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Afroasiatic • Semitic

Amharic

አማርኛ

32+ millionspeakers
Ethiopia
Hello
ሰላም (Selam)
Thank You
አመሰግናለሁ (Amesegenalehu)
Goodbye
ደህና ሁን (Dehna hun)

About Amharic

Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia, where it serves as the official working language. It's the second most spoken Semitic language in the world after Arabic. Amharic is written using the Ge'ez script (Fidäl), one of the oldest alphabets still in use, which is unique to Ethiopian and Eritrean languages.

History

Amharic emerged around the 14th century and became the language of the Ethiopian royal court. It replaced Ge'ez as the lingua franca of Ethiopia and has been the official language since the early 20th century. The language has a rich literary tradition dating back centuries.

Writing System

Ge'ez script (Fidäl) - an abugida with 33 basic characters

Dialects

GondarGojjamMenzShewaWello

Common Phrases

EnglishAmharicPronunciation
Hello/Peaceሰላምse-LAM
How are you?እንዴት ነህ?en-DET neh
I'm fineደህና ነኝDEH-na nen
Thank youአመሰግናለሁah-meh-seg-na-LEH-hu
Welcomeእንኳን ደህና መጡen-KWAN DEH-na ME-tu
Yesአዎa-WO
NoአይEYE
Pleaseእባክህe-BAK-keh

Learning Resources

Help Preserve Amharic

Know more phrases or want to contribute audio recordings? Help us build the most comprehensive heritage language resource.

Roots & Ancestry | Global Diaspora Nexus