This lesson will help you understand the common Amharic greetings for “welcome” and how to respond to them.
After today’s lesson, you will never get confused again 😃 when someone says “Welcome” in Amharic; and you’ll know exactly how to respond politely!
👋 Welcoming Someone in Amharic
The word for “Welcome” is:
እንኳን ደህና መጣህ (enkuan dehna metah).
But the ending changes depending on who you are speaking to:
👨 Male → እንኳን ደህና መጣህ (enkuan dehna metah)
👩 Female → እንኳን ደህና መጣሽ (enkuan dehna metash)
👥 Group → እንኳን ደህና መጣችሁ (enkuan dehna metachihu)
🤝 Formal / Respectful → እንኳን ደህና መጡ (enkuan dehna metu)
All means: Welcome!
Responding to a Welcome
When someone welcomes you saying እንኳን ደህና መጣህ/ሽ/መጡ፣ or ችህ, you politely say:
👉 እንኳን ደህና ቆየኸኝ/ሽኝ,ዩኝ,ያችሁኝ/ን (enkuan dehna qoyekhegn)
Meaning: It’s good that you have stayed well for me.
Again, the ending changes based on the person:
👨 To a male → እንኳን ደህና ቆየኸኝ (enkuan dehna qoyekhegn)
👩 To a female → እንኳን ደህና ቆየሽኝ (enkuan dehna qoyeshign)
👥 To a group → እንኳን ደህና ቆያችሁኝ (enkuan dehna qoyachihugn)
🤝 Formal → እንኳን ደህና ቆዩኝ (enkuan dehna qoyugn)
👥➡👥 Group to group → እንኳን ደህና ቆያችሁን! (enkuan dehna qoyachihun!)
All means: It’s good that you have stayed well for me/us!
🗣 Example Dialogue
Person A (welcoming a male friend):
👉 እንኳን ደህና መጣህ! (Enkuan dehna metah!)
= Welcome!
Person B (responding):
👉 እንኳን ደህና ቆየኸኝ! (Enkuan dehna qoyekhegn!)
= It’s good that you have stayed well for me!
Person A (welcoming a group):
👉 እንኳን ደህና መጣችሁ! (Enkuan dehna metachihu!)
= Welcome!
Person B (responding as a group):
👉 እንኳን ደህና ቆያችሁን! (Enkuan dehna qoyachihun!)
= It’s good that you have stayed well for us!
🎯 Practice Tip
Try saying these greetings out loud 2–3 times today. Next time someone welcomes you in Amharic, you’ll respond with confidence!
👉 In the next lesson, we’ll learn how to say “Goodbye” in different situations. Stay tuned! 🚀
