Language/Amharic/Vocabulary/Family-Members

Amharic → Vocabulary → Family Members

As a native Amharic speaker and Amharic language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I am excited to help you learn more about everyday Amharic vocabulary. In this lesson, we will focus on learning the names of family members in Amharic. It's important to learn these words, as family is the foundation of Ethiopian culture and society.

Consider broadening your understanding by checking out these related lessons: Hobbies & Greetings and Introductions.

Basic Family Members

Let's start with the most basic family members:

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
አባት	abat	father
እልልታ	əlləta	mother
ልጅ	ləj	son
ልጆች	ləjoch	sons (plural)
ሴት	setəm	daughter
ሴቶች	setoch	daughters (plural)

• Note that Amharic is a gendered language. For example, "setəm" means "daughter" and "ləj" means "son".

Extended Family Members

Let's now learn the names of extended family members:

Amharic	Pronunciation	English
እናት	ənat	paternal aunt
እናታዊ አባት	ənatawi abat	paternal uncle
ሶባድዌ	sobadawe	maternal aunt
ሶባዳዊ አባት	sobadawi abat	maternal uncle
ወንድ	wänd	husband
የማይጠፋ ወንድ	yämäytfafä wänd	ex-husband
ሰባት	säbat	wife
ሁለት ሰባት	hulet säbat	second wife
እናት ሳኒሺ	ənat sänishi	cousin
ቅንድብ	qänədb	in-law (generic)

• Note that "qänədb" is a generic term for in-laws. To indicate the specific relationship, you would use a prefix such as: "mama qänədb" (mother-in-law), "abat qänədb" (father-in-law), "ləj qänədb" (son-in-law), "setəm qänədb" (daughter-in-law).

Conclusion

Learning the names of family members in Amharic is a great way to deepen your understanding of Ethiopian culture and to be able to communicate effectively with Ethiopians. In addition to the words we learned today, there are many more family terms in Amharic that you can explore on your own.

As always, if you have any questions or feedback, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Upon wrapping up this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Important Occasions & Symptoms.

Other Lessons

• Shopping
• Saying You Are Sick
• Art and Literature
• How to say Good Bye?
• Numbers
• Geography
• Time Specific Leave Taking
• Greetings
• Clinic
• Geometry

Sources

• Family - Amharic Vocab
• Learn Amharic – Family Members! (Vocabulary) – Amharic4Ras