አንተ
ʾäntä/ˈ(ʔ)antə/masculine
In Amharic, the word for "you" is አንተ (ʾäntä). Wiktionary also lists እርስዎ (ʾərsəwo) and አንቺ (ʾänči).
Meaning: subject pronoun: the person being addressed (pron)
Ways to say it
| Amharic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| አንተ | ʾäntä | /ˈ(ʔ)antə/ | masculine |
| እርስዎ | ʾərsəwo | /ˈ(ʔ)ɨɾsɨwo/ | formal |
| አንቺ | ʾänči | /ˈ(ʔ)ant͡ʃi/ | feminine |
The pronoun "you" is used to address the person being spoken to, but the specific form you choose depends on whether you are speaking to a male, a female or someone requiring formal respect.
Which one should you use?
Use አንተ when addressing a single male and አንቺ when addressing a single female. For formal situations, use እርስዎ.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The forms አንተ and አንቺ are used for people you are close to, such as friends, children or younger siblings. Use እርስዎ to show respect to elders, strangers or people of higher status.
How does it change in a sentence?
To address more than one person, use the plural form እናንተ. If you want to say "you too" in the plural, you can add the suffix -ም to the plural form to get እናንተም.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization for አንተ is ʾäntä and the IPA is /ˈ(ʔ)antə/.
Did you know?
- The formal pronoun እርስዎ is derived from a word meaning 'person', effectively addressing someone as 'the respected person' rather than using a direct pronoun.
- Using the informal አንተ or አንቺ with a stranger or a superior can be perceived as a deliberate insult or a sign of aggression in Ethiopia.
- The plural form እናንተ is used not just for multiple people, but can also be used as a way to show respect to a single person in certain contexts.
Examples in context
- አንተ ጎበዝ ነህ።ante gobäz näh.You are clever.
- አንተ የት ነው የምትኖረው?ante yet näh yemītinoräv?Where do you live?
- አንተ መጣህ?antä mätah?Did you come?
Example conversation
Betelhem and Nati are talking at a cafe.
- ቤተልሔም Betelhemናቲ፣ አንተ ደስተኛ ነህ?Nati, antä dästäñä näh?Nati, are you happy?
- ናቲ Natiአዎ፣ እኔ ደስተኛ ነኝ።Awo, ine dästäñä näñ.Yes, I am happy.
- ቤተልሔም Betelhemአንተ ለምን ደስተኛ ሆንክ?Antä lämīn dästäñä honk?Why did you become happy?
- ናቲ Natiምክንያቱም ዛሬ መልካም ቀን ነው።Mekniyatum zare mälkam qän näw.Because today is a good day.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “you” translations and entries አንተ, እርስዎ, አንቺ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
