Common Amharic phrases
Everyday Amharic for messages, visits and holidays. Tap any phrase to copy it, or type the letters on the right with an Amharic keyboard.
Greetings
| English | Amharic (tap to copy) | Type this |
|---|---|---|
| Hello / peace | selam | |
| How are you? (to a man) | endemn neh | |
| How are you? (to a woman) | endemn nesh | |
| How are you? (polite) | endemn newot | |
| I'm fine, thank God | dehna negn, egziabHier ymesgen | |
| Thank you | Copy it | |
| Good morning (to a man) | endemn aderk | |
| Good morning (to a woman) | endemn adersh | |
| Good night (to a man) | dehna eder | |
| Good night (to a woman) | dehna ederi | |
| Goodbye (to a man) | dehna hun | |
| Goodbye (to a woman) | dehna hugni | |
| Bye (casual) | chaw |
Everyday words
| English | Amharic (tap to copy) | Type this |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | awo | |
| No | ay | |
| Please (polite) | ebakwo | |
| Please (to a woman) | ebaksh | |
| Sorry | yqrta | |
| Welcome (to a man) | enkuan dehna meTah | |
| Welcome (to a woman) | enkuan dehna meTash | |
| What is your name? (to a man) | smh man new | |
| My name is … | smie … new |
Feelings and celebrations
| English | Amharic (tap to copy) | Type this |
|---|---|---|
| I love you (to a man) | ewedhalehu | |
| I love you (to a woman) | ewedshalehu | |
| Congratulations (to a group) | enkuan des alachhu | |
| Happy holiday (to a group) | enkuan aderesachhu | |
| Happy birthday | melkam ldet | |
| Happy new year | melkam adis `amet | |
| See you tomorrow | nege engenagnalen | |
| I don't understand | algebagnm |
Amharic has its own punctuation: the comma ፣, the full stop ። and the question mark ፧. Addiyon Keyboard types them from ,, . and ?.
Want to understand the letters? See the Amharic alphabet chart and the typing rules, or try any phrase in the online Amharic typing tool.
Common questions.
How do you say hello in Amharic?
ሰላም (selam). It also means peace, and works at any time of day.
How do you say thank you in Amharic?
አመሰግናለሁ (ameseginalehu). To thank someone warmly, add በጣም (betam, very): በጣም አመሰግናለሁ.
Why are there different phrases for men and women?
Amharic changes the word ending for the person you are talking to. ነህ is for a man, ነሽ for a woman, and ነዎት is the polite form for elders or people you do not know.
How do I type these on my phone?
Install Addiyon Keyboard and type the letters in the “Type this” column. Each sound turns into Fidel as you type, and the bar above the keys suggests whole words.
Type Amharic in every app.
Addiyon Keyboard is free on Google Play. It turns English letters into Fidel as you type, works offline, and keeps your typing on your phone.