Language Ai As in ‘Aisle’ I’D Like to See the Këflun Mayet Ëfeullëgallō Room

u as in ‘flute’ but shorter Does it include kursënëm yicheumëral? ay as the ‘ai’ in ‘bait’ breakfast? Language ai as in ‘aisle’ I’d like to see the këflun mayet ëfeullëgallō room. Consonants Can I see a different lela këfël mayet ëchëlallō? THE ETHIOPIC SYLLABARY ch as in ‘church’ room? CONTENTS The unique Ethiopic script is the basis for g as in ‘get’ I leave tomorrow. neugeu ëhedallō the alphabets of Amharic, Tigrinya and gw as in ‘Gwen’ Ethiopian Amharic 378 Tigré. The basic Ethiopic syllabary has 26 h as in ‘hit’; at the end of a sentence it’s CONVERSATION & ESSENTIALS Pronunciation 378 characters; Amharic includes another seven, like a short puff of breath Hello/Greetings. tenastëllën (lit: ‘may you be Accommodation 379 and Tigrinya another five characters to kw as the ‘q’ in ‘queen’ given health’) Conversation & Essentials 379 cover sounds that are specific to those j as in ‘jump’ Hello. seulam (lit: ‘peace be with you’) Directions 380 languages. s as in ‘plus’ (never a ‘z’ sound) Hello. tadiyass (inf) LANGUAGE Health 380 The alphabet is made up of root characters sh as in ‘shirt’ How are you? deuhna neuh? (m) Emergencies – Amharic 380 representing consonants. By adding lines or z as in ‘zoo’ deuhna neush? (f) Language Difficulties 380 circles (representing the vowel sounds) to ny as the ‘ni’ in ‘onion’ deuhna not? (pol)

LANGUAGE Numbers 380 these characters, seven different syllables r a rolled ‘r’ deuhna nachu? (pl) Shopping & Services 381 can be generated for each consonant (eg ha, ’ a glottal stop, ie a momentary closing I’m fine. deuhna Time & Days 381 he, hë, heu, hi, ho, hu). As with Roman script, of the throat, like the ‘tt’ in the Good night. deuhna deur (m) Transport 381 the characters are written from left to right Cockney pronunciation of ‘bottle’ deuhna deuri (f) Tigrinya 382 on a page. deuhna yideuru (pol) Pronunciation 382 You should also be aware of the Amharic deuhna deuru (pl) Accommodation 382 consonant sounds that have no English Goodbye. deuhna seunbët (m) Conversation & Essentials 382 person, regardless of gender). There are equivalents – ‘glottalic’ or ‘explosive’ vari- deuhna seunbëch (f) also general modes of address that can be Directions 383 ants of some consonants, made by tighten- deuhna yiseunbëtu (pol) either informal or polite, indicated by the Health 383 ing and releasing the vocal chords. To deuhna seunbëtu (pl) abbreviations ‘inf’ and ‘pol’ respectively. Emergencies – Tigrinya 383 explain these sounds in any depth would Goodbye/See you. chow (inf, as in Italian ciao) For a more comprehensive guide to the Language Difficulties 383 Have a nice trip. meulkam guzo language, get a copy of Lonely Planet’s take more space than we have here so they Numbers 383 Yes. awo Ethiopian Amharic Phrasebook. It has use- haven’t been included in this guide. Instead, Shopping & Services 383 OK. ëshi ful introductory sections on pronunciation their nearest English equivalents have been Time & Days 384 used. No. (not the case/not so) ai (pronounced ‘eye’) Transport 384 and grammar, and includes Amharic script throughout. No. (not there/not yeulleum ACCOMMODATION available) PRONUNCIATION Where is a ...? ... yet nō? Maybe. mënalbut ETHIOPIAN AMHARIC While many of the sounds of Amharic will hotel hotel Please. ëbakëh (m) be familiar to you, there are some sounds good hotel tëru hotel ëbakësh (f) Amharic is Ethiopia’s