ኣደ
ʾadä
The word for mother in Tigrinya is ኣደ (ʾadä).
ኣደ is a noun used to refer to a female human who has given birth to or is parenting a child.
Meaning: female (human) who gives birth to or parents a child (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
ʾadä
Did you know?
- The term ኣደ is often used metaphorically to describe one's homeland. In this poetic sense, the country is personified as a 'mother' to those who live there.
- The term ኣደ is closely related to the words for mother in Ge'ez, the ancient liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
- The pronunciation of ኣደ begins with a glottal stop, a sudden closure of the vocal folds. To an English speaker, this might sound like a tiny, sharp catch in the throat between breaths.
Example sentences for Tigrinya are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Re'sa and Jonas are talking about family.
- ርእሳ Re'esaኣደይ ኣብ ቤት ትርከብ።Adey ab bet tirkeb.My mother is at home.
- ዮናስ Yonasንኣደይ ክነብላ ይኽእል?Ni'adey kinebla yikhiel?Can I call my mother?
- ርእሳ Re'esaእወ፡ ኣደይ ትሓግዘካ ትኽእል እያ።Ewe, adey tihagizeka tikiel eyya.Yes, my mother can help you.
- ዮናስ Yonasየቐንየለኪ ርእሳ።Yeqenyeleki Ri'sa.Thank you, Re'sa.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “mother” translations and entries ኣደ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
