🌟 Cultural note: In Ethiopia, a proper greeting can take several minutes. You ask about each other's health, family, and wellbeing. Rushing past a greeting is considered very rude.
General Greetings
| ሰላም | Selam | Hello / Hi (casual, any time) |
| ሰላም ነህ? | Selam neh? | Are you well? (to a man) |
| ሰላም ነሽ? | Selam nesh? | Are you well? (to a woman) |
| ደህና ነህ? | Dehna neh? | How are you? (to a man) |
| ደህና ነሽ? | Dehna nesh? | How are you? (to a woman) |
| ደህና ናችሁ? | Dehna nachihu? | How are you all? (to a group) |
| ደህና ነኝ | Dehna negn | I am fine / I am well |
| እና አንተ? | Ina ante? | And you? (to a man) |
| እና አንቺ? | Ina anchi? | And you? (to a woman) |
Time-Based Greetings
| እንደምን አደርክ? | Indeminaderk? | Good morning (to a man, "How did you pass the night?") |
| እንደምን አደርሽ? | Indeminadersh? | Good morning (to a woman) |
| እንደምን አደሩ? | Indeminaderu? | Good morning (formal / group) |
| እንደምን ዋሉ? | Indeminwalu? | Good afternoon (formal) |
| እንደምን አምሹ? | Indeminaméshu? | Good evening (formal) |
| ያረፍክ ቀን ሆነ | Yarefk qen hone | Good night (to a man) |
| ያረፍሽ ቀን ሆነ | Yarefsh qen hone | Good night (to a woman) |
Introductions
| ስምህ ማን ነው? | Simih man new? | What is your name? (to a man) |
| ስምሽ ማን ነው? | Simish man new? | What is your name? (to a woman) |
| ስሜ ... ነው | Sime ... new | My name is ... |
| ከየት ነህ? | Keyet neh? | Where are you from? (to a man) |
| ከየት ነሽ? | Keyet nesh? | Where are you from? (to a woman) |
| ከ... ነኝ | Ke... negn | I am from ... |
| ስንት ዓመት ሆነህ? | Sint amet honehi? | How old are you? (to a man) |
| ... ዓመቴ ነው | ... amete new | I am ... years old |
| ደስ ብሎኛል ስለተዋወቅን | Des bilognyal silete-waweqn | Nice to meet you |
Farewells
| ቻው | Chaw | Bye (casual) |
| ደህና ሁን | Dehna hun | Take care / Goodbye (to a man) |
| ደህና ሁኚ | Dehna hunyi | Take care / Goodbye (to a woman) |
| ደህና ሁኑ | Dehna hunu | Take care / Goodbye (group) |
| እስኪ ሌላ ጊዜ | Iski lela gize | See you next time |
| በቅርብ እንገናኝ | Beqirb inigenayign | See you soon |
| ጤና ይስጥልን | Tena yistilign | God give us health (traditional farewell) |
Gender Reference
👤 Why Gender Matters
When speaking TO A MAN: endings often use -h / -k / -eh
When speaking TO A WOMAN: endings often use -sh / -sh / -esh
Example:
ደህና ነህ? Dehna neh? = Are you well? (man)
ደህና ነሽ? Dehna nesh? = Are you well? (woman)