The phrases every Amharic learner needs to survive, be polite, and ask the right questions.
| አዎ | Awo | Yes |
| አይ / አይደለም | Ai / Ayidelem | No / It is not |
| አመሰግናለሁ | Amesegnalehu | Thank you |
| ብዙ አመሰግናለሁ | Bizu amesegnalehu | Thank you very much |
| እባክህ | Ibakeh | Please (to a man) |
| እባክሽ | Ibakesh | Please (to a woman) |
| ይቅርታ | Yiqirta | Sorry / Excuse me / Pardon |
| ምንም አይደለም | Minem ayidelem | You're welcome / No problem |
| ጥሩ | Tiru | Good / Fine / OK |
| አልገባኝም | Algeba-gnim | I don't understand |
| እንደገና ይናገሩ | Indegena yinageru | Please say that again |
| ቀስ ብለው ይናገሩ | Qes bilew yinageru | Please speak slowly |
| አማርኛ አልችልም | Amarigna alchilim | I can't speak Amharic (yet!) |
| አንግሊዝኛ ይናገራሉ? | Ingliziña yinageralu? | Do you speak English? |
| ይሄ ምን ይባላል? | Yihe min yibalal? | What is this called? |
| ዕርዳታ ያስፈልገኛል | Irdata yasifelegnyal | I need help |
| አሳድሬ | Asadre | Let me think... |
| ዋጋው ስንት ነው? | Wagaw sint new? | How much does it cost? |
| ውድ ነው | Wud new | It is expensive |
| ርካሽ ነው | Rikash new | It is cheap |
| ዋጋ ይቀነስልኝ | Waga yiqenesligni | Can you reduce the price? |
| ልግዛ ፈልጌያለሁ | Ligza felgiyalehu | I want to buy (this) |
| አልፈልግም | Alfeligim | I don't want it |
| ብር | Bir | Ethiopian Birr (currency) |
| ማርሽ / ቅናሽ | Marsh / Qinash | Change / Discount |
| ደስ አለኝ | Des alegn | I am happy |
| ደስ አላለኝ | Des alalegn | I am unhappy |
| ደክሞኛል | Dekmognyal | I am tired |
| ርቦኛል | Ribognyal | I am hungry |
| ጠሞኛል | Temognyal | I am thirsty |
| ታምሜያለሁ | Tamimeyalehu | I am sick |
| ፈርቻለሁ | Ferchalehu | I am scared |
| ደስ ብሎኛል | Des bilognyal | I am excited / pleased |
| ሰላም አለኝ | Selam alegn | I am at peace / calm |
| ምን? | Min? | What? |
| ማን? | Man? | Who? |
| የት? | Yet? | Where? |
| መቼ? | Meche? | When? |
| ለምን? | Lemin? | Why? |
| እንዴት? | Indet? | How? |
| ስንት? | Sint? | How many? / How much? |
| የትኛው? | Yetignaw? | Which one? |
| ምን ትፈልጋለህ? | Min tifelgaleh? | What do you want? (to a man) |
| ወዴት ትሄዳለህ? | Wedet tihedaleh? | Where are you going? (to a man) |
| ምን ሰዓት ነው? | Min seat new? | What time is it? |
| ሆቴሉ የት ነው? | Hotelu yet new? | Where is the hotel? |
| ምግብ ቤቱ የት ነው? | Migib betu yet new? | Where is the restaurant? |
| መታሰቢያ ቤቱ የት ነው? | Metasebiya betu yet new? | Where is the toilet? |
| ሆስፒታሉ የት ነው? | Hospitalu yet new? | Where is the hospital? |
| ምን ዓይነት ምግብ ትወዳለህ? | Min ainet migib tiwedaleh? | What kind of food do you like? |
| ቀኝ ወደ ቀኝ ወደ ግራ? | Qegn wede qegn wede gira? | Right or left? |
| ቀጥ ብለህ ሂድ | Qet bileh hid | Go straight |
| በቀኝ ዞር | Beqegn zor | Turn right |
| በግራ ዞር | Begira zor | Turn left |
| ርቀቱ ስንት ነው? | Riqetu sint new? | How far is it? |
| ቅርብ ነው | Qirb new | It is near / close |
| ርቅ ነው | Riq new | It is far |