Language/Amharic/Grammar/Pronouns-and-Greetings
As a native speaker of Amharic and a seasoned Amharic language teacher, I am excited to teach you the basics of Amharic pronouns and greetings. In this lesson, you will learn how to introduce yourself, how to greet people in various settings, and how to identify pronouns in Amharic sentences.
Introducing Yourself
The first step in learning Amharic greetings is to be able to introduce yourself. To say "my name is" in Amharic, you would say "ismee" or "ismi" depending on your gender. For example:
- Ismee Berhanu. (My name is Berhanu for males.)
- Ismi Liya. (My name is Liya for females.)
You may also add the word "new" to the end of this phrase to make it sound more polite, especially in formal settings:
- Ismee Berhanu new.
- Ismi Liya new.
It is important to note that Amharic words have gender. Therefore, the way you introduce yourself can change based on your gender. For example, if you are a male, you would say "bekirstos" for "my house" while a female would say "bekirstosch".
Basic Greetings
Greeting people is an important part of Amharic culture. Here are some basic greetings in Amharic:
- Selam (Hello)
- Endemin aderesachu? (How are you?)
- Dehna neh? (Are you fine?)
- Ameseginalehu? (Thank you)
- Igziabher yimesgen. (God bless you)
When greeting people, it is customary to shake hands or give a slight bow. It is also common to use honorifics when addressing older people. For example, if you are greeting your grandfather or someone older than you, you should use the honorific "Ato" for males or "W/zo" for females.
Pronouns
Pronouns are an important part of any language, and Amharic is no exception. Here are the basic personal pronouns in Amharic:
| Amharic | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| እኔ | ene | I/me |
| አንተ | anta | you (singular/familiar) |
| እኛ | enna | we/us |
| እነሆ | ennehon | they/them |
Notice that there are separate words for "you" depending on whether you are addressing one person (anta) or several people (antech).
There are also possessive pronouns in Amharic, such as "mine," "yours," and "theirs." Here are the basic possessive pronouns in Amharic:
| Amharic | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| እኔን | enen | mine |
| አንተን | antan | yours (singular/familiar) |
| እኛን | ennane | ours |
| እነሆን | ennehonane | theirs |
Conclusion
In this lesson, you have learned how to introduce yourself, how to greet people, and how to identify pronouns in Amharic. These are the building blocks of Amharic conversation, and mastering them will help you become more confident in your language proficiency. In the next lesson, we will show you how to make basic sentences and questions using pronouns, nouns, and verbs in Amharic.
Related Lessons
- Pluralizing
- Compound sentence
- Question Words
- Personal pronouns
- Comparing and Contrasting
- bästä prefix
- Amharic Alphabets
- Give your Opinion
- Time Clauses
- Direct and Indirect Object Affixes