“በቃል ያለ ይረሳል፣ በጽሑፍ ያለ ይወረሳል።”
“What is spoken may be forgotten, but what is written is preserved.”
Whenever you learn a useful Amharic word, phrase, or expression, write it down. Your future self will thank you. 📚✍️
Here is your next assignment, which you will have one full week to complete.
Your task is to list everything you already know in Amharic—organized by category. The categories are:
• Letters (ሆሄያት)
• Words (ቃላት)
• Phrases (ሀረጎች)
• Sentences (አረፍተ ነገሮች)
• Sayings / Proverbs (አባባሎች)
Important Rule:
Write ONLY what you already know and are confident about. Do NOT look up new words or learn anything new for this assignment. Do NOT use Google Translate, Gemini, a dictionary, or any other tool or resource. This must reflect your current knowledge only.
Even if the only thing you know is a single Amharic letter, write it down — that is perfectly fine! The goal is not to impress anyone but to give you (and me) a clear and honest picture of exactly where you stand right now.
Since remembering everything you know may take some time, I am giving you one week to work on this. Take your time and write things down as they come to you throughout the week.
Please type your list on your phone or computer and submit it to me as a text file or document (.txt or .doc/.docx).
Assignment given: Today
Submissions open: May 15, 2026 (please do not submit before this date)
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HOW TO SUBMIT — Choose one:
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Option 1—Share with the class (recommended!)
Post your work in our Homework Submission group so classmates can see, compare, and learn from each other.
Telegram: https://t.me/LearnAmharicGroup/4491
WhatsApp: https://chat.whatsapp.com/D5kYEWuKVOfGyLjoqQbbLi
Option 2—Submit privately (teacher only)
If you prefer only the teacher to see your work, submit via Google Form:
https://forms.gle/piPWtVEypJSU2K3b7
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Both options are valid and equally accepted. Your participation is what matters. I look forward to seeing your work!
🎓Changing Infinitive Verbs into Past Perfect Tense (መብላት፣ መጠጣት፣ ማድረግ)
1. መብላት (To Eat)
2. መጠጣት (To Drink)
3. ማድረግ (To Do/To Make)
In Amharic, these forms (called the Gerundive) are like "bridge" words. On their own, they feel unfinished, but when you add a helper like ነበር (neber), they unlock their full meaning.
እንደዛ አድርጌ ነበር፣ ነገር ግን አልተሳካም።
I had done that, but it didn't succeed.
Of course we can make sentences without the helping verb 'neber', too. e.g.:
በርገር በልቼ አላውቅም።
I have never eaten a burger.
አልኮል ጠጥቼ አላውቅም።
I have never drunk alcohol.
እንደዚህ አድርጌ አላውቅም።
I have never done such a thing.
In English, when you look at words like በልቼ (Belche), ጠጥቼ (Tettiche), or አድርጌ (Adrege), they don't have a direct 1-to-1 equivalent. They function as a "completed action" base that needs a helper to tell us when it happened.
Structure: Gerundive + ነበር
Example: እኔ በልቼ ነበር (I had eaten).
Usage: Use this when you want to say you finished something before another event happened.
“I had eaten before you called.” (አንተ ከመደወልህ በፊት በልቼ ነበር።)
https://easyamharic.com/amharic-verb-conjugation-guide-lesson-1/
2. Real Amharic Lesson:
https://easyamharic.com/amharic-lesson-recap-for-libby-march-9-2026/
3. The Meaning & Usages of ነው:
https://easyamharic.com/the-meanings-and-usage-of-new-learn-amharic-now/
4. To talk about profession & identity:
https://easyamharic.com/real-life-amharic-lesson-exploring-profession-identity/
5. 10 ways to Ask questions in Amharic:
https://easyamharic.com/10-ways-to-ask-questions-in-amharic-like-a-native-speaker/
This is a summary of the Amharic lesson I had today (April 8, 2026) with my student, Ania. I’m sharing this with you because I believe the topics we covered will be helpful for your own learning journey as well.
Amharic Lesson Review
This lesson focuses on Identity, Work, and Verb Conjugation.
ስምሽ ማን ነው? = What is your name?
አኒያ እባላለሁ። = My name is Ania.
የመታወቂያ ስምሽ ምንድን ነው? = What is your legal name?
አኒያ ብቻ ነው። = Only Anya.
የቁልምጫ ስምሽ ማን ነው? = What is your nickname?
የቁልምጫ ስሜ አኒ ነው። = My nickname is Ani.
2. Profession (ስለ ስራ)
ስራሽ ምንድን ነው? = What is your job?
ሓኪም ነኝ። = I am a doctor.
ያንተስ ስራ ምንድን ነው? = What about your job?
የኔ ስራ በኦንላይን አማርኛ ማስተማር ነው። = My job is teaching Amharic online.
አንቺ ከስራሽ የምትወጂው ጎን ምንድን ነው? = What is your favorite part of your job?
ህመምተኞችን (ታካሚዎችን) መርዳት እወዳለሁ። = I love helping patients.
3. Work Flow & Logic (የስራ ሂደት)
ታካሚው እናንተ የሰጣችሁትን ፎቶ ይዞ ወደ ዶክተሩ ይሄዳል? = Does the patient receive the photo from you and take it to their doctor?
አይ፣ ታካሚ ፎቶዎችን ማየት አይችልም። = No, the patient cannot see the photos.
