Language/Amharic/Vocabulary/Days-of-the-Week-and-Months
Amharic is one of the official languages of Ethiopia, and it has a unique writing system called fidel. In this lesson, we will be learning the days of the week and months in Amharic. By the end of this lesson, you will know how to say the days of the week and months in Amharic.
Days of the Week
The days of the week in Amharic are derived from the names of planets in the solar system. Here are the days of the week in Amharic:
| Amharic | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ሰኞ | "sänŏ" | Monday |
| ማክሰኞ | "makäsänŏ" | Tuesday |
| ረቡዕ | "räbu" | Wednesday |
| ሐሙስ | "hamus" | Thursday |
| ዓርብ | "arb" | Friday |
| ቅዳሜ | "kidamē" | Saturday |
| እሁድ | "i’hud" | Sunday |
Some interesting facts about the days of the week in Amharic:
- Ethiopian calendar has thirteen months, and each month has exactly 30 days, except for the 13th month (ግንቦት), which has five or six days depending on the year.
- In Ethiopia, the week starts on Sunday, not Monday.
Months
The months in Amharic are also unique, and they are different from the solar months in the Gregorian calendar. Here are the months in Amharic:
| Amharic | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| መስከረም | "maskäräm" | September |
| ጥቅምት | "tiqəmt" | October |
| ኅዳር | "hädär" | November |
| ታኅሳስ | "tahəsas" | December |
| ጥር | "ter" | January |
| የካቲት | "yäkatit" | February |
| መጋቢት | "mägabit" | March |
| ሚያዝያ | "miyazya" | April |
| ግንቦት | "ginbot" | May |
| ሰኔ | "säne" | June |
| ሀምሌ | "hamlē" | July |
| ነሃሴ | "nähassē" | August |
| ፓጎርካኤል | "pāgōrikā’ēl" | "Pagume" ('Intercalary month', five days or six in leap year, added to the end of the solar year) |
Some interesting facts about the months in Amharic:
- The Ethiopian calendar is based on the Coptic calendar, which in turn is based on the ancient Egyptian calendar.
- The first day of the year in the Ethiopian calendar is September 11th (or September 12th in a leap year).
Conclusion
In this lesson, we have learned the days of the week and months in Amharic, along with their pronunciation. The unique features of the Amharic calendar provide a glimpse into Ethiopian culture and traditions. Knowing these basics will help you communicate better with Amharic speakers and understand Ethiopian culture more.
Remember to practice saying the days of the week and months aloud to improve your pronunciation. In the next lesson, we will be learning about colors and shapes in Amharic.