Language/Tigrinya/Vocabulary/Animals

Tigrinya Vocabulary - Animals

Hi Tigrinya learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be learning about different animals in Tigrinya. Animals play an important role in Tigrayan culture as they are used for transportation, food, and even as sources of traditional medicine. Let's get started!

Basic Vocabulary

Here are some basic animal words to get you started:

Tigrinya	Pronunciation	English
እንቀጥቅጥ (enkeṭḳeti)	/en.ke.'t͡ʃe.ti/	Ant
አበር (abär)	/a.'bər/	Cow
ከንቢ (kenbi)	/k'en.bi/	Giraffe
ቀስ (qes)	/k'es/	Donkey
ዓምባ (ambäba)	/'am.bə.ba/	Bee
እሳት (esta)	/'es.ta/	Horse

Don't forget to practice the pronunciation!

Advanced Vocabulary

Here are some advanced words for the animal kingdom:

Birds

Birds are an important part of Tigrinya culture. They are used for food, sport, and even communication! Here are some words to describe birds:

Tigrinya	Pronunciation	English
ዘርእቲ (zäriti)	/'zərɨ.ti/	Falcon
ቅሳን ድምንት (qesan demn'ti)	/ke'san dem.n'ti/	Ostrich
ኖብልት (nobliti)	/no.'blɨ.ti/	Eagle
ገና (gäna)	/'gə.na/	Pigeon
ዝናብን ነበሩ (znabin neberu)	/zna.'bin ne.'be.ru/	Nightingale

Now let's put these words in context:

• Person 1: ቀሳን ዝተደርሶ ዘርእቲ ረሲዓ ገበያዊ ነው ። (Qesan zetidrso zäriti resi'a gebeyawi new.)

(I saw a falcon glide gracefully.)

• Person 2: እመርከብሃ በረሃዊ መድረኽ አበር ብለን ይወድብናል ። (Emrkebha berhawi mderkh abär blen ywddbnal.)

(We will ride the cows on the green pastures.)

Insects

Insects are vital to agriculture, pollination, and also as a source of food, especially in rural areas. Here are some important insect words:

Tigrinya	Pronunciation	English
ጥረ አባባ (t'er ababa)	/t'er 'a.ba.ba/	Butterfly
ፍስት (fist)	/'fɨst/	Spider
አየለ (ayele)	/'a.jə.lə/	Ant
ናባ (näba)	/'nə.ba/	Mosquito

Here are some examples:

• Person 1: በቅንያት ቤት ጥረ አባባ ወደ ምዕራብ ፍስት እንደሚገኝ ነው ። (Bek'nyat bet t'er ababa wede me'arab fist en'demi genew.)

(There is a butterfly heading towards the orchard like it needs to be pollinated.)

• Person 2: ማንኛውንም ናባ በኢትዮጵያ ላይ ሳይገኙ የዘር ዕቃዎችን አየለ ያዘው አብሮ ሕግ ነው። (Man'nawinm nabä be'ityopya layi sayinigu yäzeri eqawochin ayele ya'zew abro h'g new.)

(Insects, especially ants, are used as a traditional medicine in Ethiopia.)

Mammals

Mammals are widely used for transportation, especially camels, donkeys, and horses. Here are some words to describe mammals:

Tigrinya	Pronunciation	English
ኣበረታ (abereta)	/'a.bə.rə.ta/	Camel
መንታ (menta)	/'men.ta/	Sheep
ዓረግን (ärign)	/'a.rɨŋ/	Lion
ኬብሮ (kebro)	/'ke.bro/	Monkey
እግረ (egger)	/'eg.gər/	Elephant

Let's see how to use these words in a sentence:

• Person 1: እቲ ሰዓት ጀርባ ኣበረታ ኢዩ። (Eti se'at jerba abereta iyu.)

(It's noon and I see a camel.)

• Person 2: በረኸት ይቀንሳል : በኢትዮጵያ ዓረግን ከኢህአዴግ ያሉ ዘር ቀበሩት ናቸው። (Berhket yek'nsal : be'ityopya ärign keihagedeg yalu zär qäbeirut nac'hew.)

(They are congratulating each other: lions from the Ethiopian highlands have been spotted.)

Marine Life

Tigrinya is a landlocked country; however, they have unique words to describe marine life. Tigrayans typically get their seafood from neighboring Eritrea. Here are some words for marine life:

Tigrinya	Pronunciation	English
ናዕማ (naema)	/'na.ə.ma/	Octopus
ፍልይ (fil'yi)	/fɨl.'ji/	Sardine
ናሆም (nahom)	/'na.hom/	Starfish

Now let's create a dialogue using these words:

• Person 1: ናዕማ በሚያደርጓቸው ዜናዎች፣ ከልቤን ማዘይም አብረው፣ ተመራሚ ለመኖሪያ መጠን ገረዶች ናቸው። (Naema bemiyadrugaw zenawoch, k'leben mazeym aberew, temeramī lemionriya mtn' grdroch nac'hew.)

(I have heard that octopuses are becoming increasingly rare, causing concern for those who rely on their livelihoods for income.)

Conclusion

That's it for today's lesson! We hope you enjoyed learning about the different animals in Tigrinya. To improve your Tigrinya vocabulary, don't forget to visit the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions! Also, remember to review the Tigrinya vocabulary page for more words.

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