national language. It for which there are no English equivalents. cheap hotel rëkash hotel ëbakon (pol) belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family, Keep your ears tuned to the way Ethiopians bed alga ëbakachu (pl) in the Semitic language sub-group, which pronounce their language – this will be a room këfël Thank you. ameuseugënallō includes Arabic, Hebrew and Assyrian. good start in mastering pronunciation. Thank you very beutam ameuseugënallō While regional languages such as Oromo, In general, stress falls equally on each Do you have ...?/ ... alleu? much. Somali and Tigrinya are also important, syllable. Like English, a raised tone at the Is there ...? Don’t mention it. mënëm aideuleuhm Amharic is the most widely used and un- end of a sentence signifies a question. a room/bed alga Excuse me. yikërta derstood language throughout the country. a single room and alga Sorry. aznallō It is the mother tongue of the 12 million or Vowels a room with two beds baleu huleutt alga What’s your name? sëmëh man nō? (m) so Amhara people in the country’s central a as in ‘mamma’ a quiet room seut yaleu këfël sëmësh man nō? (f) and northwestern regions, and a second e as in ‘let’ showers shaweur sëmëwot man nō? (pol) language for about one third of the total ë as the ‘a’ in ‘ago’; shorter and flatter water for bathing meutateubiya wuha My name is ... sëme ... nō population. than eu below hot water muk wuha What country are you keu yet ageur neuh? (m) Amharic word endings vary according to eu as the ‘e’ in ‘her’, with no ‘r’ sound from? keu yet ageur neush? (f) the gender and number of people you’re i as in ‘bit’ How much is the alga leu ... sëntë nō? keu yet ageur not? (pol) speaking to. Gender is indicated in this o as in ‘hot’ room/bed for ...? I’m from ... keu ... guide by the abbreviations ‘m’ (to a male), ō a cross between the ‘oa’ in ‘coat’ and one night and mata Are you married? ageubtëhal? (m) ‘f’ (to a female) and ‘pl’ (to more than one the ‘au’ in ‘haul’ one week and samënt ageubtëshal? (f) 380 ETHIOPIAN AMHARIC •• Directions www.lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.com ETHIOPIAN AMHARIC •• Shopping & Services 381

I’m married. agëbëchallō 3 sost I want to make a (local/international) call. I’m not married. alageubahum EMERGENCIES – AMHARIC 4 arat (ageur wëst/wëch ageur) sëlk meudeuweul ëfeullëgallō May I take your (anteun/anchën/ërswōn) foto Help! ërduny! 5 amëst photograph? mansat yichalal? (m/f/pol) It’s an emergency! aschëkwai nō! 6 sëdëst Where is a/an ...? ... yet nō? bakery dabbo bet DIRECTIONS There’s been an adeuga neubbeur! 7 seubat accident! 8 sëmënt bookshop meusëhaf bet Where is ...? ... yet nō? Thief! leba! 9 zeuteuny clothes shop yeu lëbs suk I want to go to ... weudeu ... meuhed ëfeullëgallō Go away!/Leave me teumeulleuss! 10 assër general store sheukeuta sheukeut meudeubër How do I get to ...? weudeu ... ëndet ëhedallō? alone! 11 assra and market geubeuya Is it near/far? kërb/ruk nō? I’m lost. meungeud teuftobënyal 12 assra huleutt stationers stesheunari Can I walk there? beugër yaskedal? Where is the toilet? shënt betu yeuht nō? 13 assra sost shop suk Can you show me kartaw lai yasayunyal? (pol) 14 assra arat on the map? Call ...! ... tëra/tëri! (m/f) 15 assra amëst Where can I buy ...? ... yet yigeunyal? LANGUAGE Turn ... beu ... beukul tateuf/tateufi (m/f) the police polis 16 assra sëdëst I’m just looking. ëyayo nō Go straight ahead. beukeutëta hid (m)/hij (f) an