Language/Amharic/Vocabulary/Numbers-and-Counting

Amharic → Vocabulary → 0 to A1 Course → Basic Vocabulary → Numbers and Counting

Introduction

In this lesson, we will learn the basics of Amharic numbers and counting from 1 to 100. Numbers are an essential element of language and understanding how to count in Amharic will be useful in many situations. We will cover cardinal numbers in this lesson, which are used to count things. Ordinal numbers will be covered in a later lesson.

Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia with over 22 million speakers worldwide. The language is written using the Ge'ez script which has 33 basic characters, each representing a consonant with an inherent vowel 'a'.

We will start by introducing numbers 1 to 10 and then build up to 100. In addition, you will learn how to form bigger numbers by using the basic numbers and the word "and."

Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Food & Days of the week.

Numbers 1 to 10

Let's start by learning the numbers from 1 to 10:

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
አንድ	Ande	One
ሁለት	Hulet	Two
ሶስት	Sost	Three
አራት	Arat	Four
አምስት	Amist	Five
ስድስት	Sidist	Six
ሰባት	Sebat	Seven
ስልስት	Slist	Eight
ἐνርስ	Enris	Nine
አስር	Asir	Ten

Some important points to note are that Amharic numbers are written from left to right, similar to English. Amharic numbers also have no gender or declension. Once you have memorized the numbers from 1 to 10, you will find that counting becomes pretty straightforward in Amharic.

Numbers 11 to 19

From 11 to 19, the numbers are built by adding "-ɗa" to the end of the basic numbers:

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
አስራ ሁለት	Asra hulet	Eleven
አስራ ሶስት	Asra sost	Twelve
አስራ አራት	Asra arat	Thirteen
አስራ አምስት	Asra amist	Fourteen
አስራ ስድስት	Asra sidist	Fifteen
አስራ ሰባት	Asra sebat	Sixteen
አስራ ስልስት	Asra slist	Seventeen
አስራ ἐνርስ	Asra enris	Eighteen
አስራ አስር	Asra asir	Nineteen

Notice that when forming numbers 11 to 19, "asra" is used before adding the numbers from 1 to 9.

Tens

To count from 20 to 90, the numbers are built by adding the word "asebat" to the numbers 2 to 9. For example, 20 is "hulet asebat," which means two tens. The numbers from 30 to 90 follow the same pattern, with the tens place coming first followed by the ones place. Here are the tens:

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
ሀሳብ	Hasab	Twenty
ሶስብ	Sosab	Thirty
አራብ	Arab	Forty
አምስብ	Amistab	Fifty
ስድስብ	Sidistab	Sixty
ሰባብ	Sebatab	Seventy
ስልስብ	Slistab	Eighty
ἐνርሶብ	Enrisob	Ninety

Hundreds

To form numbers from 100 to 900, you will use the hundreds place value followed by the tens place e.g., 100 is "and ʾamt;" 200 is "hulet and ʾamt;" and 900 is "enəsəʾa abat."

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
እልፍ	Ilf	Hundred
And	And	And
አምባቶች	Ambatoc	Plural of Hundred

Thousands

To form numbers from 1,000 to 90,000, you can use the same pattern you used with hundreds. Here are the numbers from 1,000 to 90,000:

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
እስሜ	isemé	Thousand
And	And	And
አምባቶች	Ambatoc	Plural of Hundred

For example, 10,000 is "aseré ambatoc" which means ten thousand, and 85,000 is "sosatab ambatoc slistab" which means thirty-five thousand. As you can see, constructing larger numbers is easy once you've learned the basic numbers and the words for hundred, thousand, and respectively.

Conclusion

In this lesson, you learned the Amharic numbers and counting from 1 to 100. You now know that Amharic numbers work just like English numbers: they are written left to right, and you can form any number by combining basic numbers and place values.

Now that you know the basics, you can build upon your knowledge by learning how to construct larger numbers, ordinal numbers, and much more. Keep practicing and before you know it, you'll become an Amharic number pro!

Table of Contents - Amharic Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Amharic Alphabet

• Fidel and Syllables
• Pronunciation and Phonetics

  ---

Basic Vocabulary

• Greetings and Introductions
• Numbers and Counting
• Days of the Week and Months
• Colors and Shapes
• Family and Relationships

  ---

Basic Sentence Structure

• Nouns and Pronouns
• Verbs and Tenses
• Adjectives and Adverbs
• Prepositions and Conjunctions

  ---

Everyday Vocabulary

• Food and Drinks
• Clothing and Accessories
• Weather and Seasons
• Travel and Transportation
• Hobbies and Leisure

  ---

Intermediate Sentence Structure

• Negation and Questions
• Imperatives and Requests
• Expressing Possession
• Comparatives and Superlatives

  ---

Advanced Vocabulary

• Professions and Work
• Health and Body
• Education and Learning
• Nature and Environment
• Technology and Communication

  ---

Ethiopian Culture and Traditions

• Ethiopian Holidays and Festivals
• Ethiopian Cuisine
• Ethiopian Music and Dance
• Ethiopian History and Heritage

Other Lessons

• Technology and Communication
• Shopping
• Directions
• Days of the Week
• Professions and Work
• Threats to Safety
• Hobbies and Leisure
• Art and Literature
• Food
• Geography

Sources

• Numbers in Amharic