Language/Amharic/Vocabulary/How-to-Say-Hello-and-Greetings
ጤና ይስጥልኝ! Amharic Learners! 😃
➡ Do you want to learn how to say “Hello” in Amharic?
Greetings are an important part of any language because they allow you to connect and communicate with others. If you’re planning a trip to the country or are trying to learn Amharic, keep reading to discover some of the most important greetings.
Greeting plays a critical role in speeding up your assimilation to the community. Even though the way Ethiopians greet each other might differ slightly from region to region or place to place, it is always an important part of social interaction. Sometimes the greeting may extend to asking after families, cattle, sheep, crop yield, weather conditions, etc. It is also common, particularly in the countryside, to greet someone who you don’t know.
While greeting and taking leave, bowing, shaking hands and removing hats are common. Kissing one another’s cheeks is also practiced, especially upon meeting after an extended period of time. Using both hands when shaking hands with elders and officials indicates respect (the left hand to support the right forearm OR put both hands on the elder’s hand). Young people in Ethiopia will typically greet each other by shaking hands and bumping shoulders.
Raising the eyebrows is sometimes used to greet someone in a situation in which someone doesn’t want or is unable to talk, or in a situation in which the two people are very familiar with one another.
Upon the entry or arrival of elders or officials, it is customary to stand and say, nor (signifying welcome and respect). The person arriving would respond, በግዜር bägzer (lit. “by God”). Not leaving a seat for respected or elder people shows disrespect. Also, putting hands in your pockets while talking with elders shows disrespect.
Greetings can be replied to by saying እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን ïgziabher yïmmäsgän. A person will be happy if you call her or him by name while greeting.
Let’s get started! 🤗
With the completion of this lesson, consider investigating these related pages: Time, Geometry, Time Words & Fruits.
Greetings[edit | edit source]
English | Amharic script | Latin script |
---|---|---|
general greeting | ጤና ይስጥልኝ | teanastëllën |
informal greeting | ታዲያስ | tadiyaas |
informal greeting | ሰላም | selam |
morning greeting (respectful) | አንደምን፡አደሩ | indemin adderu |
morning greeting, spoken to a man | እንደምን፡አደርክ | indemin adderk |
morning greeting, spoken to a woman | እንደምን፡አደርሽ | indemin addersh |
indet adderk: morning greeting, spoken to a man | እንዴት፡አደርክ? | indet adderk |
morning greeting, spoken to a woman | እንዴት፡አደርሽ? | indet addersh |
afternoon greeting (respectful) | አንደምን፡ዋሉ? | indemin walu |
afternoon greeting, spoken to a man | እንደምን፡ | indemin walk |
afternoon greeting, spoken to a woman | እንደምን፡ዋልሸ? | indemin walsh |
afternoon greeting, spoken to a man | እንዴት፡ዋልክ? | indet walk |
afternoon greeting, spoken to a woman | እንዴት፡ዋልሸ? | indet walsh |
evening greeting (respectful) | አንደምን፡አመሹ | indemin ameshu |
evening greeting, spoken to a man | አንደምን፡አመሸህ? | indemin amesheh |
evening greeting, spoken to a woman | አንደምን፡አመሸሸ? | indemin ameshesh |
evening greeting, spoken to a man | እንዴት፡አመሸህ? | indet amesheh |
evening greeting, spoken to a woman | እንዴት፡አመሸሸ? | indet ameshesh |
how are you? spoken to a man | እንደምን፡አለህ፧ | indemin alleh |
how are you? spoken to a woman | እንደምን፡አለሸ፧ | indemin allesh |
how are you? spoken to a group | እንደምን፡አላችሁ፧ | indemin allachihu |
reply to እንደምን አለህ፧, እንደምን አለሸ፧, and እንደምን አላችሁ፧ | ደህና፡ነኝ | dehna nenye |
thank you | አመሰግናለሁ | ameseginalehugn |
thank you very much | ጣም አመሰግናለሁኝ | betam ameseginalehugn |
how are you? spoken to a man | ደህና፡? | dehina neh |
how are you? spoken to a woman | ደህና፡ነሸ? | dehina nesh |
how are you? spoken to a group | ደህና፡? | dehina newot |
how are you? informal, spoken to a man | እንደምን፡ነህ? | indemin neh |
how are you? informal, spoken to a woman | እንደምን፡ነሸ? | indemin nesh |