የልብ ፎቶዎችን እናነሳና ቀጥታ ለዶክተሩ ነው የምንልካቸው። = We just take heart pictures and send them directly to the doctor.
The verb ማንሳት is versatile. In a professional context like taking a photo, we conjugate it based on the tense:
Simple Present/Future: አነሳለሁ (I take, I'll take.)
Present Continuous: እያነሳሁ ነው (I am taking)
Present Perfect: አንስቻለሁ (I have taken)
Simple Past: አነሳሁ (I took)
Past Continuous: እያነሳሁ ነበር (I was taking)
Past Perfect: አንስቼ ነበር (I had taken)
5. Personal Preferences (ምርጫዎች)
ከደግ ሰዎች ጋር መግባባት እወዳለሁ። = I like interacting with kind people.
ከክፉ ሰዎች ጋር መግባባት አልወድም። = I don't like interacting with bad people.
ከክፉ ሰዎች ጋር መቀመጥ አልወድም። = I don't like to sit/hang out with cruel people.
Grammar Deep Dive:
Q: What is the infinitive form of "እናነሳና"?
A: The infinitive (base) form is ማንሳት (To take/pick up/lift).
እናነሳና = We take and then... (The 'እና-' is a prefix means used for 'We', and the suffix -ና a contraction of እና (and then).
Q: Why do we use "ን" in "አንስተን" (We took/having taken), but not in "አነሳ" (He took)?
A: This is because they are in different tenses:
አነሳ (He took) is Simple Past. It describes a completed action on its own.
አንስተን (Having taken) is a Gerund (Past Perfect) form. We use this when one action is linked to another. In this specific "link" form, the 'ን' appears as a structural marker for "We".
Note: Even for the third person singular (He), if we use the same tense, the 'ን' appears አንስቶ።
Simple Past (He): አነሳ (He took)
Gerund/Link form (He): አንስቶ (He, having taken...)
Summary: Consistency is key to mastering Amharic. Keep practicing these phrases, and let me know in the comments: What is your favorite part of your job? (ከስራችሁ የምትወዱት ክፍል ምንድን ነው?)
Want to read and learn more Amharic? Please read these articles:
Amharic Lesson Recap – For Libby
(https://easyamharic.com/amharic-lesson-recap-for-libby-march-9-2026/)
Amharic Verb Conjugation Guide Lesson 1: Simple Past and present for First Person (I / We)
(https://easyamharic.com/amharic-verb-conjugation-guide-lesson-1/)
Introduction (መግቢያ)
"ነው" means "is" in English, but it is primarily used for third-person masculine individuals and inanimate things. While the English word "is" is used for both masculine and feminine subjects, "ነው" is gender-specific in most contexts.
However, in the present and past continuous tenses, "ነው" is used as an auxiliary for all pronouns (I, You, We, They, etc.).
In Amharic, there are eight other types of 'to be' verbs that are very specific and serve each pronoun uniquely, in addition to 'ነው'. However, for now, we will focus only on 'ነው'. These other verbs include:
ነኝ (I am),
ነን (we are),
ነህ (you are - masc.),
ነሽ (you are - fem.),
ናችሁ (you are - plural),
ነዎት (you are - polite/formal),
ናት/ነች (she is), and
*ናቸው (*they are). Since "ነው" is the most frequently used, we will focus on its detailed application below.
Placement: In Amharic grammar, "ነው" is almost always found at the end of a sentence.
1. Basic Rules
For Third Person (Masculine/Neutral): "ነው" is primarily used for third-person singular masculine subjects (He) and inanimate objects (This/That/It).
For Continuous Tense: In sentences describing ongoing actions (Present/Past Continuous), it serves as the universal auxiliary for all persons.
2. Detailed Usages of "ነው"
A. After a Noun
Used to identify a person or thing, or to provide a name.
እሱ አበበ ነው። — He is Abebe. (Expressing identity)
ይህ ወረቀት ነው። — This is paper. (Identifying an object)
ዛሬ ሐሙስ ነው። — Today is Thursday. (Stating the day)
B. After an Adjective
Used to describe the character, condition, or appearance of a person or thing.
እሱ ደግ ነው። — He is kind.
ምግቡ ጣፋጭ ነው። — The food is delicious.
ይህ የተሻለ ነው። — This one is better. (Comparison)
C. To Indicate Location (Prepositional Phrases)
Used to state where something or someone is located.
መጽሐፉ ጠረጴዛው ላይ ነው። — The book is on the table.
እሱ ክፍሉ ውስጥ ነው። — He is in the room.
D. Present Continuous Tense
Used to express that an action is currently happening. In this specific tense, "ነው" does not change regardless of the pronoun.
እኔ ስራ እየሰራሁ ነው። — I am working.
እኛ እየበላን ነው። — We are eating.
እናንተ እየሮጣችሁ ነው። — You (plural) are running.
E. For Focus and Emphasis
Used to give special focus to a specific idea or part of a sentence.
እኔ ቦሌ ነው ያለሁት። — It is in Bole that I am located. (Focus on location)
ወደ ቤት ነው የምሄደው። — It is to home that I am going. (Focus on destination)
Note፡
In standard Amharic, the word "ነው" typically changes to "ነች" or "ናት" for feminine subjects (She), and to "ናቸው" or "ናችሁ" for plural forms. However, in continuous action sentences using the "እየ and እያ..." prefix, "ነው" remains unchanged and is used for all pronouns.
https://easyamharic.com/10-ways-to-ask-questions-in-amharic-like-a-native-speaker/