This is a list of the 500 most essential words for anyone starting their journey in learning Amharic. Building a strong vocabulary foundation with the most frequently used words is the key to understanding basic conversations and everyday communication.
Each word in this list is presented with its Amharic spelling, its English meaning, and a clear, easy-to-read transliteration. This transliteration is designed to help you pronounce the words correctly, even if you can’t read the Amharic script (Fidel) yet. This makes it an excellent resource for self-study and for those who are visually impaired and using text-to-speech software.
We’ve carefully checked and corrected all the words on this list to ensure they are accurate. By learning these 500 words, you’ll be well on your way to forming simple sentences and engaging in basic conversations, giving you a solid start in your Amharic learning journey.
500 Essential Amharic Words List
- መሆን (mehon) — to be
- እና (enna) — and
- ወደ (wede) — to
- የ (ye) — of
- አ (a) — a
- እኔ (ene) — I
- ውስጥ (wist) — in
- መያዝ (meyaz) — to have
- ያንን (yannin) — that
- እሱ (esu) — he
- አይደለም (aydelem) — not
- የእሱ (ye’esu) — his
- እሷ (eswa) — her
- እሱ (esu) — it
- አንቺ (anchi) — you (female)
- ከ (ke) — with
- ለ (le) — for
- ለመስራት (lemesrat) — to do
- እሷ (eswa) — she
- እንደ (ende) — as
- በ (be) — on
- ማለት (malet) — to say
- በ (be) — at
- እሱን (esun) — him
- ከ (ke) — from
- ግን (gin) — but
- እኔ (ene) — me
- የእኔ (ye’ene) — my
- ለመሄድ (lemehed) — to go
- እነሱ (enesu) — they
- ሁሉም (hulum) — all
- በ (be) — by
- ይህ (yih) — this
- አንድ (and) — one
- ውጭ (wich) — out
- ወደላይ (wedelay) — up
- ማወቅ (maweq) — to know
- ስለዚህ (silezih) — so
- አ (a) — an
- ለማየት (lemayet) — to see
- ሊሆን ይችላል (lihon yichilal) — could
- ወይም (weyem) — or
- እነሱን (enesun) — them
- ማግኘት (magnyet) — to get
- እኛ (egna) — we
- እንደ (ende) — like
- ለመምጣት (lememt’at) — to come
- ሰው (sew) — man
- ምንድን (mindin) — what
- መስራት (mesrat) — to make
- እዛ ላይ (eza lay) — there
- ስለ (sile) — about
- የትኛው (yetinyaw) — which
- የእነሱ (ye’enesu) — their
- ወደ (wede) — into
- ማሰብ (maseb) — to think
- መመልከት (memelket) — to look
- ከሆነ (kehone) — if
- ማን (man) — who
- መቼ (meche) — when
- መውሰድ (mewsed) — to take
- ጊዜ (gize) — time
- አይ (ay) — no
- ጀርባ (jerba) — back
- መቻል (mechal) — to can
- ፈቃደኛ መሆን (feqadegna mehon) — to will
- የእርስዎ (ye’irswo) — your (polite)
- ተጨማሪ (tet’emari) — more
- ከዚያ (keziya) — then
- ወደታች (wedetach) — down
- ጥሩ (t’iru) — good
- በላይ (belay) — over
- መንገር (menger) — to tell
- አሁን (ahun) — now
- እጅ (ij) — hand
- አንዳንድ (andand) — some
- መፈለግ (mefelek) — to want
