Asking the Price at a Restaurant

This lesson will teach you how to ask for prices at a restaurant in Amharic. You’ll learn essential phrases to order food, ask about the cost, and handle payments politely.

Here’s how to ask how much something costs in Amharic:

• • Example: ሽሮው ስንት ነው? (Shirow sint new?) = How much is the shiro?
  • ፍርፍሩ ስንት ነው? Frfru snt new? How much is the firfir? 
  • ቀይ ወጥ ስንት ብር ነው? Qey wet snt new? How much is the qeywet?
  • ቡና አለ? Buna ale? Do you have coffee?
  • ስንት ነው? Snt new? How much is it? 
• What is the total?
  • ባጠቃላይ ስንት ብር ነው? (batekalay sint birr new?) How much is it in total?
  • አጠቃላይ ስንት ነው? (atekalay sint new?) How much is it in total?
  • ሁሉም ስንት ነው? How much is it all? 

3. Handling Payments

Learn how to pay and respond to common questions:

• ሞባይል ባንኪንግ ትቀበላላችሁ? Do you accept mobile banking? 
• በሞባይል ባንኪንግ መክፈል እችላለሁ? Can I pay mobile banking? 
• ገንዘቡን ወደ ባንክ አካውንትህ ልላክልህ? Can I send the money to your bank account?
• በካርድ መክፈል እችላለሁ? (Bekard mekfel echilalehu?) Can I pay with a card?
• ካሽ ትቀበላላችሁ? (Kash tqebelalachhu?) Do you accept cash? 
• እሽ፣ ይሄው (eshi yihew.) Here you are.
• እሽ፣ እንካ / እንኪ (eshi enka / enki) Here you are / go. 

4. Cultural Tips

• Always use your right hand to eat, give, and receive, as the left hand is considered unclean in Ethiopian culture.
• Tipping is not mandatory but is appreciated. A small amount (e.g., 1-15 birr) is fine.
• In Ethiopia, it’s common to share meals from a communal plate. If you’re dining with others, expect to eat together.

Practice Dialogue

Let’s put it all together! Here’s a sample conversation at a restaurant:

Customer: ሰላም! ሽሮ አለ? (Selam! Shiro ale?)
Hello! Do you have shiro?

Waiter: አዎ፣ አለ። (Awo, ale.)
Yes, we do.

Customer: ስንት ነው? (Sint new?)
How much is it?

Waiter: ስልሳ ብር ነው። (Slsa bir new.)
It’s 60 birr.

Customer: እሽ አንድ ሽሮ ይሰራልኝ። (Eshi and shiro yseralgn.)
I would like one shiro. (Prepare for me one shiro, please.)

Waiter: እሺ። (Eshi.)
Okay. I’ll bring it right away.

1. Quiz
   1. How do you say “How much is this?” in Amharic?
   2. What does “በጠቅላላ ስንት ነው?” mean?
   3. What does “ሽሮ አለ?” mean?
   4. What does “አዎ፣ አለ።” mean?
   5. What does “አጠቃላይ?” mean?
   6. What does “አንድ ይሰራልኝ” mean?
   7. How would you say, “Do you serve/sell coffee?” in Amharic?

Conclusion

Now you know how to ask for prices and order food at a restaurant in Amharic! Practice these phrases, and you’ll be ready to enjoy Ethiopian cuisine like a local. In the next lesson, we’ll cover how to describe likes and deslikes in Amharic.