Learn Tigrinya ten words at a time
ትግርኛ
Ten short games: the 102 most useful Tigrinya words and expressions you could live on for years, from greetings and ordering food to numbers, small talk and getting around. Play a lesson in the box beside its words, and the next one starts itself.
Greetings and politeness
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the eleven openers everything else builds on.
- ሰላምseh-LAHM
- Hello
- ደሓንዶ ሓዲርኩም?deh-HAHN-doh hah-DEER-koom
- Good morning
- ከመይ ኣምሲኹም?keh-MAI ahm-SEE-khoom
- Good evening
- ደሓን ኩኑdeh-HAHN KOO-noo
- Goodbye
- ክንራኸብ ኢናkin-rah-KHEB EE-na
- See you
- በጃኹምbeh-JAH-khoom
- Please
- የቐንየለይyeh-keh-NYEH-lay
- Thank you
- ገንዘብኩምgen-ZEB-koom
- You're welcome
- ይቕረታyih-KREH-ta
- Sorry
- ኣይትሓዙለይai-tih-HAH-zoo-lay
- Excuse me
- ምሳኹም ብምርኻበይ ሕጉስ እየmis-AH-khoom bim-rikh-AH-bay hi-GOOS eh-YEH
- Nice to meet you
Order anything by pointing
I would like, this one, how much, the bill: survive any counter or menu.
- ... ደልየdeh-LYEH
- I would like...
- እዚEH-zee
- This one
- ክንደይ እዩ?KIN-dai eh-YOO
- How much is it?
- ሕሳብ በጃኹምhih-SAHB beh-JAH-khoom
- The bill, please
- ብካርድbih-KARD
- By card
- ብጥረ ገንዘብbih-TIH-reh GEN-zeb
- In cash
- ማይmai
- Water
- ቡንboon
- Coffee
- ሻሂSHAH-hee
- Tea
- ቢራBEE-ra
- Beer
- ብዘይ...bih-ZAI
- Without...
Yes, no and the essentials
The small words that carry half of every conversation, and the ones that rescue it.
- እወEH-weh
- Yes
- ኣይኮነንai-KOH-nen
- No
- ሕራይhih-RAI
- Okay
- ኣይተረድኣንንai-teh-red-AH-nin
- I don't understand
- እንግሊዝኛ ትዛረቡዶ?in-gih-LEEZ-nya tih-zah-REH-boo-doh
- Do you speak English?
- ደጊምኩም ክትብሉዎ ትኽእሉዶ?deh-GEEM-koom kit-bih-LOO-woh tikh-EH-loo-doh
- Can you repeat that?
- ቀስ ኢልኩም በጃኹምkes EEL-koom beh-JAH-khoom
- Slowly, please
- እዚ እንታይ እዩ?EH-zee in-TAI eh-YOO
- What is this?
- ... የድልየኒyed-lih-YEH-nee
- I need...
- ክትሕግዙኒ ትኽእሉዶ?kit-hig-ZOO-nee tikh-EH-loo-doh
- Can you help me?
Counting to ten
One to ten, for prices, platforms, rooms and how many beers.
- ሓደHAH-deh
- One
- ክልተKIL-teh
- Two
- ሰለስተseh-LES-teh
- Three
- ኣርባዕተar-BAH-teh
- Four
- ሓሙሽተhah-MOOSH-teh
- Five
- ሽዱሽተshih-DOOSH-teh
- Six
- ሸውዓተshew-AH-teh
- Seven
- ሸሞንተsheh-MON-teh
- Eight
- ትሽዓተtish-AH-teh
- Nine
- ዓሰርተAH-ser-teh
- Ten
Shops and hotels
Open, closed, a bag, the wifi password: the checkout and the front desk.
- ... ኣለኩምዶ?ah-LEH-koom-doh
- Do you have...?
- ... ኣበይ እዩ?ah-BAI eh-YOO
- Where is...?
- ክፉትkih-FOOT
- Open
- ዕጹውih-TSOO
- Closed
- ቦርሳ ትደልዩዶ?BOR-sa tih-deh-LYOO-doh
- A bag?
- ኣዝዩ ክቡር እዩahz-YOO kih-BOOR eh-YOO
- Too expensive
- ክፍሊ ኣቐዲመ ሒዘ ኣለኹKIF-lee ah-keh-DEE-meh HEE-zeh ah-LEH-khoo
- I have a reservation
- ቁርሲ ዝተሓወሰ ድዩ?KOOR-see zih-teh-hah-WEH-seh DYOO
- Is breakfast included?
- ናይ ዋይፋይ ፓስዎርድ እንታይ እዩ?nai WAI-fai PAS-word in-TAI eh-YOO
- What's the wifi password?