- ልክ (lik) — just
- ብቻ (bicha) — only
- ከ (ke) — than
- መንገድ (menged) — way
- መስጠት (meset’et) — to give
- ሌላ (lela) — other
- ቀን (qen) — day
- ዓይን (ayn) — eye
- ከዚህ በፊት (kezih befit) — before
- መጠየቅ (met’eyeq) — to ask
- ማግኘት (magnyet) — to find
- ሁለት (hulet) — two
- ትንሽ (tinish) — little
- ረጅም (rejim) — long
- በጣም (bet’am) — very
- መሰማት (mesemat) — to feel
- ማንኛውም (manyawm) — any
- ነገር (neger) — thing
- ደግሞ (degmo) — too
- እዚህ (ezih) — here
- በጭራሽ (bechirash) — never
- መልቀቅ (melqeq) — to leave
- ሰው (sew) — person
- አሮጌ (aroge) — old
- ራስ (ras) — head
- መዞር (mezor) — to turn
- በድጋሚ (bidgami) — again
- በ (be) — through
- እንኳን (inkwan) — even
- ፊት (fit) — face
- ብዙ (bizu) — much
- ጠፍቷል (t’eftwal) — off
- እኛን (egnan) — us
- መጀመሪያ (mejemeriya) — first
- ቀኝ (qegn) — right
- የእኛ (ye’egna) — our
- እንዴት (indet) — how
- የት (yet) — where
- በኋላ (behwala) — after
- የሱ (yesu) — its
- ሴት (set) — woman
- ራቅ ብሎ (raq bilo) — away
- ሕይወት (hiwot) — life
- መሰለ (mesle) — to seem
- መጥራት (met’rat) — to call
- አሁንም (ahunim) — still
- መስማት (mesmat) — to hear
- ዓመት (amet) — year
- የራሱ (yerasi) — own
- መሥራት (mesrat) — to work
- ይገባል (yigebal) — should
- ቦታ (bota) — place
- ክፍል (kifl) — room
- ጥሩ (t’iru) — well
- መቆም (meqom) — to stand
- መሆን አለበት (mehon alebet) — to must
- ራሱ (rasu) — himself
- አካባቢ (akababi) — around
- በር (ber) — door
- ሊሆን ይችላል (lihon yichilal) — to might
- አንድ ነገር (and neger) — something
- መሞከር (memoker) — to try
- ማፍቀር (mafqer) — to love
- ቤት (bet) — house
- ሌሊት (lelit) — night
- ማስቀመጥ (masqemet) — to put
- ታላቅ (talaq) — great
- እንዲህ ያለ (indih yale) — such
- መጠበቅ (met’ebeq) — to keep
- መቀመጥ (meqemet) — to sit
- መጨረሻ (mecheresha) — last
- መጀመር (mejemer) — to begin
- ምክንያቱም (miknyatum) — because
- እነዚያ (eneziya) — those
- እነዚህ (enezih) — these
- ቃል (qal) — word
- መጠቀም (met’eqem) — to use
- ማስፈለግ (masfeleq) — to need
- መክፈት (mekfet) — to open
- መያዝ (meyaz) — to hold
- ሌላ (lela) — another
- እያለ (iyale) — while
- ብዙ (bizu) — most
- ማውራት (mawrat) — to talk
- መፍቀድ (mefqed) — to let
- በ (be) — upon
- ሩቅ (ruq) — far
- ያለ (yale) — without
- ቤት (bet) — home
- መፈገግ (mefegag) — to smile
- ሁልጊዜ (huligize) — always
- ድምፅ (dimts) — voice
- ልጅ (lij) — child
- አባት (abat) — father
- መራመድ (meramed) — to walk
- ወጣት (wet’at) — young
- ማለት (malet) — to mean
- ምንም (minim) — nothing
- መሮጥ (merot’) — to run
- ቢሆንም (bihonim) — though
- አፍታ (afta) — moment
- ላይ (lay) — against
- እናት (inat) — mother
- ተመሳሳይ (temesassai) — same
- ስም (sim) — name
- መናገር (menager) — to speak
- ብዙ (bizu) — many
- አእምሮ (aemiro) — mind
- ጥቂት (t’iqit) — few
- ማምጣት (mamt’at) — to bring
- ብርሃን (birhan) — light
