Amharic Lesson Recap - For Libby (March 9, 2026)

ክፍል 1: መግቢያ እና ሰላምታ (Part 1: Introduction & Greetings)

This section reviews the greetings and small talk we started with. It introduces the useful phrase “ደስ ብሎኛል” (I am happy).

Amharic (አማርኛ)	English Translation	Notes
እንደት አደርሽ፣ ሊቢ?	How did you spend the night / Good morning, Libby?	(familiar)
ደህና ነሽ?	Are you well / How are you?	(familiar)
ደህና አድሪያለሁ።	I am well. (Response to “How did you spend the night?”)
አንተስ እንደት ዋልክ?	And you, how did you spend the night?	(masculine)
ደህና ውያለሁ።	I am well. (Response to “How did you spend the night?”)	(F/M)
ፋጢማስ እንደት ናት?	How is Fatima?
ፋጢማ ደህና ናት፣ አሁን እየተሻላት ነው።	Fatima is fine, she is getting better now.
ኦህ፣ ደስ ይላል	Oh, that’s good / I am glad.	Lit: “It makes (me) happy.”
ደህና መሆኗን ስለሰማሁ ደስ ብሎኛል።	I am happy to hear that she is well.	ደስ ብሎኛል (däs blloññal) = I am happy.
በጣም አመሰግናለሁ፣ ሊቢ።	Thank you very much, Libby.

More examples with “ደስ ብሎኛል” (I am happy):
• ስላገኘሁሽ ደስ ብሎኛል። (I am happy that I met you.)
• ደህና እንደሆነች በመስማቴ ደስ ብሎኛል። (I am happy to hear that she is fine.)

Grammar Note: እንደ (like/as) vs እንዴት (how). Don’t confuse them!
• እንዴት ነሽ? = How are you?
• ደህና እንደሆነች ሰማሁ። = I heard that she is fine. (lit. “as she is fine”)

ገጽ 3

ክፍል 2: ዛሬ እንዴት ነሽ? (Part 2: How are you today?)

Here we learned how to ask and answer about basic physical states.

Amharic (አማርኛ)	English Translation	Notes
ዛሬ ደክሞሻል?	Are you tired today?	(feminine)
አልደከመኝም።	I am not tired.
እርቦሻል?	Are you hungry?	(feminine)
አልራበኝም።	I am not hungry.
ውሃ ጠምቶሻል?	Are you thirsty?	(feminine)
አልጠማኝም።	I am not thirsty.
ቡና እና ሻይ እየጠጣሁ ነው።	I am drinking coffee and tea.

Pattern to remember:
• ደከመኝ (däkkämäññ) = It tired me → አልደከመኝም (aldäkkämäññm) = It did not tire me
• ራበኝ (rabbäññ) = It hungered me → አልራበኝም (alrabbäññm) = It did not hunger me
• ጠማኝ (t’ammäññ) = It thirsted me → አልጠማኝም (alt’ammäññm) = It did not thirst me

ገጽ 4

ክፍል 3: አዳዲስ ቃላት (Part 3: New Vocabulary)

New words that came up during our conversation.

Amharic (አማርኛ)	English Translation	Example Sentence
አስቸጋሪ	difficult	ይህ ትምህርት አስቸጋሪ ነው። (This lesson is difficult.)
ረባሽ	trouble maker	ልጅቷ ረባሽ ናት። (The girl is a trouble maker.)
ህግ	rule / law	የ60/40 ህግ እንከተላለን። (We follow the 60/40 rule.)
ፈርቻለሁ	I am scared.	በሌሊት ፈርቻለሁ። (I am scared at night.)
ያስፈራል	It’s scary.	ይህ ፊልም ያስፈራል። (This movie is scary.)
አይዞሽ / አትፈሪ	Don’t worry / Don’t be scared.	አይዞሽ፣ እኔ እዚህ ነኝ። (Don’t worry, I am here.)

Verb Focus: መፍራት (mäfrat) – to be afraid

Form	Amharic	English
Past (I was scared)	ፈራሁ	färahu
Present (I am scared)	እፈራለሁ	efäralähu
Command (Don’t be scared – m)	አትፍራ	atfära
Command (Don’t be scared – f)	አትፈሪ	atfäri

ገጽ 5

ክፍል 4: የትምህርቱ ህግ (Part 4: The Rule of the Lesson)

We agreed on a rule to help you practice speaking more.

Amharic (አማርኛ)	English Translation	Notes
የ60/40 ህግ	The 60/40 rule
ተማሪ 60% ትናገራለሽ።	The student (you) will speak 60%.
አስተማሪ 40% ይናገራል	The teacher (I) will speak 40%.

