The Amharic words that will help you most in Ethiopia are selam (hello), ameseginalehu (thank you), yiqirta (sorry or excuse me), ishi (OK) and sint new? (how much is it?). Amharic is the working language of Ethiopia's federal government and the everyday language of Addis Ababa, with tens of millions of first- and second-language speakers. English will usually get you by in Addis hotels and tourist businesses, but a few words of Amharic change the mood of almost every conversation. People are delighted when a visitor tries. And you won't need any Amharic to get from Bole airport to your hotel if a driver is already waiting for you at arrivals.

We've kept to well-established phrases you will actually use, and left out anything with disputed forms.

How do you read the phrases below?

Amharic is written in the Ge'ez script, known as fidel (ፊደል). Each character stands for a whole syllable: there are a few dozen basic consonant shapes, and each has seven forms depending on the vowel that follows. You don't need to learn it to use these phrases, but seeing the script helps you recognise words on signs and menus.

There is no single official way to write Amharic in English letters, so you will see different spellings of the same word. Ours are kept simple. Two sounds are worth knowing:

• gn sounds like the 'ny' in 'canyon' (so dehna negn is roughly 'deh-na nen-y').
• q is a 'k' made further back in the throat, with a sharp, clipped sound (qegn, 'right').
• Don't worry about getting sounds perfect. Say each syllable clearly and people will work out what you mean.

How do you greet people in Amharic?

• ሰላም — selam — hello (literally 'peace'). Works with anyone, any time.
• ጤና ይስጥልኝ — tena yistilign — a more formal hello, good for showing respect.
• ደህና ነህ? — dehna neh? — how are you? (to a man)
• ደህና ነሽ? — dehna nesh? — how are you? (to a woman)
• ደህና ነኝ — dehna negn — I'm fine (the standard reply).
• እንደምን አደርክ? / እንደምን አደርሽ? — indemin aderk? / indemin adersh? — good morning (to a man / to a woman).
• ስሜ … ነው — sime … new — my name is … (sime … yibalal is also common).
• ስምህ ማን ነው? / ስምሽ ማን ነው? — simih man new? / simish man new? — what's your name? (to a man / to a woman)
• ስለተዋወቅን ደስ ብሎኛል — siletewawekin des bilognal — pleased to meet you.
• ደህና ሁን / ደህና ሁኚ — dehna hun / dehna hugni — goodbye (to a man / to a woman).
• ቻው — chaw — bye (casual; it sounds just like the Italian 'ciao').

Greetings matter in Ethiopia. Many people consider it rude to launch into a question or request without first exchanging greetings. Start with selam, even when you only want directions.

How do you say please and thank you?

• አመሰግናለሁ — ameseginalehu — thank you.
• በጣም አመሰግናለሁ — betam ameseginalehu — thank you very much.
• ምንም አይደለም — minim aydelem — you're welcome / it's nothing.
• እባክህ / እባክሽ — ebakih / ebakish — please (to a man / to a woman).
• ይቅርታ — yiqirta — sorry, or excuse me (also useful to get past someone).
• አዎ — awo — yes.
• አይ — ay — no (you will also hear aydelem, 'it isn't').
• እሺ — ishi — OK, fine, agreed. You will hear this constantly.

What do you say when you don't understand?

• አልገባኝም — algebagnim — I don't understand.
• እንግሊዝኛ ትችላለህ? — inglizigna tichilaleh? — do you speak English? (to a man)
• እንግሊዝኛ ትችያለሽ? — inglizigna tichiyalesh? — do you speak English? (to a woman)

How do you ask the price?

• ስንት ነው? — sint new? — how much is it?
• ዋጋው ስንት ነው? — wagaw sint new? — what's the price?
• ውድ ነው — wud new — it's expensive (said with a smile, it opens a friendly haggle in markets).
• አልፈልግም — alfeligim — I don't want it.
• ብር — birr — Ethiopia's currency.

Which food and drink words help most?

• ቡና — buna — coffee. Probably the most useful noun in the country.
• ውሃ — wuha — water.
• ስጋ — siga — meat.
• ሂሳብ — hisab — the bill. 'Hisab, ebakih' means 'the bill, please' (to a man).

For more on dishes and the fasting days when menus switch to vegan food, see our guides to Ethiopian food and Orthodox fasting.

How do you ask for directions?

• … የት ነው? — … yet new? — where is …? (e.g. 'hotel yet new?')
• መጸዳጃ ቤት የት ነው? — metsedaja bet yet new? — where is the toilet?
• ግራ — gra — left.
• ቀኝ — qegn — right.
• ቀጥታ — qetita — straight on.
• እዚህ አቁም — izih aqum — stop here (to a man).

Directions in Addis are usually given by nearby landmarks rather than street addresses, so even good Amharic won't always get you to the right door. With a private driver you just name the place, and you can practise your selam and ameseginalehu on the way.

How do you count from 1 to 10?

• 1 — አንድ — and
• 2 — ሁለት — hulet
• 3 — ሶስት — sost
• 4 — አራት — arat
• 5 — አምስት — amist
• 6 — ስድስት — sidist
• 7 — ሰባት — sebat
• 8 — ስምንት — simint
• 9 — ዘጠኝ — zetegn
• 10 — አስር — asir

Ethiopic script also has its own numerals, such as ፩ for 1 and ፲ for 10, which you may occasionally spot. Knowing the spoken numbers helps most when someone tells you a price out loud.

What is one compliment worth knowing?

ቆንጆ — qonjo — beautiful. 'Qonjo new' ('it's beautiful') is a warm thing to say about a view, a church or a well-made scarf.

Is Amharic spoken everywhere in Ethiopia?

No. Ethiopia has dozens of languages. Afar, Oromo, Somali and Tigrinya are official languages alongside Amharic, and Oromo is the country's largest first language. Amharic is still widely used as a shared language, especially in towns and in business, so the phrases above will serve you well in Addis Ababa. If someone answers in another language, a smile and ameseginalehu still works.