Welcome to the fifth Amharic lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Amharic to help you practice your daily phrases. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.
man  ወንድ [wänədə] | woman ሴት [setə] | husband ባል [balə ] | wife ሚስት [misətə] |
boy ወንድ ልጅ [wänədə ləǧə ] | girl ልጃገረድ [ləǧagärädə ] | father እባት [ʾəbatə] | mother እናት [ʾənatə] |
Gender Grammar Rules
In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.
| Grammar + Rules | Amharic + Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| my son is a student [masculine + noun] | ወንድ ልጄ ተማሪ ነው [wänədə ləǧe tämari näwə ] |
| her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] | ሴት ልጅዋ ተማሪ ነች [setə ləǧəwa tämari näčə] |
| he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] | ረጅም ወንድም አለው [räǧəmə wänədəmə ʾäläwə ] |
| she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] | ረጅም እህት አላት [räǧəmə ʾəhətə ʾälatə ] |
| his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] | ወንድሞቹ ወጣቶች ናቸው [wänədəmoču wät'atočə načäwə ] |
| his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] | እህቶቹ ወጣቶች ናቸው [ʾəhətoču wät'atočə načäwə ] |
The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.
son ወንድ ልጅ [wänədə ləǧə ] | daughter ሴት ልጅ [ setə ləǧə] | brother ወንድም [wänədəmə] | sister እህት [ʾəhətə] |
grandfather ወንድ አያት [wänədə ʾäyatə] | grandmother ሴት አያት [setə ʾäyatə] | child ልጅ [ləǧə] | children ልጆች [ləǧočə] |
Expressions in Amharic
Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Amharic, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.
| English | Amharic | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| What do you mean? | ምን ማለትህ ነው? | [mənə malätəhə näwə?] |
| I don't understand | አልገባኝም | [ʾäləgäbañəmə] |
| I don't know | አላውቅም | [ʾälawəqəmə] |
| What is that called in Amharic? | ያ በአማርኛ ምን ተብሎ ይጠራል? | [ya bäʾämarəña mənə täbəlo yət'äralə?] |
| What is this? | ይህ ምንድነው? | [yəhə mənədənäwə?] |
| What does that word mean in English? | ያ ቃል በእንግሊዘኛ ምን ማለት ነው? | [ya qalə bäʾənəgəlizäña mənə malätə näwə?] |
| Sorry (if you made a mistake) | አዝናለሁ | [ʾäzənalähu] |
Source: Learn 101
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