ሓብቲ
ḥabti
The word for sister in Tigrinya is ሓብቲ (ḥabti).
ሓብቲ is a noun used to refer to a woman or girl who has the same parents as another person.
Meaning: woman or girl having the same parents (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
ḥabti
Did you know?
- The word ሓብቲ shares a deep linguistic root with the Arabic word 'ukht' and the Hebrew word 'achot', as all three belong to the Semitic family.
- It is common in Eritrean and Ethiopian culture to use ሓብቲ to address any woman of a similar age or status, even if they are not biologically related.
- The sound at the beginning of ሓብቲ is a voiceless pharyngeal fricative, a sound produced deep in the throat that does not exist in English.
Example sentences for Tigrinya are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Reesa is introducing her family to Samuel.
- ርእሳ Re'esaእዚኣ ሓብቲ እያ።Ezia habti iya.This is my sister.
- ሳሚኤል Samuelሰላም፣ ከመይ ኣለኺ？Selam, kemey alekhi?Hello, how are you?
- ርእሳ Re'esaንሳ ሓብቲ ትምህርቲ እያ።Nisa habti timherti iya.She is a student sister.
- ሳሚኤል Samuelብጣዕሚ ጽቡቕ እዩ።Bitami tsibuq eyu.That is very good.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sister” translations and entries ሓብቲ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
