እንደምን አለህ?
Endemen aleh?
The English phrase "how are you?" is translated into Amharic as እንደምን አለህ? (Endemen aleh?)
እንደምን አለህ? is a common greeting used to ask someone about their well-being. You may also use the common alternative እንዴት ነህ? to express the same meaning.
Which one should you use?
እንደምን አለህ? is the masculine form. When you are addressing a woman, you should use the feminine form እንደምን አለሽ? instead. To address a group of people, use the plural form እንደምን አላችሁ?
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb ending changes based on the gender and number of the person you are addressing.
How do you pronounce it?
Endemen aleh?
When do people say it?
While እንደምን አለህ? is used to ask about well-being, the word Selam means "Hello".
Did you know?
- In some regions, asking እንዴት ነህ? (how are you?) can be answered with a phrase that translates to 'I am through you', implying that the speaker's well-being is linked to the well-being of the person asking.
- While እንደምን አለህ? asks how you are, the response often includes the phrase እግዚአብሔር ይመስገን, which means 'thanks be to God'. This is the standard cultural response regardless of the speaker's actual religion.
- Amharic uses a distinct 'polite' or 'formal' version of these greetings for elders or strangers. Instead of the forms on this page, you would use እንደምን አሉት? to show respect.
Examples in context
- እንደምን አለህ?indemin aleh?How are you?
- ደህና ነህ? እንደምን አለህ?dehna neh? indemin aleh?Are you well? How are you?
- ሰላም፣ እንደምን አለህ?selam, indemin aleh?Hello, how are you?
Example conversation
Dawit meets Helen in a hallway.
- ዳዊት Dawitሄለን፣ እንደምን አለህ?Helen, endemne aleh?Helen, how are you?
- ሄለን Helenደህና ነኝ፣ አመሰግናለሁ።Dehna negn, ameseginalehu.I am fine, thank you.
- ዳዊት Dawitበጣም ጥሩ።Betam tiru.That is very good.
- ሄለን Helenአንተስ እንዴት ነህ?Antes endet neh?And how are you?