ambulance ambulans 17 assra seubat I want a (larger/ (tëllëk yaleu/anneus yaleu) ... on the (left/right) beu (gra/keuny) beukul 18 assra sëmënt smaller) ... ëfeullëgallō at the next corner yeumikeutëllō meutateufiya LANGUAGE 19 assra zeuteuny How much is it? sëntë nō? to the north weudeu seumen LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES 20 haya That’s (very) (beutam) wëdd nō to the south weudeu deubub Do you speak ...? ... tëchëlalleuh? (m) 21 haya and expensive. to the east weudeu mësrak ... tëchëyalleush? (f) 30 seulassa Do you have rëkash alleu? to the west weudeu më’ërab ... yichëlallu? (pol) anything cheaper? in front of/behind fit leu fit/beuholla 31 seulassa and English ënglizënya 40 arba highway awra godana Amharic amarënya TIME & DAYS main road wanna meungeud 50 hamsa 60 sëlsa When? meuche? street meungeud Yes, I speak (English). aow, (ënglizënya) ëchëlallō What time is it? sënt seu’at nō? 70 seuba village meuneudeur I don’t speak (amarënya) alchëllëm It’s (one) o’clock. (and) seu’at nō 80 seumanya (Amharic). It’s a quarter past (and) seu’at keurub nō 90 zeuteuna Do you understand? geubbah? (m) (one). SIGNS – ETHIOPIAN 100 meuto geubbash? (f) It’s half past (one). (and) seu’at teukul nō Open NS 101 meuto and Closed KUK geubbawot? (pol) the morning tëwatu I don’t understand. algeubanyëm 200 huleutt meuto Entrance BI the evening mëshëtu I understand. geubëtonyal 1000 and shi Exit BS the night lelitu Do you have/Is asteurgwami alleu? 2000 huleutt shi Information SGY there a translator? 100,000 meuto shi Danger PX[ now ahun Does anyone here ënglizënya yeumichël alleu? No Smoking ^ NS SHOPPING & SERVICES today zare speak English? Toilets I tonight zare mata Please speak slowly. ëbakëh keuss bëleuh Where is a/the ...? ... yet nō? tomorrow neugeu Men WS bank bank Women WE" teunageur (m) yesterday tënantëna ëbakësh keuss bëleush church beteu kërëstëyan teunageuri (f) city centre meuhal keuteuma Monday seunyo HEALTH ëbakon keuss bëlō ... embassy yeu ... embassi Tuesday makseunyo I’m sick. amonyal yinageuru (pol) market geubeuya Wednesday rob I need a doctor. hakim ëfeullëgallō Please write it in ëbakon beu ënglizënyaalfabet mosque meusgid Thursday hamus doctor hakim Roman script. yisafuliny pharmacy farmasi/meudhanit bet Friday arb hospital hospital police station polis tabiya Saturday këdame medical centre yeu hëkëmëna tabiya NUMBERS post office posta bet Sunday ëhud Although there are Amharic script numer- public toilet shënt bet I’m allergic to ...... ais-mamanyëm als, Arabic numerals (ie those used in Eng- restaurant mëgëb bet TRANSPORT antibiotics antibiotiks lish) are now commonly used throughout tourist office yeu turist biro Where is the ...? yet ... nō? penicillin peunisillin Ethiopia. Amharic is used when referring to university yuniveursiti airport awroplan mareufiyaw numbers in speech. bus station awtobës tabiyaw I have ...... alleubëny What time does it open/close? bus stop awtobës makomiyaw diabetes sëkwar beushëta ½ gëmash sënt seu’at yikeufeutal/yizzeugal? taxi stand taksi makomiyaw nausea/vomiting yasmeulëseunyal 1 and I want to change money/travellers cheques. ticket office tiket biro/tiket meushchaw stomachache hoden yameunyal 2 huleutt geunzeub/travleurs cheks meukeuyeur ëfeullëgallō train station babur tabiyaw 382 TIGRINYA •• Pronunciation www.lonelyplanet.com www.lonelyplanet.com TIGRINYA •• Directions 383

