Symbols Used in This Course
On the English side, parentheses and quotation marks are used together ('....') when a more literal translation is given in addition to the ordinary English equivalent.
Brackets [] are used to indicate words in the English equivalent which do not have an equivalent in the Amharic.
Parentheses () indicate words which are in the Amharic but not in a normal English equivalent. The English side is not necessarily a literal translation but what is ordinarily said in this situation. The use of parentheses and brackets as explained above should make the situation clear in each case.
On the Amharic side, parentheses are used to indicate sounds which are sometimes omitted. Brackets are used to indicate a more formal pronunciation to be used in more deliberate speech or while reading texts written in Amharic characters. Alternate pronunciations of the same word or alternate words are given after a slant line: /.
The accent mark used is /´/. This indicates the loudest syllable in a word or phrase. Secondary stresses are not marked.
As Amharic has an almost even distribution of stress on each syllable, it is sometimes extremely difficult to detect where the principal stress of a particular word lies. In this Course phrase stress will be marked in the Basic Sentences, but words in the buildups will be left unmarked unless the stress is clearly distinctive.
An arrow /↑/ is used to indicate sharply riscng pitch.
A period /./ is used to indicate the end of a phrase accompanied by falling pitch. It may or may not correspond to an English period.
A comma /,/ indicates that the preceding tone is carried on evenly to the comma and that a new pitch contour begins following the comma. The syllables immediately before /,/ are slightly lengthened. There may not be a break or pause after /,/.
In the Notes slant lines are used to set off Amharic sounds or words within an English text. English letters and words are underlined when used as examples.
Unit 1
Basic Sentences
| health | Tena |
| let him give for me | yısTıllıñ |
| Hello. or Goodbye. (general greeting) | TenáyısTıllıñ. |
| how | ındəmın |
| you (polite) spent the night | addəru |
| Good morning. How are you? ('how did you spend the night?'). | TenáyısTıllıñ, ındəmín addəru. |
| good, very well | dənha |
| God | ıgziyabher |
| he may be praised | yımməsgən |
| thank you ('may God be praised') | ıgziyabher yımməsgən |
| Very well, thank you. How are you? | dənhá, ıgziyabher yımməsgə́n, ındəmín addəru. |
| Amharic | amarıñña |
| you (polite) know | yawKallu |
| Do you know Amharic? | amarıñña yawKállu ↑ |
| yes | áwo/áwon |
| I know | awKalləhu |
| Yes, I do ('know'). | áwo, awKálləhu. |
| no; there is not | yəlləm |
| I don't know | alawKım |
| No, I don't (know). | yəllə́m, aláwKım. |
| little, small, a little | tınnıš |
| I know a little. | tınníš awKalləhu. |
| what | mın |
| you (polite) said | alu |
| What did you say? | mınálu ↑ |
| nothing | mınímm |
| I did not say | alalhum |
| I didn't say anything. | mınímmalalhu. /mınímm alalhum. |
Classroom Expressions
| Again! | ındəgəna. |
| Repeat it! | yıdgəmut. |
| correct, exact | lıkk |
| (he, it) is | nəw |
| It's correct. | líkk nəw |
| it is not | aydəlləm |
| It's not correct. | líkk aydəlləm. |
| very, very much | bəTam |
| good | Tıru/Tru |
| It's very good. | bəTam Tırú nəw. |
| Let's have a break ('let us rest'). | ınnırəf. |
Grammatical Notes
Note 1.1 Transcription Used in This Course
This transcription is an attempt to put down systematically on paper the sounds that the instructor will say, or that will be heard on the tapes.
The transcription is based directly on spoken Amharic and is not a transliteration of ordinary Amharic spelling. It is not, strictly speaking, a 'phonetic' transcription. For example, the letter /b/ stands for one sound at the beginning of a phrase or if doubled, and for another sound elsewhere. Since the pronunciation is predictable on the basis of where it occurs, a single letter may be used for both sounds.
The letters and other symbols used are:
| Vowels | ə | u | i | a | e | ı | o | |
| Consonants | paired | unpaired | ||||||
| Voiceless | p | t | k | s | š | c | f h ' | |
| Glottalized | P | T | K | S | C | |||
| Voiced | b | d | g | z | ž | j | r l m n ñ y w | |
| Stress: | Weak (unmarked) Strong |
| Pitch: | Indicated as contours in conjunction with phrase final juncture: |
| Falling / / | |
| Rising / ↑ / | |
| Change of Pitch / , / | |
| Juncture: | Close: (no space) |
| Open: Space between words | |
| Phrase final: / , / / ↑ / / . / |
These letters should not be confused with those used for writing English or any other language. Every language has a unique sound system and symbols used to write a language must be defined in terms of that language. However, where the Amharic and English sounds are similar, the same letter is usually used in the transcription as is used in English. This does not mean that the sounds are identical. /l/, for example, is different in English and Amharic, even though the same symbol is used.
