አንበሳ
ʾänbäsa/(ʔ)anˈbəsːa/masculine
The Amharic word for lion is አንበሳ (ʾänbäsa).
አንበሳ is used to refer to the big cat Panthera leo.
Meaning: big cat Panthera leo (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The word አንበሳ is a masculine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is ʾänbäsa and the IPA is /(ʔ)anˈbəsːa/.
Did you know?
- In Ethiopia, the አንበሳ is the national symbol and is deeply linked to the Solomonic dynasty, which claims descent from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
- The word አንበሳ is a learned borrowing from Ge'ez, the ancient liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
- In Ethiopian urban slang, calling someone an አንበሳ can sometimes be used sarcastically to describe someone who is acting overly tough or showing off.
Examples in context
- አንበሳ በጣም የሚያስፈራ እንስሳ ነው።anbessa betam yemiyasfera ensisa new.A lion is a very scary animal.
- አንበሳው በጫካ ውስጥ እየሮጠ ነው።anbessaw becha-ka wist iyero-te new.The lion is running in the forest.
Example conversation
Dawit and Elsabet are watching a nature documentary on TV.
- ዳዊት Dawitአንበሳውን እያየሽው ነሽ?anbessawun eyayeshiv nesh?Are you watching the lion?
- ኤልሳቤጥ Elsabethአዎ ዳዊት፣ በጣም የሚያስፈራ ነው።awo Dawit, betam yemiyasfera new.Yes Dawit, it is very scary.
- ዳዊት Dawitአንበሳው በጣም ትልቅ ነው።anbessaw betam tilik new.The lion is very big.
- ኤልሳቤጥ Elsabethአዎ፣ በጣም አስፈሪ ነው!awo, betam asferi new!Yes, it is very scary!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “lion” translations and entries አንበሳ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries አንበሳ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
