Learn Amharic Greetings: Amharic Conversation PDF

Learn Amharic Greetings: Amharic Conversation PDF

In Amharic, there are four types of greetings:
(በአማርኛ 4 አይነት ሰላምታዎች አሉ፦)

  1. Greeting for a male (ለወንድ የሚቀርብ የሰላምታ አይነት) – Used when greeting a man.
  2. Greeting for a female (ለሴት የሚቀርብ የሰላምታ አይነት) – Used when greeting a woman.
  3. Greeting for multiple people (ለብዙ ሰዎች የሚቀርብ የሰላምታ አይነት) – Used when greeting a group of two or more people.
  4. Greeting to show respect (ለእድሜ ባለጸጎች፣ ለሃይማኖት አባቶች፣ ለዳኞች፣ ለፕሮፌሰሮች ወዘተ) – Used when addressing elders, religious leaders, judges, professors, or other respected individuals.

Memorizing these greetings will help you greet others and respond easily in Amharic in no time!

For male: ለወንድ

  • ደህና ነህ? Dehna neh? Are you okay / good / well / fine?
  • እንዴት ነህ? Endet neh? How are you diong?
  • ሰላም ነህ? Selalm neh? Are you okay / good / well / fine?
  • እንደምን ነህ? Endemn nh? How are you doing?

For female: ለሴት

  • ደህና ነሽ? Dehna neh? Are you okay / good / well / fine?
  • እንዴት ነሽ? Endet neh? How are you diong?
  • ሰላም ነሽ? Selalm neh? Are you okay / good / well / fine?
  • እንደምን ነሽ? Endemn nh? How are you doing?

For respect: ለአክብሮት

  • ደህና ነዎት? Dehna newot? Are you okay / good / well / fine?
  • እንዴት ነዎት? Endet newot? How are you diong?
  • ሰላም ነዎት? Selalm newot? Are you okay / good / well / fine?
  • እንደምን ነዎት? Endemn newot? How are you doing?
  • እንደምን አሉ? Endemn alu? How are you doing?

For plural: ለብዙ ሰዎች፦

  • ደህና ናችሁ? Dehna nachhu? Are you okay / good / well / fine?
  • እንዴት ናችሁ? Endet nachhu? How are you diong?
  • ሰላም ናችሁ? Selalm nachhu? Are you okay / good / well / fine?
  • እንደምን አላችሁ? Endemn alachhu? How are you doing?
  • እንደምን ናችሁ? Endemn nachhu? How are you doing?

Using the “Be Verbs” in Amharic

You can use greetings like ደህና (Dehna), እንዴት (Endet), and ሰላም (Selam) for anyone, but you must adjust the “be verbs” based on the person you’re addressing. The be verbs are:

  • ነህ (neh) – Male singular
  • ነሽ (nesh) – Female singular
  • ነዎት (newot) – Formal/respect
  • ናችሁ (nachhu) – Plural

Responding to Greetings (ምላሽ)

Responses are very straightforward. You can use the same expressions from the greetings, but simply replace the “be verbs” with ነኝ (negn) or ነን (nen). Additionally, adjust your tone and change the punctuation from a question mark to a period at the end.

  • ነኝ (negn) – I am
  • ነን (nen) – We are

Examples of Responses:

  • ደህና ነኝ። (Dehna negn.) – I’m fine.
  • ሰላም ነኝ። (Selam negn.) – I’m good.
  • አለሁ። (Alehu.) – I am alive.

Also, the response for male, female and for respect are the same.

For plural responses:

  • ደህና ነን። (Dehna nen.) – We are fine.
  • ሰላም ነን። (Selam nen.) – We are good.
  • አለን። (Alen.) – We are alive.

Amharic Greetings dialogue for a male / female and responses:

A: እንዴት ነህ? Endet neh? How are you doing?

B: ደህና ነኝ። አንተስ እንዴት ነህ? Dehna negn. Antes endet neh? I am doing good. What about you? (አንተስ means, what about you?)

A: ደህና ነኝ አልሐምዱሊላህ። Dehna negn Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah, I am fine.

Muslims response with Alhamdulillah (አልሐምዱሊላህ.) in Ethiopia.