The following notes are rough hints on the pronunciation of Amharic. English sounds are given for comparison, or more accurately for contrast, since they are different sounds. Only careful listening and practice can give the student the Amharic sounds. It is also very important to realize the possible diversity of sounds covered by a single symbol, the actual sound being determined by the context.
The Amharic writing system is syllabic: that is to say, each 'letter' represents a consonant followed by a vowel. Since there are seven vowels in Amharic, it follows that there are seven different ways of writing a given consonant, depending on what vowel accompanies it. The writing system will be introduced at a later stage in the course.
In the notes below, the vowel sounds are discussed in the order in which they come in the Amharic syllabary (but the letters are our transcription; they are not letters of the Amharic syllabary).
Note 1.2 Vowels
| Letter | Nearest English Sound, Description | Examples | ||
| /ə/ | represents several sounds; the major variants are: | |||
| 1) usually like a in formula. | bə́rr fə́lləgə |
'doorway' 'he wanted' | ||
| Technically: | a lower mid-central unrounded vowel [ɛ́] | | ||
| approximately the sound of e in bet under the following conditions: | ||||
| Always after | /y/ | yə́t yəlləm yəlıjlıj |
'where' 'no' 'grandchild' | |
| usually after | /ž/ | žəmmərə | 'he started' | |
| /ñ/ | agəññə | 'he found' | ||
| /š/ | šəməggələ | 'he became old' | ||
| /j/ | abə́jjə | 'he performed' | ||
| /c/ | təməccə | 'it became comfortable' | ||
| /C/ | laCCə | 'he shaved' | ||
| Technically: | a lower-mid front unrounded vowel [ɛ] | |||
| /u/ | a high u sound something like the oo of boot but without the w glide found in English and with the lips rounded from the beginning. | dur bunna |
'forest' 'coffee' | |
| Technically: | a high back rounded vowel [u] | |||
| /i/ | something like the ee of beet but without the y glide of English. | fit səmi páris |
'face' 'listener' 'Paris' | |
| Technically: | a high front unrounded vowel [i] | |||
| /a/ | like in a in father. | abbát | 'father' | |
| Technically: | a low central unrounded vowel [a] | |||
| /e/ | approximately like the English sound of the first part of the ai of bait but without the /y/ glide of English. | bet məhéd set ıné wəndımmé |
'house' 'to go' 'female' 'I' 'my brother' | |
| In making the /e/ the center of the tongue is raised almost to the roof of the mouth. Consonants immediately preceding this vowel may be slightly palatalized, that is, the tongue is close to the position it takes for y, so that the consonants have a slight y off-glide: by, sy, hy, etc. | ||||
| Technically: | a higher-mid front unrounded vowel [e] | |||
| /ı/ | may be best compared with a regular pronunciation of the u of just in just a minute. | bırr dıbb sım |
'dollar' 'bear' 'name' | |
| Technically: | a lower-high central unrounded vowel [ɨ] | |||
| In initial position (at the beginning of an utterance) this vowel is voiceless and may be heard as a breathed glide to the following sound. | ıbakkıwo ızziya ızzih |
'please' 'there' 'here' | ||
| /o/ | something like the o of note but short, rounded from the beginning and without the w glide of English after the vowel. Consonants preceding /o/ are usually labialized, that is, are pronounced with rounded lips, resulting in a slight w off-glide: bw, pw, kw, etc. |
mənor ıngócca doro |
'to live' 'bread' 'chicken' | |
| Technically: | a mean-mid back unrounded vowel [Ω] | |||
Vowels in Amharic are generally short. When final or followed by only one consonant they may be longer than when followed by two consonants, or by a long (double) consonant.
Note that after /w/ the following vowel, if normally unrounded, is initially rounded. This is particularly noticeable with /ə/ and /ı/.
Examples:
| wədə | 'to' | wıl | 'agreement' | |
| wər | 'month' | wıha | 'water' | |
| wəgən | 'sect' | wısT | 'inside' |
Note 1.3 Consonants
All consonants in Amharic occur short (indicated by a single symbol: r, l, m, etc.) and long (indicated by doubling the symbol: rr, ll, mm, etc.).
