The Tigrinya course
Learn Tigrinya ten words at a time
ትግርኛ
Ten games of ten words: the hundred 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.
Tigrinya challenge
Do you know the essentials? 25 quick questions from across the course. Score high and you are ready for the trip.
Tigrinya · Lesson 1 of 10
Greetings and politeness
Hello, thanks, please: the ten openers everything else builds on.
- ሰላምseh-LAHM
- Hello
- ሃሎHAH-loh
- Hi
- ደሓን ሓዲርካdeh-HAHN hah-DEER-kah
- Good morning
- ደሓን ሕደርdeh-HAHN KHEH-der
- Good night
- የቐንየለይ ብዙሕyeh-keh-nee-YEH-lay buh-ZOOH
- Thank you very much
- የቐንየለይyeh-keh-nee-YEH-lay
- Thanks
- ዋላ ሓንቲWAH-lah HAHN-tee
- You're welcome
- በጃኻbeh-JAH-khah
- Please
- ይቕረታyee-KREH-tah
- Excuse me
- ሰላም ኩንseh-LAHM koon
- Goodbye
Tigrinya · Lesson 2 of 10
Order anything by pointing
One beer please, one of these please, the bill: survive any menu.
- ሓደ ሽቢ በጃኻHAH-deh SHEE-bee beh-JAH-khah
- One beer, please
- ሓደ ካባዚ በጃኻHAH-deh kah-BAH-zee beh-JAH-khah
- One of these, please
- ሓደ ቡን በጃኻHAH-deh boon beh-JAH-khah
- One coffee, please
- ክልተ በጃኻkul-TEH beh-JAH-khah
- Two, please
- ሓደ ተወሳሒ በጃኻHAH-deh teh-wah-SAH-hee beh-JAH-khah
- One more, please
- መነ ዋጋ ኢዩ?meh-NEH WAH-gah EE-yoo
- How much is it?
- ሒሳብ በጃኻhee-SAHB beh-JAH-khah
- The bill, please
- ክውንነት ... ?kuh-WUN-net
- May I...?
- ብስታ!buh-STAH
- Cheers!
- ደሓን ኽኢልካdeh-HAHN kuh-EEL-kah
- Bless you
Tigrinya · Lesson 3 of 10
Yes, no and the essentials
The tiny words that carry half of every conversation.
- ወweh
- Yes
- ኣይah-EE
- No
- ዖቕoak
- Okay
- ንሓቚ ኣይስጠቕስnuh-HAH-kee ah-EE-suh-TAH-kus
- Sure, no problem
- ኣይ ፈሊጠah-EE FEH-lee-tuh
- I don't know
- ኣይ ተተዓላልኩah-EE teh-tah-AH-lul-koo
- I don't understand
- እንግሊዘኛ ትዛረብ ዲ?un-guh-LEE-zen-YAH tuh-ZAH-reb dee
- Do you speak English?
- ሓንሳብHAHN-sab
- A little
- ብሉዕbuh-LOO
- Of course
- ነገር ሙሉዕ ዖቕ ኢዩneh-GER moo-LOO oak EE-yoo
- Everything is fine
Tigrinya · Lesson 4 of 10
Numbers and money
Counting, prices, paying by card or cash.
- ሓደHAH-deh
- One
- ክልተkul-TEH
- Two
- ሰለስተseh-LES-teh
- Three
- ኣርባዕተahr-BAH-teh
- Four
- ዓሰርተAH-ser-teh
- Ten
- ሓምሳHAH-m-sah
- Fifty
- መእተዊmeh-uh-TOO-ee
- One hundred
- ናቕፋNAH-kuh-fah
- Nakfa
- በካርድbeh-KARD
- By card
- በገንዘብbeh-gen-ZEB
- In cash
Tigrinya · Lesson 5 of 10
At the supermarket
Bread, milk, a bag, nothing else thanks: the checkout routine.
- ዓንጊAHN-jee
- Bread
- ወተትweh-TET
- Milk
- ተራዬteh-RAH-yay
- Cheese
- ውኃwoo-HAH
- Water
- ከባቢ?kuh-BAH-bee
- A bag?
- ኣለካ ... ?uh-LEH-kah
- Do you have...?
- ት ... ኣ?tuh ah
- Where is...?
- ካባዚkah-BAH-zee
- This one
- ካበዚ ብቻkah-BEH-zee buh-CHAH
- Nothing else
- ደሓን ቀትሪdeh-HAHN kuh-TREE
- Have a nice day
Tigrinya · Lesson 6 of 10
Cafe and restaurant
A table, the menu, a compliment to the kitchen.