Vocabulary related to teaching:

Amharic	English
ተማሪ	student
አስተማሪ	teacher
ትምህርት	lesson / education
መማር	to learn
ማስተማር	to teach

ገጽ 6

ክፍል 5: እንዳት… (መከልከል) (Part 5: Don’t… – Prohibition)

We learned how to tell someone not to do something using the prefix እንዳት (indät-).

Amharic (አማርኛ)	English Translation	Full Sentence Example
እንዳትፈሪ	Don’t be scared.	እባክሽ እንዳትፈሪ። (Please don’t be scared.)
እንዳትሄጂ	Don’t go.	ዛሬ ስራ እንዳትሄጂ። (Don’t go to work today.)
እንዳትመጪ/ጣ	Don’t come.	ነገ እንዳትመጣ። (Don’t come tomorrow.)
እንዳትናገሪ	Don’t speak/tell.	ለእናትህ እንዳትናገር። (Don’t tell your mother.)
እንዳታወራ	Don’t talk.	እንግሊዝኛ እንዳታወራ። (Don’t speak English.)

Positive Command (Do speak!)
• አማርኛ ብቻ ተናገር! (Speak only Amharic!)

Pattern:
• እንዳ + verb stem (Don’t)

Verb	Meaning	Don’t (f)	Don’t (m)
መሄድ	to go	እንዳትሄጂ	እንዳትሄድ
መምጣት	to come	እንዳትመጪ	እንዳትመጣ
መናገር	to speak	እንዳትናገሪ	እንዳትናገር

ገጽ 7

ክፍል 6: ስለ ወራት (Part 6: About Months)

We practiced talking about months in both the Ethiopian and Gregorian calendars.

የኢትዮጵያ ወራት (Ethiopian Months)

Amharic	English Equivalent (approx.)
መስከረም	Meskerem (September-October)
ጥቅምት	Tikimt (October-November)
ኅዳር	Hidar (November-December)
ታኅሣሥ	Tahsas (December-January)
ጥር	Tir (January-February)
የካቲት	Yekatit (February-March)
መጋቢት	Megabit (March-April)
ሚያዝያ	Miazia (April-May)
ግንቦት	Ginbot (May-June)
ሰኔ	Säne (June-July)
ሐምሌ	Hamle (July-August)
ነሐሴ	Nehase (August-September)
ጳጉሜን	Pagumen (The 13th month – 5/6 days)

ንግግራችን (Our Conversation)

Amharic (አማርኛ)	English Translation	Notes
ዛሬ ወሩ ማን ነው?	What month is it today?	Lit: “Today the month who is it?”
ዛሬ በናንተ የካቲት በኛ መጋቢት ነው።	Today is Yekatit in yours (calendar), March in ours.
ቀጣዩ ወር መጋቢት ነው።	Next month is March.
ባንተ ቀጣዩ ወር ማን ነው?	In your (calendar), what is next month?
ባንች ቀጣዩ ወር ሚዚያ ነው።	In yours, next month is Miazia.
የባለፈው ወር ማን ነበር?	What was last month?
በኛ ጥር ነበር።	In ours, it was Tir.
ዛሬ በእኛ የካቲት 30 ነው።	Today, in ours, it’s Yekatit 30.
በናንተ ማን ነው?	In yours, what is it?
በኛ መጋቢት ዘጠኝ ነው።	In ours, it’s March 9th.

Words that sound alike:

Word	Meaning	Example
ስኒ	cup	አንድ ሲኒ ቡና (one cup of coffee)
ሰኔ	11th month (June/July)	ሰኔ ላይ ዝናብ ይዘንባል። (It rains in Säne.)

Useful Month Phrases
• በዚህ ወር (this month)
• ባለፈው ወር (last month)
• በሚቀጥለው ወር (next month)
• በወር አመት (per month / monthly)

ገጽ 8-9

ክፍል 7: የምወደው ወር (Part 7: My Favorite Month)

We talked about our favorite months and why we like them.

