In this lesson, you will learn the 4 cardinal directions in Amharic. Look at the following picture now.

So, in this lesson, you will learn:

• The 4 Amharic Cardinal directions
• Names of urban buildings and landmarks
• How to ask and answer questions about locations of places and buildings.

Read the following cardinal directions repeatedly.

1. ሰሜን (North)
   • ሰሜን ምስራቅ (Northeast)
   • ሰሜን ምእራብ (Northwest)
2. ምእራብ (West)
3. ምስራቅ (East)
4. ደቡብ (South)
   • ደቡብ ምእራብ (Southwest)
   • ደቡብ ምስራቅ (Southeast)

Below, you will see how to describe relative locations of cities in Ethiopia using cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west).

And the main preposition here is በስተ… you can also add በኩል after the cardinal directions.

1. ደሴ ከአዲስ አበባ በስተ ሰሜን በኩል ነው። Dessie is to the north of Addis Ababa.
2. ደምቢ ዶሎ ከናዝሬት በስተ ምዕራብ በኩል ነው። Dembi Dolo is to the west of Nazret.
3. ሞያሌ ከሻሸመኔ በስተ ደቡብ በኩል ነው። Moyale is to the south of Shashemene.
4. ጂጂጋ ከነቀምት በስተ ምስራቅ በኩል ነው። Jijiga is to the east of Nekemte.

You can replace ነው with ትገኛለች or ይገኛል to make it more natural.

1. ደሴ ከአዲስ አበባ በስተ ሰሜን ትገኛለች። Dessie is located to the north of Addis Ababa.
2. ደምቢ ዶሎ ከናዝሬት በስተ ምዕራብ በኩል ትገኛለች። Dembi Dolo is located west of Nazret.
3. ሞያሌ ከሻሸመኔ በስተ ደቡብ በኩል ትገኛለች። Moyale is located south of Shashemene.
4. ጂጂጋ ከነቀምት በስተ ምስራቅ በኩል ትገኛለች። Jijiga is located east of Nekemte.

Source: http://wuhid.org/index/270

Practice reading the sentences aloud, and try to visualize the locations on a map of Ethiopia. This will help you remember the vocabulary and understand the geography of the country better!

Exercise 1:

Exercise 2:

🏙️ Urban Landmarks & Natural Features in Amharic 🌍

Now you learn 55 common Amharic names of places like airports, markets, rivers, and mountains—so you can navigate with confidence!

Knowing the names of buildings, landmarks, and natural features is essential when exploring a new area or asking for directions.

1. ኤርፖርት = Airport
2. ባንክ = Bank
3. ህንፃ = Building
4. ቤት = House
5. ባስ ፌርማታ = Bus station
6. ባቡር ጣቢያ = Train station
7. ፖሊስ ጣቢያ = Police station
8. ቡና ቤት = Café
9. ምግብ ቤት = Restaurant
10. መስጅድ = Mosque
11. ቤተ ክርስቲያን = Church
12. ሃኪም ቤት = Hospital
13. ገበያ = Market
14. መድሃኒት ቤት = Pharmacy
15. ፖስታ ቤት = Post office
16. ሱቅ = Store
17. መናፈሻ = Park
18. ፋብሪካ = Factory
19. ድልድይ = Bridge
20. እርሻ = Farm
21. ሜዳ = Field
22. ጫካ = Forest
23. ሃይቅ = Lake
24. ተራራ = Mountain
25. ወንዝ = River
26. የት = Where
27. ሰሜን = North
28. ደቡብ = South
29. ምስራቅ = East
30. ምእራብ = West
31. ፊትለፊት = In front of
32. ጎን = Next to
33. መካከል = Between
34. ተሻግሮ / ማዶ = Across from
35. በስተ__ በኩል = On the side of__
36. በስተ__ አቅጣጫ = Towards __
37. ወደ __ አቅጣጫ = Towards __

How do I ask and answer questions about the locations of places and buildings in Amharic? Look at the following examples:

1. ወንዙ የት ነው? – Where is the river?
   ወንዙ ከጫካው አጠገብ ነው – The river is near the forest.
2. ገበያው የት ነው? – Where is the market?
   ገበያው በፖሊስ ጣቢያ እና በመስጅዱ መካከል ነው – The market is between the police station and the mosque.
3. ፖስታ ቤቱ የት ነው? – Where is the post office?
   ፖስታ ቤቱ ከሃኪም ቤቱ አጠገብ ነው – The post office is near the hospital.
4. ባቡር ጣቢያው የት ነው? – Where is the train station?
   ባቡር ጣቢያው ከመናፈሻው ፊትለፊት ነው – The train station is in front of the park.
5. ምግብ ቤቱ የት ነው? – Where is the restaurant?
6. ምግብ ቤቱ ከሆቴሉ ፊትለፊት ነው – The restaurant is across from the hotel.
7. ሬስቶራንቱ ከሆቴሉ ቀጥሎ ነው። The restaurant is next to the hotel.
8. ፓርኩ ከሐይቁ በስተሰሜን ይገኛል። The park is north of the lake.
9. ባንኩ በቤተክርስቲያኑ እና በአውቶቡስ ጣቢያው መካከል ነው። The bank is between the church and the bus station.
10. ገበያው ከድልድዩ በስተደቡብ ነው። The market is south of the bridge.
11. ካፌው ከመጻሕፍት መደብሩ ፊት ለፊት ነው። The café is in front of the bookstore.
12. ሜዳው ከእርሻው ፊት ለፊት ነው። The field is in front of the farm.

Read here more about Amharic prepositions:

1. What are prepositions?
2. Functions of prepositions
3. List of Amharic prepositions

Source: Amharic Familiarization Course pdf