Amharic Gender

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