In Amharic, we use the following words to express illness or feeling unwell. 

General terms for sickness:

• ታምሚያለሁ (Tammialehu) I’m feeling sick.
• እያመመኝ ነው። (Eyamemegn new.) I’m feeling unwell.
• አሞኛል። (Amognal.) I’m sick.
• ህመም እየተሰማኝ ነው። (Hmem eyetesemagn new.) I’m feeling sick. 
• ጥሩ ስሜት እየተሰማኝ አይደለም። (Tru smiet eyetesemagn aydelem.) I’m not feeling well.

Example sentences:

1. ታምሚያለሁ፣ ስለዚህ ዛሬ ስራ መሄድ አልችልም። (Tammialehu, slazih zarie sra mehed alchilim.) I’m feeling sick, so I can’t go to work today.
2. እያመመኝ ነው፣ ማረፍ አለብኝ። (Eyameemgn new, maref alebgn.) I’m feeling sick; I need to rest.
3. ዛሬ አሞኛል፣ ስለዚህ ወደ ሆስፒታል መሄድ አለብኝ። (Zarie amognal, slazeh wede hospital mehed alebign.)  I’m sick today, so I need to go to the hospital.

Specific Symptoms:

• ድካም እየተሰማኝ ነው። (dikami eyetesemagn new.) I’m feeling tired.
• ሆድ ቁርጠት (Hod Qurtet) Stomachache.
• ራስ ምታት (Ras mtat) Headache
• ከባድ የራስ ምታት አለብኝ (Kebad yeeras mtat alebign) I have a severe headache.

Example sentences:

• ዛሬ ምንም አልሰራሁም ግን ድካም እየተሰማኝ ነው። (Zarie mnm alserahum gn dikam eyetesemagn new.) I didn’t do nothing today, but I’m feeling tired.
• ሆዴን እየቆረጠኝ ነው፤ ምናልባት የተበከለ ምግብ በልቼ ይሆንዴ? (Hoden eyeqoretegn new, mnnalbat yetebekele migib belchie yhondie?) My stomach is hurting; maybe I ate contaminated food?
• ከባድ የራስ ምታት አለብኝ (Kebad yeeras mtat alebign) I have a severe headache.
• ዛሬ ጀርባየ ላይ የህመም ስሜት እየተሰማኝ ነው። (Zarie jerbaye ley yehmem smiet eyetesemagn new.) I’m feeling pain in my back today.

Sample dialogues:

Person A: ምነው? ደህና አይደለህምንዴ? What’s up? Are you okay?

Person B: ትንሽ እያየመመኝ ነው። I’m having a little pain.

Person A: ምንህን ነው የሚያምህ? Where does it hurt you?

Person B: ራሴን ነው የሚያመኝ። It is hurting my head.

Person A: ህመሙ መች ነው የጀመረህ? When did it start?

Person B: ሀሙስ ለት ነው የጀመረኝ። It was started Thursday.

Person A: መድሀኒት ወስደህበታል? Did you take any medicine for it?

Person B: አይ፣ አልወሰድኩበትም። No, I didn’t.

Person A: ሆድ ቁርጠት አለው? Does it have a stomach ache?

Person B: ትኩሳት ነው ያለው። But it has a fever.

Person A: አይዞህ ይሻልሃል። Take heart; you will get better.

Grammar Tip:

• አለብኝ (alebgn) I have
• ራስ ምታት አለብኝ። I have a headache.
  ሆድ ህመም አለብኝ። I have a stomachache.
• እየተሰማኝ ነው (eyetesemagn new) I’m feeling
• የህመም ስሜት እየተሰማኝ ነው። I am feeling sick.

When to Use These Phrases?

1. When you’re feeling unwell and need to tell someone.
2. When you’re visiting a doctor
3. When explaining why you can’t do something.
4. When someone asks how you’re feeling and you’re not well.

Quizzes:

1. How do you say ‘I have a stomachache’ in Amharic?
2. What is “Ras mtat” called in English?
3. What does “የህመም ስሜት እየተሰማኝ ነው” mean?

Homework:

• Write a short dialogue between a doctor and patient using 3 sickness phrases and 1 phrase from the likes/dislikes lesson.
  Example: ቡና እወድ ነበር ግን ዛሬ ሆደን እያመመኝ ነው። I like coffee, but today I have a stomachache.

Tags:

• #Amharic medical phrases
• #How to say stomachache in Amharic
• #Amharic sickness expressions
• #Amharic dialogue for beginners