ስንት ነው
sinti newi
To ask "how much" in Amharic, use ስንት ነው (sinti newi).
The phrase ስንት ነው is used to ask for the cost or price of something.
Meaning: what is the cost/price? (det)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of ስንት, meaning "how much" and ነው, meaning "is". Literally, it translates to "how much is it".
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase ስንት ነው functions as a complete question and is the standard way to inquire about a price.
How do you pronounce it?
sinti newi
Did you know?
- In Ethiopian markets, you rarely use ስንት ነው to get the final price. It is the starting point for a social negotiation where the seller and buyer exchange several offers before agreeing.
- Amharic uses a unique numbering system called Ge'ez numerals for written prices, which look entirely different from the Latin digits used in English.
- The word ነው comes from the ancient Proto-Semitic root *haway-, which connects it to a vast family of languages spanning the Middle East and Africa.
Examples in context
- ያቺ መኪና ስንት ነው?How much does that car cost?This sentence demonstrates how to use ስንት ነው to ask the price of an object.Tatoeba #4451300 by ghajn97, translation #4450355 by Will
- ይህ ዳቦ ስንት ነው?yeh dabo sint nev?How much is this bread?
- አዲሱ ስልክ ስንት ነው?addisu silk sint nev?How much is the new phone?
Example conversation
At a local market, Elias asks Bethelhem about the price of fruit.
- ኤልያስ Eliasይህ ብርቱካን ስንት ነው?yeh burtukan sint nev?How much is this orange?
- ቤተልሔም Betelhemሃያ ብር ነው።haya bir nev.It is twenty birr.
- ኤልያስ Eliasእሺ፣ አንድ ኪሎ እፈልጋለሁ።eshi, and kilo efelgalew.Okay, I want one kilo.
- ቤተልሔም Betelhemእሺ ኤልያስ፣ አሁኑኑ አዘጋጃለሁ።eshi Elias, ahununu azegajalehu.Okay Elias, I will prepare it right now.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ነው, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
