Amharic question words — what, who, where, when, why, how
Question words are conversation's steering wheel. Amharic's are short, frequent and regular — and because the verb comes last, most beginner questions are just a question word plus new? (“is”).
The question words
| Amharic | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ምን | min | whatUsed when asking about a thing or information. |
| ምንድን | mindin | whatUsed in the object-identification question taught here. |
| ማን | man | whoUsed when asking about a person. |
| የት | yet | whereUsed for asking where; introduced as a beginner question word. |
| ወዴት | wedét | where to? / to where? |
| መቼ | meché | when |
| ለምን | lemin | why |
| እንዴት | indét | how |
| ስንት | sint | how many; how muchContext-dependent question word used for quantity or amount. |
| የትኛው | yetignaw | which? |
Ready-made questions
| Amharic | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ይህ ምንድን ነው? | yih mindin new? | What is this?Fixed beginner question for a nearby thing. |
| ያ ምንድን ነው? | ya mindin new? | What is that?Fixed beginner question for a farther-away thing. |
| የት ነው? | yet new? | Where is it?Fixed beginner pattern. Context identifies the person or thing being asked about. |
| መቼ ነው? | meché new? | When is it? |
| ምን ትፈልጋለህ? | min tifelgaleh? | What do you want? (to one familiar/informal man) |
| ምን ትፈልጊያለሽ? | min tifeligiyalesh? | What do you want? (to one familiar/informal woman) |
The pattern to steal: [question word] + ነው (new, “is”). Yet new? — where is it? Meché new? — when is it? Sint new? — how much is it? One template, endless questions.
Make it stick
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