ምን
The English phrase "what" translates to Amharic as ምን.
ምን is used as an interrogative pronoun.
Meaning: what? (interrogative pronoun) (pron)
How does it change in a sentence?
Repeating the word ምን alone is a common, informal way to say "What?" when you didn't hear someone or are surprised.
Did you know?
- The Amharic word ምን shares a common ancestor with the Hebrew word מה (ma) and the Arabic word ما (ma), all descending from the same Proto-Semitic root.
- The word ምን is derived from the ancient language Ge'ez, where it appeared as ምንት, and it still maintains a presence in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church's liturgy.
- Because Amharic uses a unique script, the written form of ምን is composed of characters that represent both a consonant and a vowel together, which is a different logic than the Latin alphabet.
Examples in context
- ምን እየፍለግህ ነው?What are you looking for?This sentence is useful for asking what someone is looking for using ምን.Tatoeba #3316515 by oyd11, translation #16255 by CK
- ምን ማዘዝ ትፈልጋለህ?What would you like to order?This sentence is useful for asking what someone would like to order using ምን.Tatoeba #3316428 by oyd11, translation #3316425 by oyd11
- ምንኛ ቋንቋ ይናገራል?What language is he speaking?This sentence is useful for asking what language someone speaks using ምን.Tatoeba #3868720 by turklehceleri, translation #3868719 by CK
Example conversation
Elias and Elsa are talking about a gift.
- ኤልያስ Eliasምን ገዛሽ?min gezash?What did you buy?
- ኤልሳቤጥ Elsabethአዲስ መጽሐፍ ገዛሁ።adis metsehaf gezahu.I bought a new book.
- ኤልያስ Eliasምን ዓይነት መጽሐፍ ነው?min aynet metsehaf new?What kind of book is it?
- ኤልሳቤጥ Elsabethየታሪክ መጽሐፍ ነው።yetarik metsehaf new.It is a history book.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ምን, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