- መዝጋት (mezgat) — to close
- ጎን (gon) — side
- መቼም (mechem) — ever
- መንቀሳቀስ (menqesaqes) — to move
- ሊሆን ይችላል (lihon yichilal) — to may
- ጓደኛ (gwadegna) — friend
- ሁሉም (hulum) — every
- ክንድ (kind) — arm
- ሶስት (sost) — three
- አንዴ (ande) — once
- ይበቃል (yibeqal) — enough
- መሆን (mehon) — to become
- ሴት ልጅ (set lij) — girl
- በታች (betach) — under
- አዲስ (adis) — new
- መጨረሻ (mecheresha) — end
- መኖር (menor) — to live
- እንዲሁም (indihum) — also
- ማገዝ (magez) — to help
- መካከል (mekakel) — between
- ዓለም (alem) — world
- መውደቅ (mewdeq) — to fall
- መጀመር (mejemer) — to start
- እያንዳንዱ (iyandandu) — each
- መቆየት (meqoyet) — to wait
- መመልከት (memelket) — to watch
- ማቆም (maqom) — to stop
- ማንኛውም ነገር (manyawm neger) — anything
- ሁለቱም (huletum) — both
- እግር (egr) — foot
- ክፍል (kifl) — part
- ትንሽ (tinish) — small
- እስከ (iske) — until
- በእርግጥ (be’irigit’) — really
- መልስ መስጠት (mels meset’et) — to answer
- ማሳየት (masayet) — to show
- ወንድ ልጅ (wend lij) — boy
- ራሷን (raswan) — herself
- መዋሸት (mewashet) — to lie
- እርግጠኛ (erigit’egna) — sure
- ኮርስ (kors) — course
- መከሰት (mekeset) — to happen
- ማመን (mamen) — to believe
- መመለስ (memeles) — to return
- ከኋላ (kehwala) — behind
- ነጥብ (net’ib) — point
- ቀጥሎ (qet’ilo) — next
- ገና (gena) — yet
- ልብ (lib) — heart
- ውሃ (wuha) — water
- አልሞ (almo) — almost
- ማዘጋጀት (mazegajet) — to set
- አካል (akal) — body
- ለምን (lemin) — why
- ማለፍ (malef) — to pass
- ጠዋት (t’ewat) — morning
- ሰዓት (se’at) — hour
- ድምፅ (dimts) — sound
- መገናኘት (megananyet) — to meet
- እግዚአብሔር (igziabher) — God
- ነጭ (nech’) — white
- ማስታወስ (mastawes) — to remember
- ደግ (deg) — kind
- ተስፋ ማድረግ (tesfa madreg) — to hope
- መድረስ (medres) — to reach
- መሞት (memot) — to die
- ከባድ (kebad) — hard
- መጥፎ (met’fo) — bad
- ግማሽ (gimash) — half
- መሳቅ (mesaq) — to laugh
- ቤተሰብ (beteseb) — family
- ከ (ke) — since
- ከፍተኛ (kafitenya) — high
- መጽሐፍ (mets’haf) — book
- ጉዳይ (guday) — matter
- እርምጃ (irmja) — step
- መቀየር (meqeyer) — to change
- ጥያቄ (t’iyaqe) — question
- በመላ (bemela) — across
- መረዳት (meredat) — to understand
- መከተል (meketel) — to follow
- አንድ ላይ (and lay) — together
- ሚስት (mist) — wife
- መሳብ (mesab) — to pull
- ጋር (gar) — along
- ጠረጴዛ (t’erepeza) — table
- መጫወት (mech’awet) — to play
- ማጣት (mat’at) — to lose
- ትልቅ (tiliq) — big
- ማልቀስ (malqes) — to cry
- ጥቁር (t’iqur) — black
- ፀጉር (ts’egur) — hair
- ማንበብ (manbeb) — to read
- ፊት (fit) — front
- መላክ (melak) — to send
- በጣም (bet’am) — quite
- መስበር (mesber) — to break
- እኔ ራሴ (ene rase) — myself
- ይሆናል (yihonal) — shall
- ቀድሞውኑ (qedimownu) — already
- ደቂቃ (deqiqa) — minute
- ጨለማ (ch’elema) — dark
- በቅርቡ (beqirbu) — soon
