In the previous lesson, we learned the following Amharic phrases that we use to introduce ourselves.

• እኔ ያዕቆብ እባላለሁ። (My name is Jacob.)
• ሀያ አምሥት (25) አመቴ ነው። (I am 25 years old.)
• ኢትዮጵያዊ ነኝ። (I am Ethiopian.)
• ሱቅ ውስጥ ነው የምሰራው። (I work at a shop.)

What You Will Learn in This Lesson

In this lesson, you will learn how to ask someone’s name in Amharic. You will also practice a sample dialogue between a teacher and a student to help you understand how to use these phrases in conversation. Additionally, you will complete quizzes to reinforce your understanding and homework to ensure you master this part of the lesson.

Remember: Be calm, take your time, and focus on improving your Amharic. There’s no need to rush!

So, by the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. Greet someone in Amharic.
2. Introduce yourself using simple sentences.
3. Ask others name,
4. Understand and respond to basic questions about your name and well-being.

To ask others names in Amharic, you can use the following phrases:

• ስምህ ማን ነው? Smh man, new? (What is your name?)
• ማን ነው ስምህ? Man new smh? (What is your name?)
• ያንተስ ስም ማነው? Yantes sm man new? And yours?

To tell your name, you can use the word ‘Ebalalehu’ at the end.

• አወል እባላለሁ። (Awol ebalalehu.) I am Awol.
• ስሜ አወል ይባላል። (Smie Awol ybalal.) My name is Awol.
• እኔ አወል ነኝ። (Enie Awol negn.) I am Awol.
• ስሜ አወል ነው። (Smie Awol new.) My name is Awol.

Sample Dialogue: Asking Someone’s Name

Here’s a conversation between a teacher and a student to help you practice:

• አስተማሪ:– ሰላም ነህ? ስምህ ማን ነው? Selam neh, smh man, new? (Hello, what is your name?)
• ተማሪ:- ሰላም ነኝ። ስሜ አወል ይባላል። Selam negn, smie Awol ybalal. (I am fine; my name is Awol.) 
• አስተማሪ:- ከየት ነው የመጣኸው? Keyet new yemetakhew? (Where did you come from?)
• ተማሪ:- ከኢትዮጵያ ነው የመጣሁት። KeEthiopia new yemetahut. (I came from Ethiopia.)
• አስተማሪ:- ምንድን ነው የምትሰራው? Mndn new yemtseraw? (What do you do for a living?)
• ተማሪ:- እኔ ተማሪ ነኝ። Enie temari negn. (I am a student.)
• አስተማሪ:- እሽ፣ ስላገኘሁህ ደስ ብሎኛል፣ አወል። Eshi, slagegnehuh des blognal Awol. (Okay, nice to meet you, Awol.) 
• ተማሪ:- እኔም ስላገኘሁህ ደስ ብሎኛል። Eniem slagegnehuh des blognal. (Nice to meet you too.)
• አስተማሪ:- እሽ፣ አሁን ትንሽ ቸኩያለሁ፣ ልሄድ ነው፣ ስለዚህ ነገ እንገናኝ፣ እሽ? Eshi, ahun tnsh chekuyalehu, lhied new, slezih nege engenagn, eshi? Okay, I’m in a bit of a hurry now; I’m about to go, so let’s meet tomorrow, okay?
• ተማሪ:- እሽ፣ ነገ ስንት ሰአት ላይ እንገናኝ? Eshi, nege snt seat lay engenagn? Okay, what time should we meet tomorrow?
• አስተማሪ:- ነገ ከምሽቱ ሶስት ሰአት ተኩል ላይ መገናኘት እንችላለን። Nege kemshtu sost seat tekul lay megenagnet enchilalen. We can meet tomorrow at half past three.
• ተማሪ:- እሽ፣ የነገ ሰዎች ይበለን። (Eshi, yenege sewoch ybelen.) Okay, may God say to us a people of tomorrow.)
• አስተማሪ:- አሚን እሽ ደህና እደር። (Amiin, eshi dehna eder.) Amen, okay, have a good night. 
• ተማሪ:- አሚን፣ ደህና እደር። (Amin, dehna eder.) Amen, have a good night. 
• አስተማሪ:- አሚን. (Amin.)

ክለሳ (Lesson Review)

What did you learn from today’s lesson? Let’s review it.

