Amharic for children
The fidel, first words with their sound, and where to ask about weekend classes — for children growing up here, and the parents teaching them.
Culture, respect and proverbs
The Ethiopian calendar, the holidays, how to speak to an elder, and the proverbs grandparents use.
The Ethiopian months13 words
- መስከረምmeskerem1st month (from about Sept 11) · New Year
- ጥቅምትtiqimt2nd month (Oct–Nov)
- ኅዳርhidar3rd month (Nov–Dec)
- ታኅሣሥtahsas4th month (Dec–Jan)
- ጥርtir5th month (Jan–Feb)
- የካቲትyekatit6th month (Feb–Mar)
- መጋቢትmegabit7th month (Mar–Apr)
- ሚያዝያmiyazya8th month (Apr–May)
- ግንቦትginbot9th month (May–Jun)
- ሰኔsene10th month (Jun–Jul)
- ሐምሌhamle11th month (Jul–Aug)
- ነሐሴnehase12th month (Aug–Sept)
- ጳጉሜpagume13th month: five days, six in a leap year
Holidays and culture11 words
- እንቁጣጣሽinqutatashEnkutatash, the Ethiopian New Year
- መስቀልmeskelMeskel, with the Demera bonfire
- ገናgenaGenna, Ethiopian Christmas
- ጥምቀትtimqetTimket, Epiphany
- ፋሲካfasikaFasika, Easter
- ዒድ አል-ፈጥርid al-fetirEid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan
- የዓድዋ ድልye'adwa dilThe Victory of Adwa (1896)
- ጀበናjebenaJebena, the clay coffee pot
- ቡና ማፍላትbuna maflatThe coffee ceremony
- ጉርሻgurshaGursha: feeding someone a bite by hand, out of love
- ሽማግሌshimagileElder
Opposites10 words
- ትልቅ / ትንሽtiliq / tinishBig / small
- ረጅም / አጭርrejim / achirTall, long / short
- ሞቃት / ቀዝቃዛmoqat / qezqazaHot / cold
- ፈጣን / ቀርፋፋfetan / qerfafaFast / slow
- አዲስ / አሮጌaddis / arogeNew / old
- ብዙ / ጥቂትbizu / tiqitMany / few
- ቅርብ / ሩቅqirb / ruqNear / far
- ቀላል / ከባድqelal / kebadEasy, light / hard, heavy
- ንጹሕ / ቆሻሻnitsuh / qoshashaClean / dirty
- ጣፋጭ / መራራtafach / meraraSweet / bitter
Speaking to elders10 words
- እርስዎirsiwoYou (to an elder, with respect)
- እንደምን አደሩ?indemin aderu?Good morning (to an elder)
- እንደምን ዋሉ?indemin walu?Good afternoon (to an elder)
- ጤናዎ እንዴት ነው?tenawo indet new?How is your health? (to an elder)
- እባክዎibakwoPlease (to an elder)
- ይቅርታ ያድርጉልኝyiqirta yadirgulinyiPlease forgive me (to an elder)
- እንኳን ደህና መጡinkwan dehna metuWelcome (to an elder)
- ጋሼgasheRespectful name for an older man
- እትዬityeRespectful name for an older woman
- እማማ / አባባimama / ababaMother / Father: said to any grandparent's age
Proverbs7 words
- ቀስ በቀስ እንቁላል በእግሩ ይሄዳል።qes beqes inqulal be'igru yihedalSlowly, slowly, an egg walks on its own legs: be patient.
- ድር ቢያብር አንበሳ ያስር።dir biyabir anbesa yasirSpider webs together can tie up a lion: together we are strong.
- አንድ እጅ አያጨበጭብም።and ij ayachebechibimOne hand cannot clap: we need each other.
- የቸኮለ አፍሶ ለቀመ።yechekole afso leqemeWhoever hurried spilled it and had to pick it up: haste makes waste.
- ጅብ ከሄደ ውሻ ጮኸ።jib kehede wusha choheThe dog barked after the hyena had gone: brave too late.
- ሰው ለሰው መድኃኒቱ ነው።sew lesew medhanitu newPeople are each other's medicine.
- ከአፍ የወጣ አፋፍ።ke'af yeweta afafA word out of the mouth is at the cliff's edge: you cannot take it back.
What does it mean?
An Amharic word or phrase and three meanings: tap the right one. Ten rounds.
How this course is built
The order follows published Amharic courses and children's readers: the seven vowel forms and a few letter families at a time, reading only words made from letters already taught (FSI Amharic Basic Course; University of Wisconsin); short stories and folk tales followed by questions, as in Ethiopia's Grade 1–3 readers and its national early-grade reading check; English beside the Amharic, as the bilingual diaspora books do; and questions to ask at home, as heritage classes give. The Amharic is drafted and is being checked by a native speaker.