እንኳን ደህና መጣህ m እንኳን ደህና መጣሽ f እንኳን ደህና መጡ
ʾənkʷan dähna mäṭašplural
In Amharic, 'welcome' is expressed as እንኳን ደህና መጣህ m እንኳን ደህና መጣሽ f እንኳን ደህና መጡ (ʾənkʷan dähna mäṭaš).
This phrase is a greeting given upon someone's arrival.
Meaning: greeting given upon someone's arrival (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to something like 'Gladly you came well'. It consists of እንኳን (congratulations/gladly), ደህና (well/peacefully) and መጣህ (you came).
Which one should you use?
The forms differ based on who you are addressing: እንኳን ደህና መጣህ is used for a single male, እንኳን ደህና መጣሽ is used for a single female and እንኳን ደህና መጡ is used for multiple people or as a formal/polite address.
How does it change in a sentence?
When addressing a single male, use the form ending in -ህ (-h) እንኳን ደህና መጣህ. When addressing a single female, use the form ending in -ሽ (-sh) እንኳን ደህና መጣሽ. When addressing a group of people or using a polite/formal form for one person, use the form ending in -ጡ (-ṭu) እንኳን ደህና መጡ.
How do you pronounce it?
ʾənkʷan dähna mäṭaš
Did you know?
- In some regional variations of Ethiopian hospitality, the 'welcome' is not just spoken but is signaled by the presentation of a 'gursha', where the host feeds the guest a morsel of food by hand.
- Amharic is a Semitic language, making the structure of its 'welcome' phrase a distant relative of greetings found in Arabic and Hebrew.
- While እንኳን ደህና መጣህ is used for arrival, the culture of hospitality is so strong that guests are often welcomed with a traditional coffee ceremony that can last several hours.
Examples in context
- እንኳን ደህና መጡ!Welcome!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “welcome” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