Note: Ethiopian Muslims often respond with Alhamdulillah (አልሐምዱሊላህ) in gratitude to God.

Christian Variation
Ethiopian Christians typically respond with Egziabhier ymesgen (እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን), which means “Thanks be to God.”

Cultural Note
Arab Christians often use Alhamdulillah, similar to Muslims. Historically, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians also used this expression for over 2,600 years. However, when the liturgical language changed to Ge’ez, the expression was replaced.

Amharic Greetings dialogue for a female and responses:

  • ደህና ነሽ? Dehna neh? How are you doing?
  • ሰላም ነኝ። አንችስ እንዴት ነሽ? Selam negn. Anchis endet nesh? I am doing fine. What about you?
  • ደህና ነኝ። Dehna negn. I am cool.

Amharic Greetings dialogue for a female and responses:

  • ደህና ናችሁ? Dehna nachhu? How are you all doing?
  • ሰላም ነን። እናንተስ እንዴት ናችሁ? Selam nen. Enantes endet nachhu? We’re fine. What about you all?
  • ደህና ነን። Dehna nen. We’re cool.

You may also hear people say the following expressions since they are very common: 

  • ሰላም፣ እንዴት ነህ? Selam, endet neh? Hi, how are you doing? (informal)
  • ሰላም ነኝ። Selam negn. I am fine.
  • አለህ? Aleh? Are you alive? (informal)
  • አለሁ። ሰላም ነው? Alehu. Selam new? I’m alive. How are you? 
  • አለን። Alen. We are alive.
  • አማን ነው፣ እንደት ነው? Aman new, endet new? Hey, how is it going? (informal)
  • አማን ነው። Aman enw. It’s good. (informal)
  • ጤና ይስጥልኝ Tena ystlgn. May God grant you good health. 
  • አብሮ ይስጥልኝ። Abro ystlgn. May God grant you good health too.
  • አለህልኝ? Alehlign? Are you alive for me? (informal)
  • አለሁልሽ። Alehulsh. I am alive for you. (informal)
    (The Fidel “ች, ሽ and ሻ” indicate women.)
  • ስራስ እንዴት ነው? Siras endet new? How is your work coming along? 
  • አምላክ ይመስገን ጥሩ ነው፣ እናንተስ ጋር እንዴት ነው? Amlak ymesgen, tru new. Enantes gar endet new?
    Thanks be to God, it’s good. What about yours? (Plural) 
  • አሪፍ ነው። Arif new. It’s cool. (informal)
  • ኑሮ እንዴት ይዞሻል? Nuro endet yzoshal? How is life treating you? 
  • ኑሮ ጥሩ ነው። Nuro tru new. Life is good.
  • አላማርርም። Alamarrm. I don’t complain.
  • ሚስትህና ልጆችህስ እንዴት ናቸው? Misth ena ljochihs endet nacew? How about your wife and kids? አልሐምዱሊላህ ሁሉም ደህና ናቸው። Alhamdulilah hulum dehna nachew. Alhamdulilah, all of them are fine. or Everyone is in good health.

 

Amharic lessons, Amharic course, አማርኛ ትምህርት

Amharic Greetings for Female Responses:
እንዴት ነሽ?

Endet neshi? 

How are you doing?

 

ደህና ነሽ?

Dehna nesh?

How are you?

 

 

ሰላም ነሽ?

Selam nesh?

Are you okay?

ደህና ነኝ። አንችስ እንዴት ነሽ? dehna negn. Anchis endet neshi? I am good. How about you?

 
ሰላም ነኝ። አንችስ እንዴት ነሽ?

selam negn. Anchis endet neshi?

I am fine. How about you?

አለሁ። ሰላም ነው?

Alehu. Selam new?

I’m alive. Are you fine?
Or

አለሁልህ።

Alehulh.

I am alive for you. 

(The Fidel “ህ,ል”indicates male.)
እኔም ደህና ነኝ አልሐምዱሊላህ። Enem dehna negn Alhamdulillah.

Alhamdulillah I am fine too. (The “ም” Fidel means “too”.)