The distinction between short (single) and long (doubled) consonants is very important, as it may distinguish otherwise identical words, e.g. /alə/ 'he said', /allə/ 'there is'.
Amharic has twenty-seven consonants which we write with the following symbols:
| Plain: | b c d f g h j k l m n ñ p r s š t w y z ž ' |
| Glottalized: | C K P S T |
Note 1.3.1
Most of the plain consonants have near equivalents either in English or in other familiar languages such as French, Italian or Spanish. Hints on pronunciation are given as necessary:
/b/ has two pronunciations: at the beginning of a word, when doubled, or when immediately following /m/ or /n/ it is like English b in bet. Between vowels or finally the air is not completely stopped, so that a fricative sound results, rather than a stop. This is a bilabial spirant (or fricative) comparable to the b in Spanish Habana. Technically [β].
Examples:
| bet | 'house' | mənbər | 'pulpit' | |
| abbat | 'father' | abəba | 'flower' | |
| wəmbər | 'chair' | gıb | 'goal' |
/c/ represents a sound like that of ch in church.
/g/ like g in gun.
/h/ has three pronunciations which sound somewhat different to a speaker of English:
Examples:
| hedo | 'he went' | hedhu | 'I went' | |
| hedh | 'you went' | hedaccıhu | 'you (pl.) went' |
/l/ is formed farther forward in the mouth than English l and is very much like french l in elle or Italian l in lingua. The middle of the tongue is closer to the roof of the mouth than it is for English l.
Examples:
| alə | 'he said' | allə | 'there is' |
/ñ/ is like ny the sound in English canyon. Technically a palatalized n [ñ] or [ny].
/r/ is rolled or flapped - the tip of the tongue striking one or more times on the gum ridge behind the upper teeth. It is very much like Italian r in caro.
Examples:
| nəggərə | 'he told' | roman | 'pomegrenate' | |
| bərrədə | 'it was cold' | bırr | 'dollar' |
/š/ approximates the sh sound in English harsh rather than in she. It is close to the French ch in chat.
/t/ is made against the teeth rather than against the ridge back of the teeth as in English. It is otherwise very much like English t except in the final position where it is more aspirated (released with a short puff of breath).
/ž/ is like the French j in jour or somewhat like the English s in in pleasure.
/'/ is a glottal stop [ʔ], a stoppage of breath which can be heard before each of the words: in English if these words are pronounced slowly and deliberately.
/y/ like y in yes, yeast, etc. Between vowels /y/ is just a kind of trough in between the vowel peaks. Both vowels are said distinctly, e.g. /kəyət/ 'where from' /getaye/ 'sir', etc.
/w/ like w in west. Between vowels /w/ is a slight w-glide, e.g. /baKlowoc/ 'mules'. Where the second vowel is an /o/, /w/ stands for the same kind of trough as described above in the case of /y/. The /w/ trough or glide is rounded. Compare the /w/ glide in /awo/ 'yes', /səwoc/ 'people' with the /y/ glide in /mayət/ 'to see' and /ıyut/ 'look at it'.
The voiced consonants /b, d, g, z, ž/ are generally devoiced in final position and sound very much like their voiceless counterparts /p, t, k, s, š/. They are, however, more 'lenis', i.e. pronounced with more relaxed muscles of the mouth.
Note 1.3.2
The glottalized consonant sounds /C K P S T/ are not like anything in English or any other language in Europe. These sounds are formed almost like /c k p s t/ as far as the tongue (or lips in case of /p/) are concerned. But they are 'exploded' not with air from the lungs but rather with air imprisoned between the vocal cords (which are completely closed) and the tongue (or lips in the case of /P/).