- ... ክገብር እኽእልዶ?kih-GEB-ir ikh-EH-l-doh
- Can I...?
Cafe and restaurant
A table, the menu, what you cannot eat, and a compliment to the kitchen.
- ንኽልተ ሰባት ጠረጴዛnih-KIL-teh seh-BAT teh-reh-PEH-za
- A table for two
- ሜኑ በጃኹምMEH-noo beh-JAH-khoom
- The menu, please
- እንታይ ትመኽሩኒ?in-TAI tih-mekh-ROO-nee
- What do you recommend?
- ... ኣይበልዕን እየai-BEL-in eh-YEH
- I don't eat...
- ... ኣለርጂ ይገብረለይah-LER-jee yih-geb-reh-LAY
- I'm allergic to...
- ስጋsih-GAH
- Meat
- ደርሆDER-hoh
- Chicken
- ዓሳAH-sa
- Fish
- ጥዑም እዩTIH-oom eh-YOO
- It's delicious
- ንጥዕናnih-TIH-na
- Cheers
Meeting people
How are you, what is your name, where are you from, I like it: the first five minutes.
- ከመይ ኣለኹም?keh-MAI ah-LEH-khoom
- How are you?
- ጽቡቕ ኣለኹ፣ የቐንየለይtsih-BOOK ah-LEH-khoo yeh-keh-NYEH-lay
- I'm fine, thanks
- ንስኹምከ?nis-KHOOM-keh
- And you?
- ስምኩም መን እዩ?SIM-koom men eh-YOO
- What's your name?
- ስመይ... እዩSIH-may eh-YOO
- My name is...
- ካበይ ኢኹም?kah-BAI EE-khoom
- Where are you from?
- ኣነ ካብ... እየAH-neh kab eh-YEH
- I'm from...
- ይፈትዎ እየyih-FET-woh eh-YEH
- I like it
- ጽቡቕ እዩtsih-BOOK eh-YOO
- It's beautiful
- እንቋዕ ደሓን መጻእኩምin-KWAH deh-HAHN meh-tsah-EH-khoom
- Welcome
Getting around
Left, right, the station, one ticket, where is the toilet.
- ሽቓቕ ኣበይ እዩ?shi-KAHK ah-BAI eh-YOO
- Where is the toilet?
- ከመይ ጌረ ናብ... ክኸይድ እኽእል?keh-MAI GEH-reh nab kih-KHAID ikh-EH-l
- How do I get to...?
- ናብ ጸጋምnab tseh-GAHM
- To the left
- ናብ የማንnab yeh-MAHN
- To the right
- ትኽ ኢልኩምtikh EEL-koom
- Straight ahead
- ኣብዚab-ZEE
- Here
- መደበር ባቡርmeh-DEH-ber bah-BOOR
- Train station
- ኣውቶቡስow-toh-BOOS
- Bus
- መዕረፍ ነፈርቲmeh-EH-ref neh-FER-tee
- Airport
- ሓደ ቲኬት በጃኹምHAH-deh tee-KET beh-JAH-khoom
- One ticket, please
Time and days
Now, later, tomorrow, what time it opens and one moment please.
- ሕጂhih-JEE
- Now
- ደሓርdeh-HAR
- Later
- ሎሚLOH-mee
- Today
- ጽባሕtsih-BAH
- Tomorrow
- ሎሚ ለይቲLOH-mee LAI-tee
- Tonight
- መዓስ?meh-AHS
- When?
- ሰዓት ክንደይ ይኽፈት?seh-AHT KIN-dai yikh-FET
- What time does it open?
- ሓንሳብ በጃኹምHAHN-sab beh-JAH-khoom
- One moment, please
- ደቓይቕdeh-KAIK
- Minutes
- ሰዓታትseh-ah-TAT
- Hours
Help and emergencies
The words you hope to never need.
- ሓግዙኒ!hahg-ZOO-nee
- Help!
- ሓኪም ጸውዑhah-KEEM tsew-OO
- Call a doctor
- ፖሊስpoh-LEES
- Police
- ፋርማቻfar-mah-CHA
- Pharmacy
- ቤት ሕክምናbet hih-KIM-na
- Hospital
- መንገዲ ጠፊኡኒmen-GEH-dee teh-fee-OO-nee
- I'm lost
- ጽቡቕ ኣይስምዓንንtsih-BOOK ai-sim-AH-nin
- I don't feel well
- ተሰሪቑteh-seh-REE-koo
- It was stolen
- ህጹጽ ኩነታት እዩhi-TSOOTS koo-neh-TAT eh-YOO
- It's an emergency
- ግደፉኒgih-deh-FOO-nee
- Leave me alone