ወዲ ሓወቦ
wedi hawebo
The Tigrinya word for cousin is ወዲ ሓወቦ (wedi hawebo).
ወዲ ሓወቦ is a noun used to describe the child of a person's parent's brother or sister.
Meaning: child of a person’s parent’s brother or sister (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
You can modify the phrase by adding suffixes to indicate possession. Adding the suffix '-ይ' to the end of the phrase creates ወዲ ሓወቦይ, meaning 'my cousin (male)'. If you are addressing a male, adding the suffix '-ኻ' to the end results in ወዲ ሓወቦኻ, meaning 'your cousin'.
How do you pronounce it?
wedi hawebo
Did you know?
- In many Tigrinya-speaking communities, a paternal cousin may be referred to using the same term as a 'brother', as the cultural definition of sibling extends to the children of one's father's brothers.
- Tigrinya distinguishes cousins by gender and parentage, meaning there are different specific terms depending on whether the cousin is a male or female and if they are from the mother's or father's side.
- In many Ethiopian and Eritrean social contexts, calling a cousin by their name can be seen as too informal, even if you use the word ወዲ ሓወቦ.
Examples in context
- ወዲ ሓወቦ፡ ጽቡቕ ሰብ እዩ።wedi hawobo, tsibuq seb eyu.My cousin is a good person.
Example conversation
Yonas and Haymanot are looking at a family photo.
- ሃይማኖት Haymanotእዚ መን እዩ ዮናስ?Ezi men eyu Yonas?Who is this, Yonas?
- ዮናስ Yonasእዚ ወዲ ሓወቦ እዩ።Ezi wedi hawbo eyu.This is his cousin.
- ሃይማኖት Haymanotኣብ ኣዲሱ ይነብር ዶ?Ab adisu yinebr do?Does he live in his hometown?
- ዮናስ Yonasእወ፡ ኣብኡ ይነብር።Ewe, abu yinebr.Yes, he lives there.