how are you?, informal | እንዴት፡ነህ? | indet neh |
welcome greeting spoken to a man | እንኳን፡ደህና፡መጣህ | inkuan dehna metah |
welcome greeting spoken to a woman | እንኳን፡ደህና፡መጣሸ | inkuan dehna metash |
welcome greeting spoken to a group of people | እንኳን፡ደህና፡መጡ | inkuan dehna metachu |
name | ስም | səm |
My name is ... | የኔ ስም... ነው | yäne səm ... näw |
My name is ... | ስሜ ... ነው። | səme ... näw |
madam | እሜቴ , እመቤት | əmäbet |
miss | ወይዘሪት | wäyzärit |
mister, sir | ጌታዬ , አቶ | ato |
goodbye | ደኅና ይዋሉ , ቻው | chaw |
best wishes | መልካም ምኞት | |
kiss | ሳመ | samä |
kiss | መሳም | mäsam |
please [for male] | እባክህ(ን) | ehbakahen |
please [for female] | እባክሽ | ehbakesh |
thanks | ምስጋና | amesegenalehu |
yes | አዎ , አዎን | awon |
no | አይ | ay |
sorry | ይቅርታ | yəqərəta |
Long time no see | ረጂም ጊዜ ከተለያየን። | räǧǧim gize kätäläyayän |
Where are you from? spoken to a man | ከየት ነህ፧ | käyät näh? |
Where are you from? spoken to a woman | ከየት ነሽ፧ | käyät näš? |
Where are you from? formal | ከየት ኖት፧ | käyät not? |
Where are you from? spoken to a man | አንተ ከየት ነህ፧ | antä käyät näh? |
Where are you from? spoken to a woman | አንቺ ከየት ነሽ፧ | anchi käyät näš? |
Where are you from? formal | እርስዎ ከየት ኖት፧ | ərswo käyät not? |
I'm from ... | እኔ ከ ... ነኝ። | əne kä ... näň |
I'm from ... | ከ ... ነኝ። | kä ... näň |
Pleased to meet you | ስለተዋወቅን ደስ ብሎኛል | səlätäwawäqən däs bəloňňall |
Goodbye informal | ቻው | chaw |
Goodbye spoken to a man | ደህና ሁን | dähna hun |
Goodbye spoken to a woman | ደህና ሁኚ | dähna hunyi |
Goodbye spoken to a group of people | ደህና ሁኑ | dähna hunu |
Good luck! | መልካም እድል - inf | mälkam əddəl |
Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking) | ለጤናችን | läṭenaččən |
Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking) | ለፍቅራችን | läfəqraččən |
Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking) | ለጓደኛነታችን | lägwadäňňannätaččən |
Have a nice day | መልካም ቀን። | mälkam qän |
Have a nice day - spoken to a man | መልካም ቀን ይሁንልህ። | mälkam qän yəhunəlləh |
Have a nice day - spoken to a woman | መልካም ቀን ይሁንልሽ። | mälkam qän yəhunəlləš |
Have a nice day - spoken to a group of people | መልካም ቀን ይሁንላችሁ። | mälkam qän yəhunəllaččhu |
Have a nice meal - spoken to a man (eat!) | ብላ | bəla |
Have a nice meal - spoken to a woman (eat!) | ብዪ | biy |
Have a nice meal - spoken to a group of people (eat!) | ብሉ | bəlu |
Have a nice meal (good feasting) | መልካም ምግብ | mälkam məgəb |
Have a good journey | መልካም ጉዞ። | mälkam guzo |
Have a good journey - spoken to a man | መልካም ጉዞ ይሁንልህ። | mälkam guzo yəhunəlləh |
Have a good journey - spoken to a woman | መልካም ጉዞ ይሁንልሽ። | mälkam guzo yəhunəlləš |
Have a good journey - spoken to a group of people | መልካም ጉዞ ይሁንላችሁ። | mälkam guzo yəhunəllaččhu |
Christmas greetings | መልካም ገና | melikami gena |
New Year greetings - spoken to a man | እንኳን አደረሰህ | ənkwan adärräsäh |
New Year greetings - spoken to a woman | እንኳን አደረሰሽ | ənkwan adärräsäš |
New Year greetings - formal | እንኳን አደረሱ | ənkwan adärräsu |
New Year greetings - spoken to a group of people | እንኳን አደረሳችሁ | ənkwan adärräsaččhu |
New Year greetings | እንኳን አብረው አደረሰን | ənkwan abräw adärräsän |
Easter greetings | መልካም ፋሲካ | mälkam fasika |
Birthday greetings | መልከም ልደት | mälkam lədät |
Congratulations! | እንኳን ደስ አለዎ! | Inikwani desi ālewo! |
Videos[edit | edit source]
Learn Amharic Greetings & Leave Taking NOW | Greet Just Like ETHIOPIANS![edit | edit source]
How to greet someone in Amharic[edit | edit source]
[edit | edit source]
Learn Amharic - General Greetings![edit | edit source]
Sources[edit | edit source]
- http://users.elite.net/runner/jennifers
- http://amharic.ethiopien.free.fr/index_uk.php
- https://omniglot.com/language/phrases/amharic.php
Free Amharic Lessons[edit | edit source]
Language Exchange[edit | edit source]
Forum[edit | edit source]
Tools[edit | edit source]
Marketplace[edit | edit source]
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Directions
- Months of the year
- Animals
- Environment
- Asking for Help
- Dairy Products
- Diseases
- Post office
- Time Words
- Clinic