ወንድም
wändəm/ˈwəndɨmː/
The Amharic word for brother is ወንድም (wändəm).
ወንድም refers to a biological brother, but it can also be used metaphorically to describe a close male peer or a fellow member of a specific group.
Meaning: male sibling (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word ወንድም is built from the root ወንድ, which means male.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is wändəm.
Did you know?
- When referring to a brother, Ethiopians may use specific terms to distinguish between an older brother and a younger brother, rather than using ወንድም for both.
- Because Amharic is a Semitic language, ወንድም shares a distant ancestral root with the word for 'brother' in Arabic and Hebrew.
- In Amharic, calling a stranger ወንድም can sometimes feel overly intimate or even suspicious if not used in a specific religious or communal context.
Examples in context
- አንድ ወንድም አለኝ።and wendim alegn.I have one brother.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their families at a cafe.
- ዳዊት Dawitሳራ፣ ወንድም አለሽ?Sara, wendim alesh?Sara, do you have a brother?
- ሳራ Saraአዎ፣ አንድ ወንድም አለኝ።Awo, and wendim alegn.Yes, I have one brother.
- ዳዊት Dawitእሱ የት ነው ያለው?Esu yet new yalew?Where is he?
- ሳራ Saraወንድሜ አዲስ አበባ ነው።Wendime Addis Ababa new.My brother is in Addis Ababa.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “brother” translations and entries ወንድም, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
