Language/Amharic/Grammar/Comparatives-and-Superlatives

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AmharicGrammar0 to A1 Course → Comparatives and Superlatives

Comparatives and Superlatives are quite useful in any language. In Amharic, they are created using specific structures known to native speakers. In this lesson, you will learn how to make comparisons and express the highest degree of a quality using comparatives and superlatives in Amharic.


Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: Common Amharic Idioms & Prepositions and Conjunctions.

Formation of Comparatives

In Amharic, comparatives are formed by adding a suffix to the adjective. Below are the most common suffixes used in creating comparatives:

  • -ብቻ (-becha)
  • -ብር (-bir)
  • -ማ (-ma)

Using -ብቻ (-becha)

The suffix -ብቻ (-becha) is used to create comparatives for adjectives that have two syllables or more. To create a comparative using this suffix, remove the last vowel of the adjective and add -ብቻ (-becha) instead. Here are some examples:

Amharic Pronunciation English
ልጅ Lij Small Boy ልጅ-ብቻ Lij-becha Smaller Boy
ቆሎ Kollo Big ቆሎ-ብቻ Kollo-becha Bigger
ብልግግር Biliggir Impressive ብልግግር-ብቻ Biliggir-becha More Impressive

Using -ብር (-bir)

The suffix -ብር (-bir) is used to create comparatives for adjectives that end with a vowel. To create a comparative using this suffix, add -ብር (-bir) after the adjective. Here are some examples:

Amharic Pronunciation English
ቀይ Kya Narrow ቀይ-ብር Kya-bir Narrower
ብርቱካን Birtukankan Brave ብርቱካን-ብር Birtukankan-bir Braver
ሸምበቆ Shambeko Lazy ሸምበቆ-ብር Shambeko-bir Lazier

Using -ማ (-ma)

The suffix -ማ (-ma) is used to create comparatives for one-syllable adjectives. To create a comparative using this suffix, double the last consonant and add -ማ (-ma) to the end. Here are some examples:

Amharic Pronunciation English
ትርጉም Tergum Simple ትርጉም-ማ Tergum-ma Simpler
ጅብ Jib Dry ጅብ-ማ Jib-ma Drier
ዝንባሌ Zenbale Sweet ዝንባሌ-ማ Zenbale-ma Sweeter

Formation of Superlatives

In Amharic, superlatives are formed using the suffix -ዋል (-wal). Here's how to form superlatives:

For adjectives that have two syllables or more, add -ዋል (-wal) to the end of the comparative form of the adjective.

For instance,

  • ልጅ-ብቻ (Lij-becha) – Smaller Boy
  • ልጅ-ብቻ-ዋል (Lij-becha-wal) – The Smallest Boy

For one-syllable adjectives, change the last consonant to its corresponding labialized consonant and add -ዋል (-wal) to the end.

For example,

  • ዝንባለ (Zenbale) – Sweet
  • ዝንባለውያን (Zenbale-wyayan) – Sweeter
  • ዝንባለ-ዋል (Zenbale-wal) – The Sweetest

Vocabulary

Here are some adjectives to help you practice:

Amharic Pronunciation English
ቀይ Kya Narrow
ቆሎ Kollo Big
ልጅ Lij Small Boy
ማማይ Mamay Tall
ሰማይ Semay High
ሸልቆ Shelko Slim
ብርቱካን Birtukankan Brave
አፍቅር Afkire Loving

Here are the comparatives and superlatives:

Amharic Pronunciation English
ቀይ Kya Narrow
ቀይ-ብር Kya-bir Narrower ቀይ-ብር-ዋል Kya-bir-wal The Narrowest
ቆሎ Kollo Big ቆሎ-ብቻ Kollo-becha Bigger ቆሎ-ብቻ-ዋል Kollo-becha-wal The Biggest
ልጅ Lij Small Boy ልጅ-ብቻ Lij-becha Smaller Boy ልጅ-ብቻ-ዋል Lij-becha-wal The Smallest Boy
ማማይ Mamay Tall ማማይ-ብቻ Mamay-becha Taller ማማይ-ብቻ-ዋል Mamay-becha-wal The Tallest
ሰማይ Semay High ሰማይ-ብቻ Semay-becha Higher ሰማይ-ብቻ-ዋል Semay-becha-wal The Highest
ሸልቆ Shelko Slim ሸልቆ-ብቻ Shelko-becha Slimmer ሸልቆ-ብቻ-ዋል Shelko-becha-wal The Slimmest
ብርቱካን Birtukankan Brave ብርቱካን-ብር Birtukankan-bir Braver ብርቱካን-ብር-ዋል Birtukankan-bir-wal The Bravest
አፍቅር Afkire Loving አፍቅረ-ብቻ Afkire-becha More Loving አፍቅረ-ብቻ-ዋል Afkire-becha-wal The Most Loving

Congratulations! You can now make comparisons and express the highest degree of a quality using comparatives and superlatives in Amharic!

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