ደህና እደር
dehna eder
The English phrase "goodnight" is translated into Amharic as ደህና እደር (dehna eder).
This phrase is used to wish someone a good night's sleep before they go to bed.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase ደህና እደር literally translates to "sleep well".
Which one should you use?
The form you choose depends on who you are addressing: use ደህና እደር for a male, ደህና እደሪ for a female and ደህና እደሩ for a group or to show respect.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase changes its ending based on the gender and number of the person being addressed: use እደር for a male, change the ending to እደሪ when addressing a female and change the ending to እደሩ for a plural subject or formal address.
How do you pronounce it?
dehna eder
Did you know?
- Amharic uses a unique script called Ge'ez. In ደህና እደር, the characters are not an alphabet but an abugida, where each symbol represents a consonant and a vowel combined.
- In Ethiopian culture, the response to ደህና እደር is often ደህና እደር back, but it is also common to reply with አሜን, meaning 'Amen', to treat the wish as a small prayer for safety.
- While English speakers say 'goodnight' to mean 'goodbye' at the end of the evening, an Amharic speaker might find it odd to use a 'sleep' verb if the person is not actually going to bed immediately.
Examples in context
- ደህና እደር።dehna eder.Goodnight.
- ተባረክ፣ ደህና እደር።tebarek, dehna eder.Be blessed, goodnight.
Example conversation
Dawit is leaving Sarah's house at night.
- ዳዊት Dawitእኔ አሁን እሄዳለሁ።Ine ahun ehedalehu.I am going now.
- ሳራ Saraእሺ፣ ደህና እደር ዳዊት።Eshi, dehna eder Dawit.Okay, goodnight Dawit.
- ዳዊት Dawitአንቺም ደህና እደሪ ሳራ።Anchim dehna ederi Sara.You also goodnight Sara.
- ሳራ Saraደህና ሁን።Dehna hun.Goodbye.