Which bus goes yetënyaw awtobës weudeu ... u as in ‘put’ Good morning. dehaando hadirka/hadirkee (m/f) to ...? yihedal? ay as in ‘bait’ Good afternoon. dehaando weelka/weelkee (m/f) EMERGENCIES – TIGRINYA Does it go to ...? weudeu ... yihedal? ai as in ‘aisle’ Good evening. dehaando amsika/amsikee (m/f) Help! hagez/redi-at! Please tell me when ëbakon ... sënëdeurss ō a cross between the ‘oa’ in ‘coat’ and Good night. dehaan hideru Leave me alone/ hidegeni!/kid bejakha! we get to ...? yinëgeuruny? the ‘au’ in ‘haul’ Goodbye. dehaan kun (also Italian ciao) Go away! I want to get off ëzzih mōreud ëfeullëgallō Yes. u-we I’m lost. a-nne tefi-a aloku here. Consonants No. aykonen Most consonants are pronounced as per Please. bejaka/bejakee (m/f) Call ...! ... tsewe-a! What time does the ...... meuche yideursal/yineusal? their English counterparts but, like Am- Thank you. yekanyeley/yemesgin a doctor hakim/doctor arrive/leave? haric, there are some consonant sounds not That’s fine, you’re genzebka/genzebkee (m/f) the police police boat jeulba found in English. The transliterations in welcome. bus awtobës this guide are designed for ease of use and Excuse me. yikrai-ta LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES car meukina LANGUAGE are not meant as a detailed phonetic repre- I’m sorry. aytehazeley Do you speak (engiliznya) tezarebdo/ minibus wëyëyët sentation of all the consonant sounds of How are you? kemay aleka/alekee? (m/f) (English)? tezarebido? (m/f) plane awroplan Tigrinya. By pronouncing the words and I’m fine, thanks. tsebuk, yekeniyeley I don’t speak Tigrinya. a-nne tigrinya ayzareben train babur phrases clearly you should be able to make Pleased to meet you. tsebuk afleto/leila yigberelna I understand. yirede-anee iyu/teredioonee

LANGUAGE truck yeu chëneut meukina yourself understood. Listening to the every- What’s your name? men semka/semkee? (m/f) I don’t understand. ayeterede-anen day speech of the people is the best way to My name is ... shemey ... iyu next yeumikeutëllō master some of the more complex sounds Where are you from? kabey metsika/metsikee? (m/f) NUMBERS How much is it to ...? weudeu ... sënt(ë) nō? of the language. I’m from ... a-nne kab ... iye 1 hadde I’d like to reserve weudeu ... tiket beukëd miya Are you married? temereka dikha? (m) 2 kelete a ticket to ... meugzat ëfeullëgallō ch as in ‘church’ temerekee dikhee? (f) 3 seleste I’d like a one way weudeu ... meuheja tiket g as in ‘get’ How many children kenday kolu-oot (deki) alowuka/ 4 arba-ate ticket to ... ëfeullëgallō h as in ‘him’ do you have? alowukee? (m/f) 5 hamushte I’d like a return weudeu ... deurso meuls tiket j as in ‘jump’ I don’t have any deki yebeleyn. 6 shedushte ticket to ... ëfeullëgallō ny as the ‘ni’ in ‘onion’ children. 7 shewate q like a ‘k’ from far back in the throat I have a son. wedi aloni 8 shemonte I want to rent a ...... meukeurayeut ëfeullëgallō r as in ‘run’ I have a daughter. gual alatni 9 tesh-ate bicycle bësklet s as in ‘plus’ (never a ‘z’ sound) May I take your kese-alekado? 10 aserte car meukina sh as in ‘shirt’ photograph? 20 isra ts as the ‘ts’ in ‘its’ 30 selasa z as in ‘zoo’ DIRECTIONS 40 arba-a TIGRINYA Where is ...? abey alo ...? 50 hamsa ACCOMMODATION 60 susa Tigrinya is the principal language of Eritrea I want to go to ... nab ... kikeid delye hotel hotel How do I get to ...? kemey geire naboo ... yikeid? 70 sebe-a and is also widely spoken in Tigray prov- 80 semanya ince in Ethiopia. It belongs to the Ethiopic guesthouse maeref agaysh/albeirgo Is it far/near? rehooq/kereba diyu? youth hostel nay mena-esey hostel Can I walk there? baegrey kikedo yikealdo? 