Tigrinya (ትግርኛ) is spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia by the Tigrinya people. It is the lingua franca of Eritrea, and the first language of the vast majority of people in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
Phrase list
Basics
; Hello. :ሰላም (selam) ; How are you? :ከመይ ኣለኻ/Kemay al'eka? (to men) ከመይ ኣለኺ/Kemay al'eki? (to women) ; Fine, thank youእየ. (Dehan-iye, yekenyelay) ; What is your name? :መን ሽምካ/Men'shimka (for men) መን ሽምኪ/Men'shimki (for women) ; My name is ______ . :ሽመይ ___ እዩ(Shimay ___ iyu) ; Nice to meet you. :ጽቡቕ ሌላ(Tsubu leyla) ; Please. :በጃኻ/bejakha (to men) በጃኺ/bejakhi (to women) ; Thank you. :የቐኔለይ(yekenyeley) ; You're welcome. : ገንዘብካ (to men) ገንዘብኪ (to women) () ; Yes. : እወ. ('Eweh) ; No. : ኣይኮነን. () ; Excuse me. (getting attention) : ይቅሬታ ግበረለይ! (to men) ይቅሬታ ግበርለይ! (to women) () ; I'm sorry. :ይቕሬታ! (to men) ኣይትሓዘለይ (to women) () ; Goodbye :ደሓን ኹን (Dehan-koon) ; Where are you from? (country of origin) : ካበይ መጺኻ ? (to men) ካበይ መጺኺ ? (to women) () ; I can't speak Tigrinya. : ትግርኛ ኣይፈልጥን. ([ ]) ; Do you speak English? :ኢንግልዘኛ ትዛረብዶ/inglizenya tzarebdo (for men) ኢንግልዘኛ ትዛረቢዶ/inglizenya tzarebido(for women) ; Is there someone here who speaks English? : እንግሊዝኛ ዝዛረብ ሰብ ይርከብዶ? (?) ; Help! :ሓግዘኒ!(Hagezeni!) ; Good morning. : Dehando(!?) kemay'haderka/ደሓንዶ/ከመይ ሓዲርካ (to men) Dehando(!?) kemay haderki/ደሓንዶ/ከመይ ሓዲርኪ(for women) ; Good afternoon. : ከመይ ውዒልካ (to men) ከመይ ውዒልኪ (to women) () ; Good evening. : ከመይ ኣምሲኻ (to men) ከመይ ኣምሲኺ (to women) (__) ; Good night. : ልዋም ለይቲ ('Buruk leyti) ; I understand. :ተረዲኡኒ (Teredi-uni) ; I don't understand. :ኣይተረድኣኒን (ayteredianin) ; Where is the toilet? :ሽቓቅ ኣበይ ኣሎ፧/ሽንቲ ቤት ኣበይ ኣሎ(sha'ah abeylo?)