Amharic (አማርኛ)	English Translation	Notes
የምትወጅው ወር ማን ነው?	What is your (f) favorite month?	From መውደድ (to like/love)
የምትወደው ወር ማን ነው?	What is your (m) favorite month?
እኔ የምወደው ወር ጥቅምት ነው።	My favorite month is Tikimt.
አንተ የምትወደው ወር ማን ነው?	What is your (m) favorite month?
እኔ የምወደው ወር ጥር ነው።	My favorite month is Tir.
ለምን?	Why?
ምክንያቱም ብዙ ስራ የለም።	Because there isn’t much work.
ጥር ላይ ቁጭ እላለሁ / አርፋለሁ።	In Tir, I rest.
እኔ ኦትምን (መኸር) ነው የምወደው።	I like autumn (Harvest season).
ምክንያቱም ብዙ ቀለም ያላቸው ቅጠሎች አሉ።	Because there are many colorful leaves.
ሰመር (ክረምት) ላይ ሁሉም አረንጓዴ ቀለም ናቸው።	In summer, they are all green.
ኦተምን ላይ ብዙ ቅጠሎች ቀለማቸውን ይቀይራሉ።	In autumn, many leaves change their color.
ብዙ ቅጠሎች ወደ ቀይ፣ ቢጫና ብርቱካናማ ቀለም ይቀየራሉ።	Many leaves change to red, yellow, and orange.

Grammar Question:

መቀየር እና መለወጥ ተመሳሳይ ናቸው?	Are መቀየር and መለወጥ the same?
አዎ፣ ተመሳሳይ ናቸው።	Yes, they are the same.

New Word: መኸር (mäxär) = Autumn / Harvest Season
• መኸር ማለት አዝመራ የምንሰበስብበት ጊዜ ነው። (Autumn means the time when we harvest crops.)
• እህሉ ይበስላል / ይደርሳል። (The grain becomes ripe.)

Seasons in Amharic:

Amharic	English
ፀደይ	Spring
ክረምት	Summer / Rainy season
መኸር	Autumn / Harvest
በጋ	Dry season / Winter

ገጽ 10-11

ክፍል 8: ፀደይ (Spring) & አበባዎች (Part 8: Spring & Flowers)

We talked about spring and the flowers in our countries.

Amharic (አማርኛ)	English Translation	Notes
ፀደይ የተባለበት ምክንያት ብዙ አደይ አበባ ስለሚበቅል ነው።	The reason it’s called “Tseday” (Spring) is because a lot of “adey abeba” grows.	Adey Abeba is a yellow daisy-like flower that blooms everywhere in Ethiopia during spring (Sept-Oct).
አደይ አበባ እወዳለሁ።	I like Adey Abeba.
እናንተ አገር አደይ አበባ አለ?	Does your country have Adey Abeba?
የለም፣ ሌላ አበባ ግን አለን።	No, but we have another flower.
ምን ይባላል?	What is it called?
Cherry blossom ይባላል።	It is called Cherry blossom.
ጃፓኖች ናቸው ከጦርነቱ በኋላ የሰጡን።	It was the Japanese who gave them to us after the war.

Grammar Note: Countries as Feminine

Amharic	English	Notes
አገርን በእንስት ፆታ ነው የምንጠራው።	We refer to a country using the feminine gender.	Example: ጃፓን ሰጠችን – Japan she gave us
ኦ በጣም ይገማል።	Oh, that’s very interesting.
ጃፓኖች ጥሩ ሰዎች ናቸው።	The Japanese are good people.

ገጽ 12

ክፍል 9: ስለ ጃፓን ማውራት (Part 9: Talking About Japan)

You told me what you think about Japan.

Amharic (አማርኛ)	English Translation	Notes
ስለጃፓን ምን ደስ የሚልሽ ነገር አለ?	What is something you like about Japan?
የጃፓን ገጠር ደስ ይለኛል።	I like the Japanese countryside.
ገጠር / ገበሬ / ገበሬዎች ደስ ይሉኛል።	I like the countryside/farmers.
ለምን?	Why?
ቆንጆ ይመስላል?	Does it seem beautiful?
ከዚህ በፊት ሄደሽ ነበር?	Have you been there before?
አይ፣ አልሄድኩም። ግን መሄድ እፈልጋለሁ።	No, I haven’t. But I want to go.
መቼ?	When?
አንድ ቀን። ወደፊት እሄዳለሁ።	One day. In the future, I will go.
ስለጃፓን ስታስቢ ቀድሞ ወደ አእምሮሽ የሚመጣው ነገር ምንድን ነው?	When you think of Japan, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
ወደ አእምሮየ የሚመጣው የጥሩ ሰዎች ምስል ነው።	What comes to my mind is an image of good people.

Vocabulary:
• ገጠር (gät’är) = countryside
• ገበሬ (gäbere) = farmer
• ገበሬዎች (gäberewoč) = farmers
• ቆንጆ (qonjo) = beautiful
• ወደፊት (wädäfit) = in the future
• አእምሮ (a’märo) = mind

ገጽ 13

ክፍል 10: ውይይት – ቻይና እና አሜሪካ (Part 10: Discussion – China & USA)

This was a longer discussion. Here are the main Amharic phrases used.