90 tese-a branch of the Semitic language family. Like 100 mi-eetee camping ground metkel dinquan/teinda bota Can you show me ket-hebreni tikealdo? Amharic, it uses the syllabic alphabet of 1000 sheh classical Ethiopic or Ge’ez (see The Ethiopic the direction? Syllabary on p378). Do you have any medekesi kiflee alekado? Go straight ahead. ket elka kid SHOPPING & SERVICES Tigrinya word endings vary according to rooms available? Turn left/right. netsegam/neyeman tetewe I’m looking for ... ne ... yenadi alekoo How much is it per neha-de leiti/seb kenday yikifel? the gender of the person you are speaking HEALTH a bank bank to; this is indicated in this guide where rele- night/person? the hospital hospital/ beit hikmena vant by the abbreviations ‘m’ (to a male) Is breakfast kursi mesoo hisub d’yu? I need a doctor. a-nne hakim/doctor yedliyeni a-lo the market idaga/shooq and ‘f’ (to a female). included? Where is the hospital/beit hikimina abey alo? a pharmacy farmacha/beit medhanit hospital? the post office beit busta PRONUNCIATION single bed kelete arat I have a stomachache. a-nne kirtset aloni a public telephone nay hizbi telefon Vowels double bed hadde arat I’m diabetic. a-nne shikor/shikoria himam the tourist office nay turist haberaita beit tsihfet a as in ‘mamma’ for one/two people neha-de/kelete seb aloni e as in ‘men’ for one/two nights neha-de/kelete leiti I’m allergic to a-nne nay pencillin kute-at aloni What time does saat kenday yikifet? ee as in ‘heed’ penicillin. it open? i as in ‘bit’ CONVERSATION & ESSENTIALS diarrhoea witse-at What time does saat kenday yi-etso? o as in ‘or’, with no ‘r’ sound Hello. selam medicine medhanit/fewsi it close? oo as in ‘cool’ Welcome. merhaba nausea egirgir/segedged Do you have ...? ... alekado? 384 TIGRINYA •• Time & Days www.lonelyplanet.com

How many/much? kenday? Tuesday selus this/that eizee/etee Wednesday reboo How much is it? kenday iyu waga-oo? Thursday hamus I’m just looking. nikeree tirah iye Friday arbi That’s too expensive. aziyu kebiruni Saturday kedam bookshop mesheta metsahifti Sunday senbet clothes shop mesheta kidawenti market idaga/shouq TRANSPORT local products nay kebabi etot/firyat Where is the ...? abey alo ...? airport aryaporto/maerefi nefarit TIME & DAYS bus station maerefi autobus What time is it? saat kenday koynoo? bus stop autobus tetew tiblelu today lomee/lomee me-altee tomorrow tsebah When does the next tikitsil ... saat kenday yesterday timalee ... leave/arrive? tinekel/te-atu? morning niguho boat jelba LANGUAGE afternoon dehri ketri bus (city) autobus (ketema) night leytee plane auroplan/nefarit taxi taksi Monday senui train babur

Also available from Lonely Planet: Ethiopian Amharic Phrasebook 385 Glossary

Ethiopian and Eritrean culinary terms are gegar – a rectangular, two-storey structure with a flat found under Eat Your Words on p73 . roof For information on the languages of Ethi- gommista – tyre repair shop (Italian) opia and Eritrea, see p378 . gotera – granary with a little thatched roof (Ethiopia) abba – a prefix used by a priest before his name; means injera – a unique pancake upon which sits anything from ‘father’ spicy meat stews to colourful dollops of boiled veg and abuna – archbishop of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Ortho- cubes of raw beef; see p68 for more details dox church, from the Ge’ez