Problems
; Leave me alone. : Gedefenaግደፈኒ! (to men) በይነይ ግደፍGedefeni! (to women) ; Don't touch me! :ኣይቲተኒኪፈኒ. Aytetenikifeni ; I'll call the police. : ፖሊስ ጸውዕ! (to men) ፖሊስ ጸውዒ! (to women) (.) ; Police! : ፖሊስ ! (!) ; Stop! Thief! :(! !) ; I need your help. :ሓገዝካ(for male) ሓገዝኪ(for female) የድልየኒ ዩ። Hagezika yediliyeni yu(speaking to male) / Hageziki yediliyeni yu(speaking to female). ; It's an emergency. : . (ህጹጽ ኵነታት እዩ. Hidsu...) ; I'm lost. :መንገዲ ጠፊእኒ። Megedi teFieni. (.) ; I lost my bag. :ሳንጣይ ጠፊእኒ. SanTay tefieni. ; I lost my wallet. : . (.) ; I'm sick. :ተጸሊእኒ ኣሎ፣ ሓሚመ. TseliEni alo/ Hamime. ; I've been injured. : ማህሰይቲ ኣሎኹ (.) ; I need a doctor. : (ኣነ) ሓኪም የድሊየኒ ኣሎ (.) ; Can I use your phone? :ሰሊኪኪ ካ ተለፎንኪ ካ ኣጥቅመኒ። Silkiki / Telefoniki AteQimeni (toward female), Silkika AtetiQimeni(toward male)
Numbers
; 1 : ሓደ (hade) ; 2 : ክልተ (kilitey) ; 3 : ሰለስተ (seleste) ; 4 : ኣርባዕተ (arbaete) ; 5 : ሓሙሽተ (hamushte) ; 6 : ሽዱሽተ (shudushte) ; 7 : ሸውዓተ (shewa'ate) ; 8 : ሸሞንተ (shemonte) ; 9 : ትሽዓተ (tishe'ate) ; 10 : ዓሰርተ ('aserte) ; 11 : ዓሰርተ ሓደ (aserte hade) ; 12 : ዓሰርተ ክልተ (aserte kilitey) ; 13 : ዓሰርተ ሰለስተ () ; 14 : ዓሰርተ ኣርባዕተ () ; 15 : ዓሰርተ ሓሙሽተ () ; 16 : ዓሰርተ ሽዱሽተ () ; 17 : ዓሰርተ ሸውዓተ () ; 18 : ዓሰርተ ሸሞንተ () ; 19 : ዓሰርተ ትሽዓተ () ; 20 : ዕስራ (esra) ; 21 : ዕስራን () ; 22 : ዕስራን () ; 23 : ዕስራን () ; 30 : ዕስራን (selasa) ; 40 : ኣርባዓ (arba'a) ; 50 : ሓምሳ (hamsa) ; 60 : ስሳ (susa) ; 70 : ሰብዓ (seb'a) ; 80 : ሰማንያ (semanya) ; 90 : ተስዓ (tes'a) ; 100 : ሚእቲ (meetee) ; 200 : ክልተ ሚእቲ () ; 300 : ሰለስተ ሚእቲ () ; 1,000 : ሽሕ (sheh or elfi) ; 2,000 : ክልተ ሽሕ () ; 1,000,000 : ሚልዮን () ; 1,000,000,000 : ቢልዮን () ; 1,000,000,000,000 : () ; number _____ (train, bus, etc.) : () ; half : ፍርቂ () ; less : ዝወሓደ () ; more : ዝበዝሐ ()
Time
; now : ሕጂ(hiji) ; later : ደሓር () ; before : () ; morning : ንጉሆ () ; afternoon : መዓልቲ () ; evening : ምሸት () ; night : ለይቲ ()
Clock time
; one o'clock AM : () ; two o'clock AM : () ; noon : () ; one o'clock PM : () ; two o'clock PM : () ; midnight : ()
Duration
; _____ minute(s) : _____ ደቒቕ () ; _____ hour(s) : ሰዓት () ; _____ day(s) : _____ መዓልቲ () ; _____ week(s) : _____ ሰሙን () ; _____ month(s) : _____ ወርሒ () ; _____ year(s) : _____ ዓመት ()
Days
; today : ሎሚ (lomi) ; yesterday : ትማሊ () ; tomorrow : ጽባሕ () ; this week : () ; last week : () ; next week : ኣብ ዝመጽእ ሰሙን (__)
; Sunday : ሰንበት () ; Monday : ሰኑይ () ; Tuesday : ሰሉስ () ; Wednesday : ረቡዕ () ; Thursday : ሓሙስ () ; Friday : ዓርቢ () ; Saturday : ቀዳም (__)
Months
; January : ጥሪ () ; February : ለካቲት () ; March : መጋቢት () ; April : ሚያዝያ () ; May : ግንቦት () ; June : ሰነ () ; July : ሓምለ () ; August : ነሓሰ () ; September : መስከረም () ; October : ጥቅምቲ () ; November : ሕዳር () ; December : ታሕሳስ ()
Writing time and date
Colors
; black : ጸሊም (ts’eleme) ; white : ጻዕዳ (tsa'ada) ; gray : ሕሙኽሽታይ () ; red : ቀይሕ () ; blue : ሰማያዊ () ; yellow : ቢጫ () ; green : ሓምላይ () ; orange : ሓምላይ () ; purple : ሊላ () ; brown : ቡናዊ ()
Transportation
Bus and train
