ሠላም እና አመሰግናለሁ
Selam ena ameseGenalehu
The English phrase "hello and thank you" is translated into Amharic as ሠላም እና አመሰግናለሁ (Selam ena ameseGenalehu).
This phrase is a polite way to combine a greeting with an expression of gratitude. It is composed of the greeting ሠላም, which can mean "Hi" or "Hello" and አመሰግናለሁ, which is used for "Thank you" in general situations.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of three parts: ሠላም (peace/hello), እና (and) and አመሰግናለሁ (I thank you).
How do you pronounce it?
Selam ena ameseGenalehu
Did you know?
- The word ሠላም is derived from the Semitic root for 'peace' and is shared with the Arabic salam and Hebrew shalom.
- Amharic uses its own unique script called Ge'ez, which is an abugida where each character represents a consonant and a vowel together.
- Depending on the region of Ethiopia, a greeting may involve a series of rapid-fire questions about family and health before the actual conversation begins.
Example conversation
Betelhem is receiving a package from Abel.
- ቤተልሔም Betelhemሠላም እና አመሰግናለሁ አቤል!Selam ena ameseginalehu Abel!Hello and thank you, Abel!
- አቤል Abelምንም አይደለም ቤተልሔም!Minim aydelem Betelhem!You are welcome, Betelhem!
- ቤተልሔም Betelhemይህ በጣም ደስ ይላል።Yih betam des yilal.This is very nice.
- አቤል Abelመልካም ቀን ይሁንልሽ!Melkam ken yihunilish!Have a great day!