- አልጋ (alga) — bed
- ወደ (wede) — toward
- ሙሉ (mulu) — whole
- መኪና (mekina) — car
- መስኮት (meskot) — window
- መንቀጥቀጥ (menqetqet) — to shake
- ሌላ (lela) — else
- እረፍት (ereft) — rest
- ገንዘብ (genzeb) — money
- እውነታ (ewneta) — fact
- ወንድ ልጅ (wend lij) — son
- መጻፍ (metsaf) — to write
- እሳት (isat) — fire
- ሁለተኛ (huletenya) — second
- መቆየት (meqoyet) — to stay
- ማሰብ (maseb) — to wonder
- ጉዳይ (guday) — case
- ታሪክ (tarik) — story
- መስመር (mesmer) — line
- ማደግ (madeg) — to grow
- አየር (ayer) — air
- መመኘት (memegnet) — to wish
- ሐሳብ (hasab) — thought
- መነሳት (menesat) — to rise
- ቢያንስ (biyans) — least
- ሙሉ (mulu) — full
- መያዝ (meyaz) — to catch
- መምራት (memrat) — to lead
- ትልቅ (tiliq) — large
- መታየት (metayet) — to appear
- ሁሉም ነገር (hulum neger) — everything
- መንከባከብ (menkebakeb) — to care
- መሸከም (meshekem) — to carry
- ሞት (mot) — death
- መተኛት (metenyat) — to sleep
- መግደል (migdel) — to kill
- ሐሳብ (hasab) — idea
- መልስ መስጠት (mels meset’et) — to reply
- መልበስ (melbes) — to wear
- ግድግዳ (gidigida) — wall
- መንዳት (mendat) — to drive
- ቅርብ (qirib) — near
- መሳል (mesal) — to draw
- ትከሻ (tikesha) — shoulder
- ሳምንት (samint) — week
- ያለፈ (yalefe) — past
- ሞቷል (motwal) — dead
- ቀደም ብሎ (qedem bilo) — early
- መተከዝ (metekez) — to stare
- ብቻ (bicha) — alone
- ስሜት (simet) — sense
- አፍ (af) — mouth
- ይልቁንስ (yilquns) — rather
- መሸከም (meshekem) — to bear
- አራት (arat) — four
- መቀጠል (meqet’el) — to continue
- ዛፍ (zaf) — tree
- ወንድም (wendim) — brother
- ምክንያት (mikinyat) — reason
- ፈረስ (feres) — horse
- ሌሎች (leloch) — others
- ትዕዛዝ (t’izaz) — order
- ዕጣ (it’a) — lot
- አምስት (amist) — five
- መንካት (menkat) — to touch
- ዙር (zur) — round
- ጥልቀት (t’ilqet) — deep
- ደብዳቤ (debdabe) — letter
- ወ/ሮ (we/ro) — Miss
- ማሰብ (maseb) — to suppose
- ኃይል (hayil) — force
- ከተማ (ketema) — town
- መብላት (meblat) — to eat
- ግልጽ (gilits) — clear
- ማግባት (magbat) — to marry
- መወርወር (mewerwer) — to throw
- አገር (ager) — country
- አለ (ale) — present
- ውስጥ (wist) — inside
- ወለል (welel) — floor
- መክፈል (mekfel) — to pay
- ማንገላታት (mangelatat) — to nod
- ጣት (t’at) — finger
- መቆየት (meqoyet) — to remain
- እንባ (inba) — tear
- ጎዳና (godana) — street
- እመቤት (imebet) — lady
- ያነሰ (yanese) — less
- ፍርሃት (firhat) — fear
- አንድ ሰው (and sew) — someone
- ንግድ (nigid) — business
- ቻለ (chale) — able
- ወንበር (wenber) — chair
- መርሳት (mersat) — to forget
- መውሰድ (mewsed) — to pick
- መጠበቅ (met’ebeq) — to expect
- ቀይ (qey) — red
- ኃይል (hayil) — power
- ማየት (mayet) — to glance
- ምናልባት (minalbat) — perhaps
- አጭር (ach’ir) — short
- መሬት (meret) — ground
- እውነት (iwunet) — true
- ከንፈር (kenfer) — lip
- እውነተኛ (iwunetenya) — real
- መልበስ (melbes) — to dress
