Amharic Grammar: How ኛ Forms Numbers and Adjectives!

Amharic Grammar: How ኛ Forms Numbers and Adjectives!

‘ኛ’ (gna) is everywhere: in numbers, adjectives, and even when describing people and situations. Let’s dive right in!

First, ኛ helps us form ordinal numbers — like first, second, third, and so on. Here are some examples:

Ordinal numbers:
አንደኛ — First
ሁለተኛ — Second
ሶስተኛ — Third
አራተኛ — Fourth
አምስተኛ — Fifth
ስድስተኛ — Sixth
ሰባተኛ — Seventh
ስምንተኛ — Eighth
ዘጠነኛ — Ninth
አሥረኛ — Tenth
አሥራ ሁለተኛ — Twelfth
As you can see, every number is followed by ኛ to show its order or position.

Now, let’s see how ኛ is also used to create adjectives, describing qualities and conditions! In everyday Amharic, many adjectives that describe how something is also end with ኛ.
Let’s go through some useful ones:

ትክክለኛ — Correct
እውነተኛ — True

ሐሰተኛ ነብይ — False prophet

ከፍተኛ — High
ደስተኛ — Happy
አደገኛ — Dangerous
ዝቅተኛ — Low
መካከለኛ — Medium
መጠነኛ — Moderate
አነስተኛ — Small
የስምንተኛና አሥራ ሁለተኛ ክፍል ትምህርት — Eighth and Twelfth Grade Education
ሀቀኛ — Honest
ቁርጠኛ — Determined
ገለልተኛ — Neutral
ተንኮለኛ — Mischievous
ምቀኛ — Jealous
ቀማኛ — Greedy
ነገረኛ — Talkative

ወረኛ = Talkative
ትምህክተኛ = Stubborn
ጉረኛ = Boastful
ነውረኛ — Shameful
ሁነኛ — Capable
ጤነኛ — Healthy
እርግጠኛ — Sure
እድለኛ — Lucky
ዋነኛ — Main
ሰራተኛ — Worker
እግረኛ — Pedestrian
ፈቃደኛ — Willing
ህመምተኛ — Sick
ብቸኛ — Lonely
መደበኛ — Regular
You can use these adjectives every day when talking about things, people, feelings, and situations!

ኛ helps us in Amharic to create numbers, describe qualities, and talk about people!
It’s one of the most useful endings you’ll hear every day.

If you enjoyed this lesson, please subscribe to my YouTube channel for more real-life Amharic lessons, and tell me in the comments which ኛ word you liked most.

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See you next time!