ርሑስ በዓል ልደት
rhus be'al lidet
ርሑስ በዓል ልደት (rhus be'al lidet) is how you say merry Christmas in Tigrinya.
ርሑስ በዓል ልደት is used to offer good wishes during the Christmas season. You may also encounter the phrase Degmawi Lidet! which means Festive Birth!
Meaning: good wishes at Christmas time (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase contains the word ልደት (lidet), which means birth.
How do you pronounce it?
rhus be'al lidet
Did you know?
- Traditional celebrations accompanying this greeting often involve a game called Genna, which is a form of field hockey played with a curved stick.
- In many Tigrinya-speaking communities, the holiday is celebrated on January 7th rather than December 25th, following the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church calendar.
- The root of በዓል (be'al) shares an ancient lineage with the word 'Baal', a title for various deities in ancient Semitic cultures.
Examples in context
- ርሑስ በዓል ልደት!rihus be'al lidet!Merry Christmas!
Example conversation
Two friends meet on the street during the holiday season.
- ዮናስ Yonasሰላም ርእሳ፣ ርሑስ በዓል ልደት!Selam Riesa, ruhus be'al lidet!Hello Riesa, Merry Christmas!
- ርእሳ Re'esaየቐንየለይ ዮናስ፣ ንዓኻን ርሑስ በዓል ልደት!Yeqenyelay Yonas, ni'akan ruhus be'al lidet!Thank you Yonas, Merry Christmas to you too!
- ዮናስ Yonasከመይ ኢያ በዓል ልደት ርእሳ?Kemey iya be'al lidet Riesa?How is Christmas, Riesa?
- ርእሳ Re'esaበጣይ ጽቡቕ እዩ፣ የቀንየለይ!Betay tsibuq eyu, yeqenyelay!It is very good, thank you!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries በዓል, CC BY-SA 4.0.