- ወር (wer) — month
- ማዳመጥ (madamet’) — to listen
- ዘግይቷል (zegiyitwal) — late
- ትምህርት ቤት (timihirt bet) — school
- ወይም (weyem) — either
- ማንን (manin) — whom
- ዝቅተኛ (ziqit’enya) — low
- በ (be) — among
- ባል (bal) — husband
- መጨመር (mechemer) — to add
- የተለየ (yeteleye) — different
- መጣል (met’al) — to drop
- መጠጣት (met’et’at) — to drink
- መማር (memar) — to learn
- በድንገት (bidinget) — suddenly
- ወረቀት (wereqet) — paper
- መሬት (meret) — land
- ዓይነት (ayinet) — sort
- ብዙ ጊዜ (bizu gize) — often
- ምሽት (mishit) — evening
- ከላይ (kelay) — above
- መቶ (meto) — hundred
- መወሰን (mewesen) — to decide
- ማስተዋል (mastewal) — to notice
- ሴት ልጅ (set lij) — daughter
- ቢሮ (biro) — office
- ብርድ (bird) — cold
- ምስል (misil) — figure
- መንገድ (menged) — road
- ስሜት (simet) — feeling
- መስቀል (mesqel) — to hang
- መቁረጥ (mequret) — to cut
- ቁጥር (qut’ir) — number
- ጥሩ (t’iru) — fine
- ከተማ (ketema) — city
- ማስገረም (masgerem) — to surprise
- ማሳደግ (masadeg) — to raise
- መሙላት (memulat) — to fill
- ብዙ (bizu) — several
- የማን (yeman) — whose
- ድሃ (diha) — poor
- የተወሰነ (yetewesene) — certain
- ዕቅድ (iqid) — plan
- ምናልባት (minalbat) — probably
- በፊት (befit) — ago
- ከላይ (kelay) — top
- ማድረግ (madreg) — to cause
- መግባት (megbat) — to enter
- ዝግጁ (zigiju) — ready
- ሰማያዊ (semayawi) — blue
- ውስጥ (wist) — within
- ራሳቸውን (rasachewin) — themselves
- ወደፊት (wede fit) — forward
- እህት (ihit) — sister
- ማውጣት (mawt’at) — to spend
- ግዛት (gizat) — state
- ይሁን እንጂ (yihun inji) — however
- መዋጋት (mewagat) — to fight
- ጠንካራ (t’enkara) — strong
- መሳም (mesam) — to kiss
- በ (be) — during
- ትንሽ (tinish) — bit
- ማስደሰት (masdeset) — to please
- ውጭ (wich) — outside
- እግር (egr) — leg
- ውድ (wud) — dear
- ደስተኛ (dest’enya) — happy
- ህልም (hilim) — dream
- ማስታወሻ (mastawesha) — note
- የተሳሳተ (yetesasate) — wrong
- መገንዘብ (megenzeb) — to realize
- ወለድ (weled) — interest
- ደም (dem) — blood
- በፍጥነት (beft’inet) — quickly
- ማብራራት (mabrarat) — to explain
- ነፋስ (nefas) — wind
- ሰው (sew) — human
- ጌታ (geta) — Lord
- መጋለብ (megaleb) — to ride
- መሸፈን (meshefen) — to cover
- መደገፍ (medegef) — to lean
- መፍቀድ (mefqed) — to allow
- አስር (asir) — ten
- ጥርጣሬ (t’irt’are) — doubt
- ሃያ (haya) — twenty
- ጌታዬ (getaye) — sir
- ቆንጆ (qonjo) — beautiful
- ጦርነት (t’ornet) — war
- ቆንጆ (qonjo) — pretty
- በዝግታ (bezgita) — slowly
- ሊሆን የሚችል (lihon yemichil) — possible
- ችግር (chigir) — trouble
- መጎብኘት (megobinyet) — to visit
- ዕድል (idil) — chance
- መግፋት (megifat) — to push
- ነፃ (netsa) — free
- ትንፋሽ (tinfash) — breath
- ቁራጭ (qurach) — piece
- ፀሐይ (tsehay) — sun
- እውነት (iwunet) — truth
- መድረስ (medres) — to arrive
- ማጤን (mat’en) — to consider
- ይሁን (yihun) — whether