Examples:
| /C/ | Cammərə | 'he added' | ||
| wıCC | 'outside' | |||
| /K/ | Kəyy | 'red' | ||
| ruK | 'far' | |||
| /P/ | ityoPıya | 'Ethiopia' | ||
| PaPas | 'bishop' | |||
| /S/ | Səhay | 'sun' | ||
| gəSS | 'page' | |||
| /T/ | Tıru | 'good' | ||
| wısT | 'inside' |
Pronunciation Drills
| /ə/ | |||
| məblat | 'to eat' | mayət | 'to see' |
| məsmat | 'to listed, hear' | mənə́zzərə | 'he changed' |
| məhed | 'to go' | aməsə́ggəne | 'he thanked' |
| bəlla | 'he ate' | asgə́ddədə | 'he forced' |
| səmma | 'he listened' | mókkərə | 'he tried' |
| ássəbə | 'he thought' | gə́mmətə | 'he guessed' |
| áddərə | 'he spent the night' | sə́bbəkə | 'he preached' |
| massəb | 'to think' | mə́kkərə | 'he advised' |
| madər | 'to spend the night' | bərr | 'doorway' |
| fərəs | 'horse' | wəyzəro | 'Mrs.' |
| hedə | 'he went' | wəyzərit | 'Miss' |
| mədrəs | 'to arrive' | kə́ddənə | 'he covered' |
| də́rrəsə | 'he arrived' | wə́ssədə | 'he took' |
| áyyə | 'he saw' | fə́lləgə | 'he wanted' |
| wə́ddədə | 'he liked' | nə́ggəre | 'he told' |
| məwdəd | 'to like' | áddəgə | 'he grew' |
| təwə | 'he left' | láCCə | 'he shaved' |
| lıjagərəd | 'girl' | Cə́rrəsə | 'he finished' |
| /u/ | |||
| ugaden | (place name) | mulu | 'full' |
| u'uta | 'a cry for help' | fəlləgu | 'they wanted' |
| búnna | 'coffee' | zuriya | 'circle' |
| búllal | 'dove' | gum | 'mist' |
| dúlla | 'club, mace' | mušırra | 'bride' |
| hulə́tt | 'two' | múkkəra | 'trial' |
| duldum | 'dull' | kurat | 'pride' |
| dur | 'forest' | dulət | 'council of elders' |
| nuro | 'life' | gulbət | 'knee' |
| nug | 'black seed' | šúkka | 'ford' |
| šum | 'official' | šumət | 'rank' |
| lul | 'pearl' | šurrab | 'sweater' |
| bə́llu | 'they ate' | dúbba | 'pumpkin' |
| wə́ssədu | 'they took' | yasáyyuñ | 'let them show me' |
| hédu | 'they went' | alu | 'they said' |
| /i/ | |||
| immınt | 'insignificant' | hid | 'go' |
| ityoPıya | 'Ethiopia' | fit | 'face' |
| iyyəsus | 'Jesus' | ıngliz | 'English' |
| imam | 'Imam' | áddis | 'new' |
| iTalıya | 'Italy' | wəyzərit | 'Miss' |
| isáyyas | 'Isaiah' | ımoita | 'refusal' |
| ıšši | 'all right' | səmi | 'listener' |
| anbabi | 'reader' | amerikawi | 'American' |
| adragi | 'doer' | fəllagi | 'one who wants' |
| /e/ | |||
| məhed | 'to go' | ıné | 'I' |
| leba | 'theif' | rase | 'myself' |
| let | 'night' | sıme | 'my name' |
| metır | 'meter' | bı'ıre | 'my pen' |
| meda | 'field' | bırre | 'my dollar' |
| geta | 'master' | ıdme | 'age' |
| bərgewoc | 'oxen' | ıgre | 'my foot' |
| ıdmewoc | 'ages' | bete | 'my house' |
| neggadewoc | 'merchants' | fite | 'my face' |
| ındet | 'how' |
| /ı/ | |||
| ıssu | 'he' | ıwınət | 'truth' |
| ısswa | 'she' | tınnıš | 'small' |
| ınnəssu | 'they' | lıkk | 'correct' |
| ınnantə | 'you' | yıdrəsu | 'let them arrive' |
| ırsas | 'pencil' | tıfə́llıg | 'let her cook for' |
| ızzih | 'here' | tıyy | 'let her see' |
| ızziya | 'there' | yıhun | 'let it be' |
| ınnəzzih | 'these' | dıngay | 'stone' |
| yanbıbu | 'read' | bı'ır | 'pen' |
| ıyut | 'look' | bírr | 'dollar' |
| ıdme | 'age' | ıskəzziya | 'meanwhile' |
| ımməbet | 'lady' | sım | 'name' |
| ımməyte | 'ma'am' | sınt | 'how much' |
| ıšši | 'O.K.' | dıbb | 'bear' |
| ıcılálləhu | 'I can' | dınnıc | 'potato' |
| ırawa | 'she' | bırtukan | 'orange' |
| /o/ | |||
| mənor | 'to live' | ankuwakto | 'he, having knocked' |
| ıngocca | 'bread' | ayto | 'he, having seen' |
| mangoca | 'bakery' | gəzto | 'he, having bought' |
| wəyzəro | 'Mrs.' | gəbto | 'he, having entered' |
| wəddo | 'he, having liked' | šəññıto | 'he, having accompanied' |
| bəlto | 'he, having eaten' | dabbo | 'bread' |
| hedo | 'he, having gone' | doro | 'chicken' |