Amharic (አማርኛ)	English Translation
እኔ ስለጃፓኖች ሳስብ ቀድሞ ወደ አእምሮዬ የሚመጡት ቻይኖች ናቸው።	When I think of Japanese people, the first thing that comes to my mind is Chinese people.
ሁለቱንም አንድ ህዝቦች አድርጌ ነው የማስባቸው።	I tend to think of them as the same people.
ስለቻይኖች ሳስብ ደግሞ ሰይፍና ጦር የያዙ ተዋጊ ሰዎች ናቸው ወደ አእምሮዬ የሚመጡት።	When I think of Chinese people, what comes to mind are warrior people holding swords and spears.
ልጅ እያለሁ የእነሱን የአክሽን ፊልም አይቻለሁ።	When I was a child, I watched their action films.
ጨካኝና ርህራሄ የሌላቸው ነው የሚመስሉኝ።	They seem cruel and merciless to me.
እዚህ ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ የምንገዛቸው ቻይና ስሪት የሆኑ እቃዎች ፌክና ደካማ ናቸው።	The Chinese version products we buy here in Ethiopia are fake and weak/poor quality.
ገንዘብ አውጥተን ገዝተን ተገቢውን ግልጋሎት አናገኝም።	We spend money and buy them, but we don’t get the proper service.
እቃው ወዲያውኑ ይበላሻል።	The item breaks immediately.
እነሱ ገንዘብ ያውጣላቸው እንጅ ምንም ነገር ቢሆን ይሸጣሉ።	They just care about making money; they will sell anything.
የነሱ ምርቶች አለምን ሲቆጣጠሩት ሳይ ይጨንቀኛል።	It worries me to see their products taking over the world.
ከአሜሪካ የባሱ ጨካኞች ናቸው የሚመስሉኝ።	They seem even crueler than America to me.
የእኛ አገር ነጋደዎችም ናቸው ጥፋተኞቹ።	Our country’s businessmen are also guilty.
ስለዚህ ነው ኢትዮጵያ በማይረቡ ነገሮች የተሞላቸው።	That’s why Ethiopia is filled with useless things.

You shared a documentary:

ይሄ ዶክመንተሪ በጣም ጥሩ ነው።	This documentary is very good.
ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ስላሉ ቻይኖች የሚያትት ዶክመንተሪ ፊልም ነው።	It’s a documentary film about the Chinese in Ethiopia.
ደብረዝይት አካባቢ ፋብሪካ አላቸው።	They have a factory near Debre Zeit.
ልብስ / አልባሳት ነው የሚሰሩት።	They make clothes.
መንግስት በእርካሽ ዋጋ መሬት እንደሰጣቸው ተገነዘብኩ።	I realized the government gave them land cheaply.

Discussion questions:
• ቻይና ለእፍሪካ ከአሜሪካ የተሻለ ነገር አበርክታለች ብለሽ ታስቢያለሽ? (Do you think China has contributed something better to Africa than America has?)
• አንተስ ምን ታስባለህ? (What do you think?)
• እኔ አላውቅም። ግን አበርክታለች። (I don’t know. But she (China) has contributed.)
• አሜሪካኖች አንድን ነገር እንዴት እንደሚሰራ አያሳዩም። (Americans don’t show how to do something.)
• ቻይኖች ግን ያሳያሉ፣ እፍሪካውያኖችንም ያሰለጥናሉ ሲባል እሰማለሁ። (But I hear that the Chinese show (how to do things) and train Africans.)
• እኔ የአሜሪካ ህዝብ ለሰው አዛኝ ነው ብዬ አስባለሁ። (I think the American people are compassionate.)
• ፖለቲከኞቹን ግን አላምናቸውም። (But I don’t trust the politicians.)

You shared about your beliefs:

እኛ የይሖዋ ምሥክሮች ምርጫ ላይ አንሳተፍም።	We Jehovah’s Witnesses do not participate in elections.
አንመርጥም።	We don’t vote.
ምክንያቱም ምድር ላይ ሰላም ያሰፍናል ብለን የምናምነው መንግስት ሳይሆን አምላክን ነው።	Because it’s not the government we believe will bring peace on earth, but God.
ታክስ ትከፍላላችሁ አይደል?	You pay taxes, right?
አዎ፣ እንከፍላለን።	Yes, we pay.