meaning ‘our father’ adaï – evergreen shrub used as toothbrush jellabia – hooded cloak with wide sleeves (Eritrea) agelgil – round, leather-bound ‘lunch boxes’ carried by jile – the curved knife that is carried by Afar nomads locals amba (also emba) – flat-topped mountain kemis – white cotton dress worn by Ethiopian highland Ato – literally ‘sir’; equivalent of ‘Mr’ women azmari – itinerant minstrel (Ethiopia) Kiddus – Saint, eg Kiddus Mikael translates to St Michael beat – Amharic word meaning ‘place’, which is attached to maqdas – inner sanctuary of a church (Holy of Holies) the end of other words, eg buna beat, shint beat (Ethiopia) mesob – hourglass-shaped woven table from which buluko – heaviest type of shamma, used in cold areas traditional food is served (Ethiopia) such as the Bale Mountains (Ethiopia) mies – see tej GLOSSARY buna – coffee (Ethiopia) natala – women’s equivalent of a shamma, but with a chat – mildly intoxicating leaf that’s consumed primarily decorated border (tibeb) in eastern Ethiopia; it’s illegal in Eritrea negus – king (Ethiopia) contract taxi – private, or nonshared, taxi negus negast – king of kings; the traditional and official title of Ethiopian emperors dejazmach – title (usually of nobility though given to any outstanding male) equivalent to duke or prince; lower ras – title (usually of nobility but given to any outstanding ranking than ras male) similar to duke or prince Derg – Socialist military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1991; derived from the Ge’ez word for ‘committee’ sambuk – traditional Arab vessel (or dhow) rigged with dhow – see sambuk a lateen (triangular) sail, plying the Red Sea and Indian dula – wooden staff carried by many Ethiopian highlanders Ocean (Eritrea) sewa – see tella emba – see amba shamma – a white, light cotton toga; see also gabi, enset – false-banana tree found in much of southern natala and buluko Ethiopia, used to produce a breadlike staple also known shifta – traditionally a rebel or outlaw; today a bandit or as enset roadside robber EPLF – Eritrean People’s Liberation Front; victorious guerrilla shint beat – toilet (Ethiopia) army in the ‘Struggle for Independence’ shirit – saronglike wrap worn by men in Eritrea and Ethiopia’s eastern lowlands Falasha – Ethiopian Jew faranji – foreigner, especially Western ones (Ethiopia) tabot – replica of the Ark of the Covenant, kept in the maqdas of every Orthodox church gabeta – ancient board game tankwa – traditional papyrus boat used on Lake Tana and gabi – slightly thicker version of the shamma, worn by men elsewhere (Ethiopia) gada – age system of male hierarchy among the Oromo tef – an indigenous grass cultivated as a cereal grain; the gari – horse-drawn cart used for transporting passengers key ingredient of injera ( p68 ) and goods in the towns tej – wine made from honey, popular in Ethiopia; known Ge’ez – a forerunner of modern Amharic in Eritrea as mies © Lonely Planet Publications 386 GLOSSARY

tella – home-brewed beer made from finger millet, maize wadi – a river that is usually dry except in the rainy or barley, popular in Ethiopia; known in Eritrea as sewa season tibeb – the decorative border of a woman’s shawl (Ethiopia) Weizerit – equivalent of ‘Miss’ (Ethiopia) tukul – traditional cone-shaped hut with thatched roof; Weizero – literally ‘lady’, now equivalent of ‘Mrs’ like South Africa’s rondavel (Ethiopia) GLOSSARY

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