ርሑስ በዓል
Rhus Be'al
To say "happy holiday" in Tigrinya, use ርሑስ በዓል (Rhus Be'al).
ርሑስ በዓል is a general greeting used to wish someone a joyful celebration of a holiday.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adjective ርሑስ (rhus) meaning "blessed" or "happy" and the noun በዓል (be'al) meaning "holiday" or "festival".
How do you pronounce it?
Rhus Be'al
Did you know?
- The word በዓል is etymologically rooted in the Proto-Semitic *baʕl-, a term often associated with ancient deities or 'lords'.
- The word በዓል is also used to describe a person who is a 'master' or 'lord' of something in certain archaic or poetic contexts.
- The spelling of በዓል uses the letter ዓ (Ayn), a guttural consonant that English speakers often find difficult to pronounce, which changes the way the word is felt in the throat.
Examples in context
- ርሑስ በዓል ይኹንልካ።riḥus be'al yikunlika.Happy holiday to you (masculine).
- ርሑስ በዓል ይኹንልኪ።riḥus be'al yikunliki.Happy holiday to you (feminine).
Example conversation
Two friends meet on the street during a holiday.
- ኤፍሬም Efremሰላም ሃይማኖት፣ ርሑስ በዓል!Selam Haymanot, ruhus beal!Hello Haymanot, happy holiday!
- ሃይማኖት Haymanotየቐንየለይ ኤፍሬም፣ ንዓኻ እውን ርሑስ በዓል!Yeqenyelay Efrem, niaka iwin ruhus beal!Thank you Efrem, happy holiday to you too!
- ኤፍሬም Efremከመይ ርከብኪ?Kemey rikebki?How are you doing?
- ሃይማኖት Haymanotጽቡቕ እየ፣ የቐንየለይ።Tsubuq iye, yeqenyelay.I am good, thank you.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries በዓል, CC BY-SA 4.0.