; How much is a ticket to ___? : () ; One ticket to _, please. : () ; Where does this train/bus go? : () ; Where is the train/bus to ___? : () ; Does this train/bus stop in _? : () ; When does the train/bus for _____ leave? : () ; When will this train/bus arrive in ___? : ()
Directions
; How do I get to _____ ? : ከመይ ገይረ ናብ ... ይኸይድ ? () ; ...the train station? : () ; ...the bus station? : መዕረፊ ኣውቶቡስ () ; ...the airport? : መዕረፊ ነፋሪት () ; ...downtown? : () ; ...the youth hostel? : () ; ...the _____ hotel? : ሆተል _? () ; ...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate? : () ; Where are there a lot of... : () ; ...hotels? : ሆተላት () ; ...restaurants? : ቤትምግቢታት () ; ...bars? : ቤት መስተታት () ; ...sites to see? : () ; Can you show me on the map? : () ; street : () ; Turn left. : ንጸጋም ተጠወ () ; Turn right. : ንየማን ተጠወ () ; left : () ; right : () ; straight ahead : () ; towards the _____ : () ; past the _____ : () ; before the _____ : () ; Watch for the _. : () ; intersection : መራኽቦ መንገዲ () ; north : ሰሜን () ; south : ደቡብ () ; east : ምብራቅ () ; west : ምዕራብ () ; uphill : () ; downhill : (__)
Taxi
; Taxi! : (__) ; Take me to ___, please. : () ; How much does it cost to get to _? : () ; Take me there, please. : ()
Lodging
; Do you have any rooms available? : መደቀሲ ክፍሊ ኣሎኻ ዶ? () ; How much is a room for one person/two people? : ንሓደ / ንክልተ ሰብ ክንደይ ይክፍል? () ; Does the room come with... : ኣብ እዚ ክፍሊ ... ይረክብዶ () ; ...bedsheets? : () ; ...a bathroom? : ባኞ () ; ...a telephone? : ተለፎን () ; ...a TV? : ቲቪ () ; May I see the room first? : () ; Do you have anything quieter? : () ; ...bigger? : () ; ...cleaner? : () ; ...cheaper? : () ; OK, I'll take it. : () ; I will stay for _____ night(s). : () ; Can you suggest another hotel? : () ; Do you have a safe? : መቐመጥ ገንዘብ ኣሎካ ዶ፧ ; ...lockers? : () ; Is breakfast/supper included? : (ቀርሲ /ድራር የጠቓልል ድዩ፧) ; What time is breakfast/supper? : () ; Please clean my room. : () ; Can you wake me at _? : () ; I want to check out. : ()
Money
; Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars? : () ; Do you accept British pounds? : (ባጤራ ብርጣንያ ክትቅበል ትኽእል ዶ፧) ; Do you accept euros? : (ዩሮ ክትቅበል ትኽእል ዶ፧) ; Do you accept credit cards? : () ; Can you change money for me? : () ; Where can I get money changed? : (ቅያር ገንዘብ ኣበይ እረክብ፧) ; Can you change a traveler's check for me? : () ; Where can I get a traveler's check changed? : () ; What is the exchange rate? : () ; Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)? : ()
Eating
; A table for one person/two people, please. : () ; Can I look at the menu, please? : () ; Can I look in the kitchen? : () ; Is there a house specialty? : () ; Is there a local specialty? : () ; I'm a vegetarian. : () ; I don't eat pork. : () ; I don't eat beef. : () ; I only eat kosher food. : () ; Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard) : () ; fixed-price meal : () ; a la carte : () ; breakfast : ቁርሲ (_kursi _) ; lunch : ምሳሕ () ; supper : ድራር (drar) ; I want . : ደልየ (" deliye") ; I want a dish containing _. : () ; chicken : ደርሆ () ; beef : ስጋ ከብቲ () ; fish : ዓ("asa") ; ham : ስጋ ሓሰማ () ; sausage : ግዕዝም () ; cheese : ፎርማጆ () ; eggs : እንቋቑሖ () ; salad : ሳላጣ () ; (fresh) vegetables : ኣሕምልቲ () ; (fresh) fruit : ፍሩታ () ; bread : (bani) ; toast : ጥቡስ ባኒ () ; pasta : ማካሮኒ () ; spaghetti : ስፓገቲ () ; rice : ሩዝ () ; beans : ዓተር () ; Hamburger : ሃምበርገር () ; Orange : ኣራንሺ () ; Apple : ቱፋሕ () ; Banana : ባናና () ; Pineapple : ኣናናስ () ; Grapes : ወይኒ () ; May I have a glass of _? : ጥርሙዝ ... ሃበኒ በጀኹም () ; May I have a cup of _? : ኩባያ ... ሃበኒ በጀኹም () ; May I have a bottle of _? : ጥርሙዝ ... ሃበኒ በጀኹም () ; coffee : ቡን (_boon _) ; tea (drink) : ሻሂ ("shahi") ; milk : ጸባ ("tsaba") ; juice : ጽማቝ () ; (bubbly) water : ማዕድናዊ ማይ () ; (still) water : ማይ(mai) ; beer : ቢራ () ; wine : ነቢት () ; May I have some _? : () ; salt : () ; black pepper : () ; butter : () ; Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server): () ; I'm finished. : () ; It was delicious. : (du'um) ; Please clear the plates. : () ; The check, please. : (__)
Bars
; Do you serve alcohol? : () ; Is there table service? : () ; A beer/two beers, please. : () ; A glass of red/white wine, please. : () ; A pint, please. : () ; A bottle, please. : () ; _____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please. : () ; whiskey : () ; vodka : () ; rum : () ; water : () ; club soda : () ; tonic water : () ; orange juice : () ; Coke (soda) : () ; Do you have any bar snacks? : () ; One more, please. : () ; Another round, please. : () ; When is closing time? : () ; Cheers! : ()
Shopping
; Do you have this in my size? : () ; How much is this? : ክንደይ’ዩ ዋግኡ እዚ? () ; That's too expensive. : () ; Would you take _? : () ; expensive : ክቡር () ; cheap : ሕሱር () ; I can't afford it. : () ; I don't want it. : እዚ ኣይደልን () ; You're cheating me. : () ; I'm not interested. : (..) ; OK, I'll take it. : () ; Can I have a bag? : () ; Do you ship (overseas)? : () ; I need... : ኣነ .... የድሊየኒ ኣሎ () ; ...toothpaste. : መሕጸብ ስኒ () ; ...a toothbrush. : () ; ...tampons. : . () ; ...soap. : ሳሙና () ; ...shampoo. : ሻምፑ () ; ...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen) : ኣስፕሪን () ; ...cold medicine. : () ; ...stomach medicine. : ... () ; ...a razor. : መላጸ () ; ...an umbrella. : ጽላል () ; ...sunblock lotion. : () ; ...a postcard. : () ; ...postage stamps. : ቲምብር () ; ...batteries. : () ; ...writing paper. : ወረቐት () ; ...a pen. : ፕሮ () ; ...English-language books. : () ; ...English-language magazines. : () ; ...an English-language newspaper. : () ; ...an English-English dictionary. : (__)
Driving
; I want to rent a car. : () ; Can I get insurance? : () ; stop (on a street sign) : () ; one way : () ; yield : () ; no parking : () ; speed limit : () ; gas (petrol) station : () ; petrol : በንዚን () ; diesel : ()
Authority
; I haven't done anything wrong. : () ; It was a misunderstanding. : () ; Where are you taking me? : () ; Am I under arrest? : () ; I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen. : () ; I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate. : () ; I want to talk to a lawyer. : () ; Can I just pay a fine now? : ()