Amharic Shopping words and Phrases

In this lesson, you will learn the basics of Amharic phrases for shopping.

When you go to a shop, you can use the following words to get the shopkeeper’s attention, especially if they look busy or aren’t there:

• እዚህ ሱቅ (ezih suq) = shopkeeper, or clerk
• ሱቅ (suq) = shopkeeper
• ባለ ሱቅ (bale suq) = shopkeeper

It is not odd in Amharic to address someone as a shopkeeper or clerk.

Then, they will pop up from where they are and say, አቤት / Abiet = Yes. The conversation looks like the following:

• A: እዚህ ሱቅ = Shopkeeper
• B: አቤት = Yes?
• A: ዳቦ አለህ? Do you have any bread?
• B: አወ፣ አለኝ። ስንት ልስጥህ? Yes, I have. How much may I give you?
• A: አምስት ዳቦ ስጠኝ። Give me five loaves.
• B: እሽ፣ ይሄው። Okay, here you are.
• A: ስንት ብር ነው? How much is it?
• B: 50 ብር ነው። It’s 50 Birr.
• A: እሽ፣ እንካ። Okay, here you go.
• B: አመሰግናለሁ። Thank you.
• A: እኔም አመሰግናለሁ። Thank you as well.

Dialogue 2: Buying a Biscuit

• A: ባለ ሱቅ፣ Hi there (clerk/shopkeeper).
• B: አቤት, yes.
• A: ብስኩት አለህ? Do you have biscuits?
• B: አወ፣ አለኝ። ስንት ብስኩት ፈልገሽ ነው? Yeah, I have. How many biscuits do you want?
• A: አንድ ብስኩት ስጠኝ። Give me one biscuit.
• B: ክሬም ያለው ይሁንልሽ? Would you like it to be creamy?
• A: አይ፣ ክሬም የሌለው ነው የምፈልገው። No, I want creamless.
• B: እሽ፣ እንኪ። Okay, here you go.
• A: ዋጋው ስንት ነው? What is the price?
• B: ዋጋው 10 ብር ነው። The price is 10 birr.
• A: እሽ፣ ይሄው። Yeah, here you are.

Dialogue 3: Buying ስኳር (Sugar)

• A: ሱቅ፣ (Clerk)
• B: አቤት? Yes,
• A: ስኳር አለህንዴ? Do you have sugar?
• B: አዎ፣ ስንት ኪሎ ነው የምትፈልገው? Yes, how many kilos would you like? 
• A: በኪሎ ስንት ብር ነው? How much is it per kilo?
• B: ኪሎ 125 ብር ነው። It’s 125 birr.
• A: በጣም ተወደደ። እሽ ለማንኛውም፣ አንድ ኪሎ ስኳር ስጠኝ። It’s so expensive. Anyway, give me 1 kilo of sugar.
• B: ሳንቲሙን ወደ አካውንትህ ልላክልህ? Shall I send the coin to your account?
• A: አዎ፣ ትችያለሽ። Yes, you can.
• B: እሽ ጥሩ፣ አካውንትህን ንገረኝ። OK, tell me your account.
• A: 1000589387515
• B: በቃ ገንዘቡ ገብቶልሃል፣ ይሄው ደረሰኙን ተመልከተው። That’s it; you’ve got the money; just look at the receipt.
• A: አዎ፣ እሽ አመሰግናለሁ። Yeah, ok, thank you.

Maybe the shopkeepers say the following things during your visit:

1. ምን ልስጥህ? What can I give you?
2. ምን ፈልገህ ነው? What are you looking for?
3. ምን ልስጥሽ? What can I give you?
4. ምን ፈልገሽ ነው? What are you looking for?
5. ምን ላሳይሽ? What can I show you? etc.

You can ask if they have the thing you want by adding the word “አለህ” in the end. For example, if you want to buy “ጫማ,“ you can mention the item first and add the verb “አለህ?”. Example:

• ጫማ አለህ? Do you have shoes?
• ዘይት አለህ? Do you have oil?
• ስኳር አለህ? Do you have sugar?
• ዳቦ አለህ? Do you have bread?
• ሞባይል ካርድ አለህ? Do you have a mobile card?
• ኮት አለህ? Do you have a coat?
• ጃኬት አለህ? Do you have a jacket?

If they have the item you want, they say as follows:

• አዎ፣ አለኝ። Yes, I do.
• የትኛውን ነው የፈለከው? Which one do you want?
• የትኛውን ነው የፈለግሽው? Which one do you want?
• ስንት ልስጥህ? How much should I give you?
• ምን ያህል ነው የምትፈልገው? ወዘተ How much do you want?

If they don’t have the item you want, they say as follows:

• የለኝም። I don’t have.
• አይ፣ የለኝም። No, I haven’t
• አሁን የለኝም። I don’t have it at the moment.
• የለም Not available
• አልቋል It’s sold out.
• ጨርሳለሁ Currently sold out
• ለጊዜው የለኝም። I don’t have it currently.

If they have it, you can say, እሽ ስጠኝ። Alright, give it to me.

Example:

• Buyer: ሰላም ነው? ሞባይል ካርድ አለህ? Hello. Do you have airtime cards?
• Seller: አዎ፣ አለኝ። ባለ ስንት ብር ልስጥህ? Yes, I do. What value of card do you need?
• Buyer: ባለ ሃምሳ ብሩን ስጠኝ። Give me the one with 50 Birr, please.
• Seller: እሽ ይሄው። Sure, here you go.

In the next lesson, you will learn about asking the price and negotiating.