Language/Amharic/Vocabulary/Family-Members

Amharic Vocabulary → Everyday Life 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.

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.

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

Related 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