 
ደህና ነኝ።

Dehna negn.

I am good.

አለን። Alen. We are alive.  

(It is common in the Amharic speaking culture to speak like more than two peoples.)
 
         

Amharic Greetings for Plural

Amharic Greetings for Plural Responses:
እንዴት ናችሁ?

Endet nachihu?

How are you doing?

ደህና ናችሁ?

Dehna nachihu?

Are you fine?

ሰላም ናችሁ?

Selam nachihu?

Are you okay?

እንደምን አላችሁ?

Endmen alachihu?

How are you doing?

     How do you do?

እንደምን ናችሁ?

Endmen nachihu?

ደህና ነን። dehna nen. We are good.

ደህና ነን። Betam dehna nen. We are very good.

   ሰላም ነን። selam nen። We are fine.

አለን። alen. we are alive. 

አምላክ ይመስገን Amlak ymesgen። Thank God

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና ነን። Alhamdulilah dehna nen. Alhamdulillah we are fine.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና ነን። Egziabhier ymesgen dehna nen. Thank God we are fine.

ይመስገን ymesgen. Thank God.

አናማርርም Anamarrm. we don’t complain.

Formal Amharic Greetings:

In Amharic, we use the pronouns “Erswo, Ersachew and Antu” for old men and women. Additionally, if the person we are talking to or referring to holds a respectable profession, we still address them as “Erswo, Ersachew, or Antu,” regardless of their age.

Formal Amharic Greetings: Response
·      እንዴት ነዎት? Endet newot? How are you doing?

·      ደህና ነዎት? Dehna newot? How are you?

·      ሰላም ነዎት? Selam newot? Are you okay?

·      ጤና ይስጥልኝ Tena ystlgn. How do you do?

      ደህና ነኝ። dehna negn. I am good.

ሰላም ነኝ። selam negn. I am fine.

አምላክ ይመስገን Amlak ymesgen. Thank God

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና ነኝ። Alhamdulilah dehna negn. Alhamdulillah I am fine.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና ነኝ። Egziabhier ymesgen dehna negn. Thank God I’m fine.

ይመስገን ymesgen. Thank God

 

For example, we don’t call an old woman “Anche”, rather we call her Antu. It is the same for the old man, too. Addressing old women as “anch” and male elders as “ante” is seen as a shame in Amharic speaking communities. But this does not include our mother and father. We call only strangers like that. (Respect for family was more important as I think. How can a person have respect for strangers without respecting his family first?)

 

If the person is not even old by age, but if he is a very respectable person, we call him “Antu or erswo” in Amharic. For example, we do not call Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) “አንተ / Ante” but rather we call him “Antu, or erswo”. Also, we call prime ministers, presidents, ministers, judges etc… “Antu or erswo.”

Informal Greetings in Amharic       Responses
·      አላችሁ? Alachihu? Are you alive? (For plural)

·      አለህ? Aleh? Are you alive? (For male)

·      አለሽ? Alesh? Are you alive? (For female)

·      ሰላም Selam Hello

·      ታዲያስ Tadias Hi 

·      እ E So, (What’s up)

·      ፒስ ነው? Peace new? Are you fine?

·      ደህና ነሽ ኣ? Are you okay? (For female)

·      ደህና ነህ ኣ? Are you okay? (For male)

·      ሰላም ነህ ኣ? How are you? (For male)

·      ሰላም ነሽ ኣ? How are you? (For female)

  አለን Alen We are alive (አለን means ደህና ነኝ or ደህና ነን ደህና ነኝ Dehna negn. I’m good.)

አለሁልህ Alehulh I’m alive for you.

ፒስ ነው peace new. I’m fine.

ሰላም ነው? Selam new? Hi

አለን Alen We are alive.

ፒስ ነው Peace new? Are you fine? 

አለን Alen (We are alive.)

አለንልህ Alenlh (We are alive for you.)  (For male)

አለንልሽ Alenlsh (We are alive for you.) (For female)

Most of the time “Alen”. በአማርኛ ቋንቋ አንድ ሰው ራሱን “እኛ” እያለ መጥራት የተለመደ ነው።

 

In the upcoming video, we’ll learn how to exchange greetings at night, morning, and evening. So, remember to subscribe to my channel.