• ስለሰላምታ (Greetings)
• ስማችንን መናገርና የሰዎችን ስም መጠየቅ (Telling our names and asking other’s name)
• ከየት እንደመጡና ምን እንደሚሰሩ መጠየቅ (How to ask where they are from)
• ምን እንደሚሰሩ መጠየቅ (Asking their profession)
• ለሚቀጥለው ቀን ቀጠሮ መያዝ (Making an appointment)
• መልካም ምኞትን መግለፅ (Expressing good wishes)
• መሰነባበትን ወዘተ ተምረናል። (Farewell, etc..)

When you introduce yourself:

መጀመሪያ በሰላምታ ጀምር (Start with a Greeting)

1. አሰላሙ ዓለይኩም! (Aselamu aleykum!) (Fore Muslims)
2. ሰላም ነው (Selam new) Hello!
3. ታዲያስ! (Tadiyas!) – Hi there!

ራስህን አስተዋውቅ (Introduce Yourself)

1. ስሜ ___ ይባላል። (Sime ___ yibalal.) My name is ___.
2. ሙሐመድ እባላለሁ። (Muhammed ebalalehu.) I’m Muhammed.

ስማቸውን ጠይቅ (Ask for Their Name)

1. ስምህ ማን ነው? (Simeh man new?) What’s your name?
2. ስምህን ማወቅ እችላለሁ? (Simeh’n mawek echilalehu?) May I know your name?
3. ያንተስ ስም ማን ነው? (Yantes sime man new?) And you are?

ምሳሌ (Example):

• ታዲያስ! እኔ ሙሐመድ እባላለሁ። አንተስ ስምህ ማን ነው? Hi there! My name is Muhammed. And yours?
• ሰላም! ጆርጅ እባላለሁ። Hello! I’m George.

Different Ways to Respond When Asked for Your Name:

1. ___ነኝ።  = I’m ___.
2. ስሜ ___ ነው። = The name’s ___.
3. ስላገኘሁህ ደስ ብሎኛል፣ ስሜ ___ ነው። = Pleased to meet you, I’m ___.
4. ሰላም፣ ስሜ ___ ይባላል። = Hello, my name is ___.
5. ___ብለህ ልትጠራኝ ትችላለህ። = You can call me ___.

Quiz:

Now, it’s time to complete this quiz and test your knowledge! Quizzes are just as important as studying when learning a language. So, let’s get started! You can also share your results on social media.

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Homework Assignment: Practicing Amharic Conversations

Instructions:

For each of the following questions, write the correct Amharic phrases that would be used in real-life situations.

1️⃣ How do we introduce ourselves in Amharic? (እራሳችንን በአማርኛ የምናስተዋውቀው እንዴት ነው?) (Write at least 3 sentences, like your name, age, preferences, occupation, etc)

2️⃣ What do we say when we greet someone in Amharic? (በአማርኛ ሰላምታ ስናቀርብ ምንድን ነው የምንለው?) (Write at least 3 sentences for different times and genders.)

3️⃣ How do we say “nice to meet you” in Amharic? (በአማርኛ “ናይስ ቱ ሚት ዩ” ለማለት ምን እንላለን?)

4️⃣ How do we ask someone’s occupation in Amharic? (አንድ ሰው ምን እንደሚሰራ በአማርኛ እንዴት ነው የንጠይቀው?)

5️⃣ How do we respond when someone greets us in Amharic? (ሰዎች ሰላምታ ሲያቀርቡልን ምን ብለን ነው የምንመልስላቸው?)

6️⃣ What do we say when we farewell to someone in Amharic? (ሰዎችን ስንሰናበት ምንድን ነው የምንላቸው?)

7️⃣ How do we schedule an appointment for the next day in Amharic? (በቀጣይ ቀን ቀጠሮ መያዝ ስንፈልግ ምንድን ነው የምንለው?)

8️⃣ How do we express good wishes in Amharic? (መልካም ምኞታችንን የምንገልፀው እንዴት ነው?)

In this assignment, you will practice essential Amharic phrases related to greetings, introductions, and polite conversations. Answer the above questions in Amharic to reinforce your learning. Try to write your responses in full sentences. You can write your answers in Amharic script or phonetics. And after you finish this homework, please send it to me via Telegram or WhatsApp.

Tips for Success

1. Practice the dialogue aloud to improve your pronunciation.
2. Use the vocabulary from the previous lesson to create your own sentences.
3. Take your time and review the material as needed.
4. Learning a new language takes time and practice. Stay patient, and don’t rush. With consistent effort, you’ll improve your Amharic skills!