Question Words

This unit introduces the full set of Amharic question words: /yet/ (where), /man/ (who), /min/ (what), /yetu/ (which), /yetinnaw/ (which one), /manninnaw/ (which person), /mannEn/ (whom), and /minimm/ (nothing/anything).

Basic Sentences (መሠረታዊ ዓረፍተ ነገሮች)

Amharic (Romanized)	English
yet tihedalehi?	Where are you going?
man meTTa?	Who came?
min tifellgalehi?	What do you want?
yetu meTTahif new yifellighew?	Which book do you want?
yetinnaw yišalal?	Which one is better?
manninnaw ibbakkih meTTa?	Which person (of them) came, please?
mannEn ayyeh?	Whom did you see?
minimm albellahum.	I didn’t eat anything.
yet new bet-ih?	Where is your house?
min honeh?	What happened to you?

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Key Vocabulary

Amharic	English		Amharic	English
yet	where		man	who
min	what		yetu	which
yetinnaw	which one		manninnaw	which person
mannEn	whom (object)		minimm	nothing, anything
lemin	why		meče	when
sint	how much/many		indET	how

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Grammar Notes

1. /yet/ — “where”

Used to ask about location or direction:

Amharic	English
yet tihedalehi?	Where are you going?
yet new bet-ih?	Where is your house?
yet nebbereh?	Where were you?
yet timeTTalehi?	Where will you come to?

2. /man/ — “who” (subject)

Used as the subject of a question:

Amharic	English
man meTTa?	Who came?
man new?	Who is it?
man yiseral?	Who works?
man yihedal?	Who is going?

3. /min/ — “what”

Used to ask about things or actions:

Amharic	English
min tifellgalehi?	What do you want?
min honeh?	What happened to you?
min tiblehi?	What did you say?
min isseralehu?	What am I working on?

4. /yetu/ and /yetinnaw/ — “which” / “which one”

/yetu/ modifies a noun; /yetinnaw/ stands alone:

Amharic	English
yetu meTTahif new?	Which book is it?
yetu temari meTTa?	Which student came?
yetinnaw yišalal?	Which one is better?
yetinnaw tifellgalehi?	Which one do you want?

5. /manninnaw/ — “which person (of them)”

Used to select among known people:

Amharic	English
manninnaw meTTa?	Which one (of them) came?
manninnaw tifellgalehi?	Which one (person) do you want?
manninnaw yišalal?	Which person is better?

6. /mannEn/ — “whom” (object)

Used as the object of a verb:

Amharic	English
mannEn ayyeh?	Whom did you see?
mannEn Terahut?	Whom did you call?
mannEn tifellgalehi?	Whom do you want?

7. /minimm/ — “nothing” / “anything”

Used in negative sentences to mean “nothing” or “anything”:

Amharic	English
minimm albellahum.	I didn’t eat anything.
minimm ayfelligim.	He doesn’t want anything.
minimm alqerrem.	Nothing remained.
minimm aTTirto ayseTTem.	He didn’t give anything at all.

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Drills (ልምምዶች)

Drill 1 — Choose the Correct Question Word

English	Amharic
Where are you going?	yet tihedalehi?
Who came?	man meTTa?
What do you want?	min tifellgalehi?
Which book?	yetu meTTahif?
Whom did you see?	mannEn ayyeh?

Drill 2 — Answer with the Correct Question Word

Answer	Question
wede bet. (To the house.)	yet tihedalehi?
ato kebbede. (Mr. Kebbede.)	man meTTa?
bunna. (Coffee.)	min tifellgalehi?
yih-in. (This one.)	yetinnaw tifellgalehi?
mannEnimm alayyehum. (I didn’t see anyone.)	mannEn ayyeh?

Drill 3 — Form Questions

Make questions from these statements:

Statement	Question
wede ketema hedku. (I went to the city.)	yet hedki?
ato tadesse meTTa. (Mr. Tadesse came.)	man meTTa?
meTTahif fellegku. (I wanted a book.)	min fellegk?
yih-in ayyehu. (I saw this one.)	yetinnaw ayyeh?
minimm albellahum. (I didn’t eat anything.)	min bellah?

Drill 4 — Translation

1. Where is the school? — /yet new timhirt bet-u?/
2. Who is the teacher? — /man new astemarri-w?/
3. What happened? — /min hone?/
4. Which one is bigger? — /yetinnaw yibellTal?/
5. I didn’t see anyone. — /mannEnimm alayyehum./
6. He doesn’t want anything. — /minimm ayfelligim./

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Narrative

weyzero almaz wede gebeya hedeč. negade-w “min tifellgiyaleš?” ale. almaz “yetu ayinet TiruNNa new?” ala teTeyeqeč. negade-w “yetinnaw tifellgiyaleš — yih weyim yya?” ale. almaz “yetinnaw kehullu yišalal?” ala teTeyeqeč. negade-w yih-in asayyat. almaz “sint new?” ala teTeyeqeč. “amist birr” ale negade-w. almaz “man yiseTTal kehullu yizegga?” alat teTeyeqeč. negade-w “mannEnimm lela aTTeyyeqim — ine-ma kehullu yizegga iseTTalehu” ale. almaz “iši, iseTTiNNi” aleč.

Translation: Mrs. Almaz went to the market. The merchant said, “What do you want?” Almaz asked, “Which type is good?” The merchant said, “Which one do you want — this or that?” Almaz asked, “Which one is the best of all?” The merchant showed her this one. Almaz asked, “How much is it?” “Five birr,” said the merchant. Almaz asked, “Who gives the cheapest of all?” The merchant said, “I haven’t asked anyone else — I give the cheapest of all.” Almaz said, “Okay, give it to me.”