In the next article, we’ll learn how to exchange greetings at night, morning, and evening.
Greetings in Amharic for beginners Part 2:  
ጧት ላይ የሚቀርብ ሰላምታ (At the morning) Response:
 

For male

 ·      እንደት አደርክ? Endet aderk? Good morning.

·      ደህና አደርክ? Dehna aderk? Good morning.

·      ደህና አድረሃል? Dehna adrehal? Good morning.

·      ሰላም አደርክ? Selam aderk? Good morning.

 ደህና አድሪያለሁ።

Dehna adrialehu. 

I’m fine.

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና አድሪያለሁ። Alhamdulila, dehna adrialehu. Alhamdulillah I have a good night.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና አድሪያለሁ።

Egziabhier ymesgen, dehna adrialehu.

Thank God I’m fine.
For female ·      እንደት አደርሽ? Endet adersh? = Good morning.

·      ደህና አደርሽ? Dehna adersh? = Good morning.

·      ደህና አድረሻል? Dehan adreshal? = Good morning.

·      ሰላም አደርሽ? Selam adersh? Good morning.

 ደህና አድሪያለሁ።

Dehna adrialehu. 

I have a good night.

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና አድሪያለሁ። Alhamdulila, dehna adrialehu. Alhamdulillah I have a good night.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና አድሪያለሁ።

Egziabhier ymesgen, dehna adrialehu.

Thank God I’m fine.
For plural ·      እንደት አደራችሁ? Endet aderachihu? Good morning.

·      ደህና አደራችሁ? Dehan aderachihu? Good morning.

·      ደህና አድራችኋል? Dehna adrachihual? Good morning.

·      ሰላም አደራችሁ? Selam aderachihu? Good morning.

 ደህና አድረናል አልሐምዱሊላህ። Alhamdulillah we have a good night.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና አድረናል።

Thanks to God, we have a good night.

 
For formal ·      እንደት አደሩ? Endet aderu? Good morning.

·      ደህና አደሩ? Dehna aderu? Good morning.

·      ደህና አድረዋል? Dehna adrewal? Good morning.

·      ሰላም አደሩ? Selam aderu? Good morning.

·      ሰላም አድረዋል? Selam adrewal? Good morning.

 ደህና አድሪያለሁ።

I have a good night.

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና አድሪያለሁ። Alhamdulillah, dehna adrialehu. Alhamdulillah I have a good night.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና አድሪያለሁ።

Egziabhier ymesgen, dehna adrialehu.

Thank God I’m fine.

እንደምን አደራችሁ ተማሪዎች? Endemn aderachihu temariwoch? Good morning students?

እንደምን አደሩ መምህር? Endemn aderu memhr? Good morning teacher? 

ከሰአት በኋላ የሚቀርብ ሰላምታ (At the afternoon)  
For male ·      እንደት ዋልክ? Endet walk? Good afternoon.

·      ደህና ዋልክ? Dehna walk? Good afternoon.

·      ደህና ውለሃል? Dehna wulehal? Good afternoon.

·      ሰላም ዋልክ? Selam walk? Good afternoon.

 ደህና ውያለሁ።

Dehna wuyalehu.

I have a good day.

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና ውያለሁ። Alhamdulillah dehna wuyalehu. Alhamdulillah I have a good day.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና ውያለሁ።

Egziabhier ymesgen, dehna wuyalehu.  

Thank God I’m fine.
For female ·      እንደት ዋልሽ? Endet walsh? Good afternoon.

·      ደህና ዋልሽ? Dehna walsh? Good afternoon.

·      ደህና ውለሻል? Dehna wuleshal? Good afternoon.

·      ሰላም ዋልሽ? Selam walsh? Good afternoon.

 ደህና ውያለሁ።

Dehna wuyalehu.

I have a good day.

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና ውያለሁ። Alhamdulillah dehna wuyalehu. Alhamdulillah I have a good day.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና ውያለሁ።

Egziabhier ymesgen, dehna wuyalehu.  

