  • እንግሊዝኛ ትችላለህ? (Ingilizigna tichalaleh?) – Do you speak English? (to a man)

  • አልገባኝም (Algebagnim) – I do not understand.

2. Taxi Phrases

Getting around town is an adventure. Most travelers use small blue taxis or minibuses called “Ride”. Use these words to get to your destination safely.

Words

  • ታክሲ (Taxi) – Taxi

  • መንገድ (Menged) – Road / Street

  • ካርታ (Karta) – Map

  • ቀኝ (Qegn) – Right

  • ግራ (Gera) – Left

  • ቀጥታ (Qettita) – Straight

  • አቁም (Aqum) – Stop

  • ሹፌር (Shufer) – Driver

Phrases

  • ወደ… መሄድ እፈልጋለሁ (Wede… mehed efelgalehu) – I want to go to…

  • እዚህ አቁም (Izzih aqum) – Stop here.

  • በግራ ታጠፍ (Begera tatef) – Turn left.

  • በቀኝ ታጠፍ (Beqegn tatef) – Turn right.

  • ሂሳብ ስንት ነው? (Hisab sint new?) – How much is the fare?

  • እባክህ ፍጥነት ቀንስ (Ebakeh fitnet qenis) – Please slow down.

  • ሩቅ ነው? (Ruq new?) – Is it far?

  • ቅርብ ነው? (Qirb new?) – Is it near?

3. Hotel Phrases

Your hotel is your home away from home. These phrases will help you check in, ask for things, and have a comfortable sleep.

Words

  • ሆቴል (Hotel) – Hotel

  • አልጋ (Alga) – Bed

  • ክፍል (Kifil) – Room

  • ቁልፍ (Qufl) – Key

  • ውኃ (Wuha) – Water

  • ሙቅ ውኃ (Muq wuha) – Hot water

  • ፎጣ (Fota) – Towel

  • በሪኛ (Berigna) – Guard / Doorman

Phrases

  • አልጋ መያዝ እፈልጋለሁ (Alga meyaz efelgalehu) – I want to book a room.

  • ክፍሌ የት ነው? (Kifile yet new?) – Where is my room?

  • ቁልፍ እፈልጋለሁ (Qufl efelgalehu) – I need the key.

  • የትኛው ፎቅ ነው? (Yegnaw foq new?) – Which floor is it?

  • ዋይፋይ አለ? (Wifi ale?) – Is there Wi-Fi?

  • የዋይፋይ የይለፍ ቃል ምንድን ነው? (Ye-wifi ye-yilef qal mindin new?) – What is the Wi-Fi password?

  • እባክሽ ፎጣ ስጪኝ (Ebakish fota siciwgn) – Please give me a towel.

  • የት ነው የምከፍለው? (Yet new yemikeflewi?) – Where do I pay?

4. Restaurant Phrases

Ethiopian food is delicious! You will eat a lot of Injera (flatbread) and Wot (stew). Use these words to order your food and drinks.

Words

  • ምግብ (Migib) – Food

  • በላ (Bela) – Eat

  • ጠጣ (Teta) – Drink

  • ዳቦ (Dabo) – Bread

  • ሥጋ (Siga) – Meat

  • ሻይ (Shay) – Tea

  • ቡና (Bunna) – Coffee

  • ቢራ (Bira) – Beer

Phrases

  • ምግብ እፈልጋለሁ (Migib efelgalehu) – I want food.

  • መენიው እባክህ (Menu ebakeh) – The menu, please.

  • ውኃ እፈልጋለሁ (Wuha efelgalehu) – I want water.

  • ይሄ ምንድን ነው? (Yihe mindin new?) – What is this?

  • አልጫ ይሁን (Alicha yihun) – Make it non-spicy.

  • ቃሪያ አትጨምር (Qaria atchemr) – Do not add green chili.

  • በጣም ይጣፍጣል (Betam yitafital) – It is very delicious.

  • ሂሳብ እባክህ (Hisab ebakeh) – The bill, please.

5. Shopping Phrases

Shopping in local markets like Merkato is fun. You will need to ask for prices and talk to the shopkeepers.

Words

  • ሱቅ (Suq) – Shop / Store

  • ብር (Birr) – Birr (Ethiopian money)

  • ዋጋ (Waga) – Price

  • ውድ (Widd) – Expensive

  • ርካሽ (Rikash) – Cheap

  • ልብስ (Libs) – Clothes

  • ጫማ (Chama) – Shoes

  • ከረጢት (Keretit) – Bag

Phrases

  • ይህ ስንት ነው? (Yih sint new?) – How much is this?

  • በጣም ውድ ነው (Betam widd new) – It is very expensive.

  • ዋጋ ቀንስ (Waga qenis) – Lower the price.

  • ሌላ ቀለም አለ? (Lela qelem ale?) – Is there another color?

  • ማየት እፈልጋለሁ (Mayet efelgalehu) – I want to look.

  • አልፈልግም (Alfelgim) – I do not want it.

  • ልግዛው (Ligzaw) – I will buy it.

  • ከረጢት አለህ? (Keretit aleh?) – Do you have a bag?

6. Emergency Phrases

Sometimes things go wrong. If you lose your way, feel sick, or need urgent help, use these safety phrases immediately.

Words

  • እርዳታ (Irdata) – Help

  • ፖሊስ (Polis) – Police

  • ዶክተር (Dokter) – Doctor

  • ሆስፒታል (Hospital) – Hospital

  • መድኃኒት (Medhanit) – Medicine

  • ፋርማሲ (Farmasi) – Pharmacy

  • ሌባ (Leba) – Thief

  • አደጋ (Adega) – Danger / Accident

Phrases

  • እባክህ እርዳኝ (Ebakeh erdagn) – Please help me. (to a man)

  • እባክሽ እርጂኝ (Ebakish erjign) – Please help me. (to a woman)

  • ታምሜአለሁ (Tammimealehu) – I am sick.

  • ሆስፒታል የት ነው? (Hospital yet new?) – Where is the hospital?

  • ጠፍቻለሁ (Teftchalehu) – I am lost.

  • ስልኬ ጠፋ (Silke tefa) – My phone is lost.

  • ፖሊስ ጥራ (Polis tira) – Call the police.

  • መድኃኒት ቤት የት ነው? (Medhanit bet yet new?) – Where is the pharmacy?

Leave a Reply