Amharic Verbs

Welcome to the 10th lesson about verbs in Amharic. We will first learn about the present tense, followed by the past tense, and future tense. We will also analyze some grammar rules, and finally practice how to ask for direction in Amharic.

Verbs are used to express an action (I swim) or a state of being (I am). The present tense in Amharic conveys a situation or event in the present time. Here are some examples:

Present Tense - Amharic - Pronunciation
I speak English እንግሊዘኛ እናገራለሁ [ʾənəgəlizäña ʾənagäralähu]
you speak French ፈረሳይኛ ትናገራለህ [färäsayəña tənagäralähə]
he speaks German ጀርመንኛ ይናገራለህ [ǧärəmänəña yənagäralähə]
she speaks Italian ጣሊያንኛ ትናገራለች [t'aliyanəña tənagäraläčə]
we speak Arabic አረብኛ እንናገራለህ [ʾäräbəña ʾənənagäralähə]
they speak Chinese ቻይንኛ ይናገራሉ [čayənəña yənagäralu]

The past tense in Amharic conveys a situation or event in the past time. Here are some examples:

Past Tense - Amharic - Pronunciation
I visited France ፈረንሳይን ጐበኘሁ [färänəsayənə guebäñähu]
you visited Italy ጣሊያንን ጐበኘህ [t'aliyanənə guebäñähə]
he visited Morocco ሞሮኮን ጐበኘ [morokonə guebäñä]
she visited China ቻይናን ጐበኘች [čayənanə guebäñäčə]
we visited Mexico ሜክሲኮን ጐበኘን [mekəsikonə guebäñänə]
they visited Kenya ኬንያን ጐበኙ [kenəyanə guebäñu]

The future tense in Amharic conveys a situation or event which is anticipated to happen in the future. Here are some examples:

Future Tense - Amharic - Pronunciation
I will drink milk እኔ ወተት እጠጣለሁ [ʾəne wätätə ʾət'ät'alähu]
you will drink coffee አንተ ቡና ትጠጣለህ [ʾänətä buna tət'ät'alähə]
he will drink tea እሱ ሻይ ይጠጣል [ʾəsu šayə yət'ät'alə]
she will drink water እሷ ውሃ ትጠጣለች [ʾəሷ wəha tət'ät'aläčə]
we will drink apple juice እኛ የፖም ጭማቂ እንጠጣለን [ʾəña yäpomə č'əmaqi ʾənət'ät'alänə]
they will drink tea እነሱ ሻይ ይጠጣሉ [ʾənäsu šayə yət'ät'alu]

Now let's take a break and refresh our vocabulary by learning the body parts.

ear ጆሮ [ǧoro]

eye ዓይን [ʾayənə]

mouth አፍ [ʾäfə]

nose አፍንጫ [ʾäfənəč'a]

hair ፀጉር [s'ägurə ]

face ፊት [fitə ]

head ራስ [rasə ]

heart ልብ [ləbə ]

hand እጅ [ʾəǧə ]

fingers ጣቶች [t'atočə]

leg ቅልጥም [qələt'əmə]

feet እግሮች [ʾəgəročə ]

Travel Phrases in Amharic

Imagine yourself in some Amharic speaking country. The following travel phrases are highly important and can help you avoid misunderstanding. Try to memorize them and practice!

English - Amharic - Pronunciation
Can you help me? ልትረዳኝ ትችላለህ? [lətərädañə təčəlalähə?]
Can I help you? ምን ልርዳህ? [mənə lərədahə?]
Where is the airport? አየር ማረፊያው የት ነው? [ʾäyärə maräfiyawə yätə näwə?]
Go straight ቀጥታ ሂድ [qät'əta hidə]
Then ከዚያ [käziya]
Turn left ወደ ግራ ዙር [wädä gəra zurə]
Turn right ወደ ቀኝ ዙር [wädä qäñə zurə]

I hope this lesson about the verbs in Amharic was not hard for you. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. To see the full menu, you can also click on the "Menu" icon on the left side.