Thank God I’m fine.
For plural ·      እንደት ዋላችሁ? Endet walachihu? Good afternoon.

 

·      ደህና ዋላችሁ? Dehna walachihu? Good afternoon.

 

·      ደህና ውላችኋል? Dehna wulachihual? Good afternoon.

 

·      ሰላም ዋላችሁ? Selam walachihu? Good afternoon.

 ደህና ውለናል።

Dehna wulenal.

We have a good day.

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና ውለናል።Alhamdulillah dehna wulenal. Alhamdulillah we have a good day.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና ውለናል።

Egziabhier ymesgen, dehna wulenal.  

Thank God we have a good day.
For formal ·      እንደት ዋሉ? Endet walu? Good afternoon.

·      ደህና ዋሉ? Dehna walu? Good afternoon.

·      ደህና ውለዋል? Dehna wulewal? Good afternoon.

·      ሰላም ዋሉ? Selam walu? Good afternoon.

 ደህና ውያለሁ።

Dehna wuyalehu.

I have a good day.

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና ውያለሁ። Alhamdulillah dehna wuyalehu. Alhamdulillah I have a good day.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና ውያለሁ።

Egziabhier ymesgen, dehna wuyalehu.  

Thank God we have a good day.
      ማታ ላይ የሚቀርብ የሰላምታ አይነት (At night)  
For male ·      እንደት አመሸህ? Endet amesheh? Good evening.

 

·      ደህና አመሸህ? Dehna amesheh? Good evening.

 

 

·      ደህና አምሽተሃል? Dehna amshtehal? Good evening.

 

·      ሰላም አመሸህ? Selam amesheh? Good evening.

 ደህና አምሽቻለሁ።

Dehna amshichalehu.

I have a good evening.

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና አምሽቻለሁ።

Alhamdulillah dehna amshichalehu.

Alhamdulillah I have a good evening.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና አምሽቻለሁ።

Egziabhier ymesgen, dehna amshichalehu.  

Thank God I have a good evening.
For female ·      እንደት አመሸሽ? Endet ameshesh? Good evening.

·      ደህና አመሸሽ? Dehna ameshesh? Good evening.

·      ደህና አምሽተሻል? Dehna amshteshal? Good evening.

·      ሰላም አመሸሽ? Selam ameshesh? Good evening.

 ደህና አምሽቻለሁ።

Dehna amshichalehu.

I have a good evening.

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና አምሽቻለሁ።

Alhamdulillah dehna amshichalehu.

Alhamdulillah I have a good evening.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና አምሽቻለሁ።

Egziabhier ymesgen, dehna amshichalehu.  

Thank God I have a good evening.
For plural ·      እንደት አመሻችሁ? Endet ameshachihu? Good evening.

·      ደህና አመሻችሁ? Dehna ameshachihu? Good evening.

·      ደህና አምሽታችኋል? Dehna amshtachihual? Good evening.

·      ሰላም አመሻችሁ? Selam ameshachihu? Good evening.

 ደህና አምሽተናል።

Dehna amshitenal.

I have a good evening.

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና አምሽተናል።

Alhamdulillah dehna amshitenal.

Alhamdulillah I have a good evening.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና አምሽተናል።

Egziabhier ymesgen, dehna amshitenal.  

Thank God I have a good evening.
For formal ·      እንደት አመሹ? Endet ameshu? Good evening.

·      ደህና አመሹ? Dehna ameshu? Good evening.

·      ደህና አምሽተዋል? Dehna amshtewal? Good evening.

·      ሰላም አመሹ? Selam ameshu? Good evening.

 ደህና አምሽቻለሁ።

Dehna amshichalehu.

I have a good evening.

አልሐምዱሊላህ ደህና አምሽቻለሁ።

Alhamdulillah dehna amshichalehu.

Alhamdulillah I have a good evening.

እግዚአብሄር ይመስገን ደህና አምሽቻለሁ።

Egziabhier ymesgen, dehna amshichalehu.  

Thank God I have a good evening.

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01.Amharic Phrasebook by ciprilisticus

AMHARIC_WORD_SENSE_DISAMBIG… by Alex Feigin

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