ገጽ 14-15

ክፍል 11: ስንብት (Part 11: Farewell)

How we ended the lesson.

Amharic (አማርኛ)	English Translation	Notes
አሁን በጣም እቸኩላለሁ፣ ስብሰባ አለብኝ።	I’m in a hurry now, I have a meeting.
እሽ ችግር የለም፣ ጊዜሽን ወሰድኩብሽ ይቅርታ።	OK, no problem, sorry for taking your time.
እረ ምንም ችግር የለም፣ እኔ ስለቸኮልኩ ነው።	Oh no, it’s no problem at all, it’s because I’m in a hurry.
አመሰግናለሁ።	Thank you.
እሽ እኔም በጣም አመሰግናለሁ።	OK, thank you very much too.
ደህና እደር	Good night.	(To a female)
እሽ ደህና ዋይ፣ ሊቢ።	OK, goodbye, Libby.	(To a female)
መልካም ቀን፣ መልካም ስራ	Have a good day, have a good work.

Farewell Vocabulary:

Amharic	English	When to use
ደህና እደር	Good night (to f)	Evening/Night
ደህና ዋይ	Goodbye (to f)	Any time
ደህና ሁኚ	Stay well (to f)	Any time
ደህና ሁን	Stay well (to m)	Any time
ደህና ዋልክ?	How did you spend the night? (to m)	Morning greeting

ገጽ 16

ክፍል 12: የመለማመጃ ጥያቄዎች (Part 12: Practice Questions)

Practice what you learned by answering these questions in Amharic!

1. እንዴት ነሽ? (How are you?)
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2. ዛሬ ደክሞሻል? (Are you tired today?)
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3. ቡና ትወጃለሽ? (Do you like coffee?)
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4. ሻይ ጠጥተሻል? (Have you drunk tea?)
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5. “አስቸጋሪ” ማለት ምን ማለት ነው? (What does “አስቸጋሪ” mean?)
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6. አንቺ “ፈርቻለሁ” በእንግሊዝኛ እንዴት ትላለሽ? (How do you say “ፈርቻለሁ” in English?)
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7. ለተማሪህ “Don’t speak English” በአማርኛ እንዴት ትላለህ? (How do you say “Don’t speak English” in Amharic?)
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8. ለጓደኛህ “Don’t come tomorrow” እንዴት ትላለህ? (How do you say “Don’t come tomorrow”?)
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9. ዛሬ ወሩ ማን ነው? (What month is it today?)
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10. ቀጣዩ ወር ማን ነው? (What is next month?)
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11. አንቺ የምትወጅው ወር ማን ነው? (What is your favorite month?)
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12. ለምን ትወጂዋለሽ? (Why do you like it?)
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13. በአገርሽ “Cherry blossom” በአማርኛ ምን ይባላል? (What is “Cherry blossom” called in your country?)
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14. ስለ ጃፓን ምን ደስ ይልሻል? (What do you like about Japan?)
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15. ወደ ጃፓን ሄደሻል? (Have you been to Japan?)
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16. ቻይና ለኢትዮጵያ ምን ሰጥታለች? (What has China given to Ethiopia?)
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17. አሜሪካን ታምናለህ? (Do you trust America?)
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18. ታክስ ትከፍላለህ? (Do you pay taxes?)
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19. ለጓደኛህ “Good night” በአማርኛ እንዴት ትላለህ? (How do you say “Good night” to your friend?)
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20. “መልካም ቀን” ማለት ምን ማለት ነው? (What does “መልካም ቀን” mean?)
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ተጨማሪ ጥያቄዎች (Bonus Questions)

21. ስለ አንቺ ንገሪኝ። (Tell me about yourself.)
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22. አማርኛ ለምን ትማሪያለሽ? (Why are you learning Amharic?)
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23. የምትወጅው ምግብ ምንድን ነው? (What is your favorite food?)
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24. የምትወጅው ቀለም ምንድን ነው? (What is your favorite color?)
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25. እንግሊዝኛ ተናገሪ ወይስ አማርኛ? (Do you speak English or Amharic?)
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ገጽ 17-18

ማጠቃለያ (Conclusion)

Great job, Libby! You practiced a lot of Amharic in this lesson. Remember:

✅ Use ደስ ብሎኛል when you are happy about something
✅ Use እንዳት + verb when telling someone not to do something
✅ Months have different names in Ethiopian and Gregorian calendars
✅ Practice speaking 60% of the time in our next lesson!

Keep up the good work! ጥሩ ስራ!

See you next time. እስከ ቀጣዩ ስብሰባ ድረስ!

ገጽ 19