Amharic Plural

Welcome to the fourth Amharic lesson about the plural. This time we will learn about the singular form and what it looks like in the plural, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of emergency phrases. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

book   መጽሐፍ [mäs'əhäfə ]	books   መጽሐፍት [mäs'əhäfətə]	car   መኪና [mäkina]	cars   መኪናዎች [mäkinawočə]
tree   ዛፍ [zafə]	trees   ዛፎች [zafočə]	flower   አበባ [ʾäbäba]	flowers   አበባዎች [ʾäbäbawočə]

Plural Grammar Rules

The plural is the form which refers to more than one object or person. For example: I speak two languages the plural here is [languages] because it refers to more than one [language]. The examples below use plurals in different ways and places to demonstrate how they look when converted from their singular form.

Grammar + Rules	Amharic + Pronunciation
I speak one language [singular form]	አንድ ቋንቋ እናገራለሁ  [ʾänədə qwanəqwa ʾənagäralähu]
we speak three languages [plural noun]	ሶስት ቋንቋዎች እንናገራለን  [sosətə qwanəqwawočə ʾənənagäralänə ]
he visits many countries [adverb + plural noun]	ብዙ ሃገር ጎበኘ  [bəzu hagärə gobäñä]
they are happy now [plural pronoun]	አሁን ደስተኛ ናቸው  [ʾähunə däsətäña načäwə]
she has five red shoes [adjective + plural noun]	አምስት ቀይ ጫማዎች አሏት  [ʾäməsətə qäyə č'amawočə ʾälätə ]
I want a sandwich without onions [preposition + plural noun]	ሽንኩርት የሌለዉ ሳንድዊች እፈልጋለሁ  [šənəkurətə yäleläwu sanədəwičə ʾəfäləgalähu]

The following is a list of examples showing both the singular and plural form. This demonstrates how the plural is used with humans, objects and animals.

woman   ሴት [setə]	women   ሴቶች [setočə]	man   ወንድ [wänədə]	men   ወንዶች [wänədočə]
house   ቤት [betə]	houses   ቤቶች [betočə]	cup   ኩባያ [kubaya]	cups   ኩባያዎች [kubayawočə]
cow   ላም [lamə]	cows   ላሞች [lamočə]	horse   ፈረስ [färäsə]	horses   ፈረሶች [färäsočə]

Emergency Phrases

Now it's time to practice your Amharic by looking at these phrases which are related to emergencies. Be prepared when traveling abroad, just in case you need help or by offering help to someone else. I recommend writing these expressions down on a notebook before traveling.

English	Amharic	Pronunciation
Help	እርዳታ	[ʾərədata]
Call the ambulance	አምቡላንስ ጥራ	[ʾäməbulanəsə t'əra]
I need a doctor	ሐኪም እፈልጋለሁ	[häkimə ʾəfäləgalähu]
Where is the closest pharmacy?	ቅርብ የሆነው መድኃኒት ቤት የት ነው ያለው?	[qərəbə yähonäwə mädəhanitə betə yätə näwə yaläwə?]
Are you okay?	ደህና ነህ?	[dähəna nähə?]
I am sick	አሟኛል	[ʾämañalə]
Call the police	ፖሊስ ጥራ	[polisə t'əra]

Source: Learn 101