What I like about learning Amharic, one of many languages in Ethiopia

Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia on a federal level, but there are many more languages spoken in the multiethnic and multilinguistic country located in Eastern Africa. Amharic is not an easy language to learn. It has click sounds and a writing system that is new to me, where each character stands for a consonant and vowel together. Its language group is Semitic, same as Hebrew and Arabic.

Amharic is stemming from Geʽez which is still used in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as the language of liturgy. Ge’ez was the language of the Aksumite empire which stretched over Northern Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and even Yemen on the opposite side of the Red Sea. The Aksumite empire arose in the 1st century and lasted until the 8th century in the Common Era, covering a span of around 800 years.

Firstly, saying “thank you” can be a bit challenging — it’s a long word with seven syllables! In Amharic, it’s Amesegenallehu (አመሰግናለሁ). Give it a try… good luck! 😄

Also, “እንጀራ እናት” (injera innat) literally means “injera mother” — it’s a colloquial or humorous way in Amharic to refer to a stepmother. Injera, a type of flatbread commonly eaten in Ethiopia, is made from teff—a grain rich in protein, fiber, iron, and calcium. Very healthy actually. My Amharic teacher explained that a stepmother isn’t related to you by blood but is the one who provides your bread. So, calling a stepmother like that makes perfect sense.

Amharic is a polite language that uses a special verb conjugation to show respect, for example, to elderly people. When greeting someone respectfully, instead of saying Selam (ሰላም), you would say Tena yistilin (ተና ይስጥልኝ).

With learning any language, you get an insight into a country’s way of thinking, its history and its culture. Learning Amharic is thus enriching, though it requires lots of efforts. I hope I will be able to speak it fluently someday in the future.