- ሣህን ወንድ ክልተSAH-hun wund kul-TEH
- A table for two
- ሊስተ መግብ በጃኻLIS-teh MEG-ub beh-JAH-khah
- The menu, please
- ሓደ ኢስፕሬሶHAH-deh ee-spray-SOH
- One espresso
- ባህቲ ወይንBAH-tee way-UN
- A glass of wine
- ንጹር ሽቢun-TSOOR SHEE-bee
- Draft beer
- ኢንጀራun-JEH-rah
- Injera
- ጣዕሚ ዖቕ ኢዩtah-uh-MEE oak EE-yoo
- It's delicious
- ነጂብ ዘየሓዘነneh-JIB zeh-yeh-HAH-zeh-neh
- Without spice
- ነ ናብ ቤት መግብneh nahb bet MEG-ub
- To take away
- ቅሬት ቖነkuh-REHT koh-NEH
- Keep the change
Tigrinya · Lesson 7 of 10
Small talk and neighbors
How are you, nice day, see you soon: superficial and proud of it.
- እንታይ ሂወትካ?un-TAH-ee hee-WET-kah
- How are you? (polite)
- እንታይ ሕታ?un-TAH-ee HEE-tah
- How are you? (casual)
- ዖቕ ኢኖoak EE-no
- I'm fine
- ምስልካ?mis-ul-KAH
- And you?
- ሓዱስ መን ኣላ?HAH-dus men AH-lah
- What's new?
- ዓወ ሰማይ ጸሊም ኢዩ, ግዳ?AH-weh seh-MY tsuh-LIM EE-yoo, GUH-dah
- Nice weather, huh?
- ድሓሪት ሓዋduh-HAH-rit HAH-wah
- See you soon
- ደሓን ምሸትdeh-HAHN meesh-ET
- Have a nice evening
- ገዳሎም ሰላምgeh-dah-LOM seh-LAHM
- Say hi to the family
- ብዙሕ ሙሉዓትbuh-ZOOH moo-LOO-aht
- All the best
Tigrinya · Lesson 8 of 10
Getting around
Left, right, the station, one ticket, where is the toilet.
- ት መከላከል ኣ?tuh meh-keh-LAH-kel ah
- Where is the toilet?
- ሃጋርHAH-gahr
- Left
- ዓራብAH-rahb
- Right
- ንቡር ንጅun-BURR un-JEE
- Straight ahead
- ኣብዚub-ZEE
- Here
- ኣብዓub-AH
- There
- ባስbahs
- Bus
- ስቴሽን ባቡርSTEH-shun bah-BOOR
- Train station
- ሓደ ቲኬት በጃኻHAH-deh tuh-KET beh-JAH-khah
- One ticket, please
- ኣብዚ ሓተተ በጃኻub-ZEE HAH-tet-teh beh-JAH-khah
- Stop here, please
Tigrinya · Lesson 9 of 10
Time and days
Today, tomorrow, later, the weekend.
- ሎሎLOH-loh
- Today
- ጅግግሊjig-GUL-lee
- Tomorrow
- ሕቁምHUH-kum
- Yesterday
- ሕጂHUH-jee
- Now
- ቅሪበKRIH-beh
- Later
- ታሕጋገ ኢ ምስ?tah-huh-GAH-geh ee muh-S
- What time is it?
- ሰነseh-NEH
- Monday
- ቅዳሳትkuh-dah-SAHT
- Saturday
- ሐሙስHAH-moos
- Sunday
- ዓሪፍ ሳብቱAH-reef SAH-b-too
- The weekend
Tigrinya · Lesson 10 of 10
Help and emergencies
The words you hope to never need.
- ሓገዝ!HAH-gez
- Help!
- ዶክተር ጸዋዖdock-TER tsuh-WAH-woh
- Call a doctor
- ምሕድሮmuh-HID-roh
- Police
- ፋርማሲfar-mah-SEE
- Pharmacy
- ሆስፒታልhos-pee-TAHL
- Hospital
- ኢ ሰገምኩee seh-GEM-koo
- I'm lost
- ሓዉሲ ዖቕ ኢ ዘይልልየHAH-oo-see oak ee zeh-yay-LUL-yeh
- I don't feel well
- ስሚ ሞባይልsuh-MEE mo-BAIL
- My phone
- ወደየ ሕቅፈቱweh-DEH-yeh HUUK-feh-too
- It was stolen
- ወገነ ሓጋዝ ይድለweh-GEN-eh HAH-gaz yee-DUH-leh
- It's urgent