Reading Comprehension: Daily Life

This unit presents reading passages about daily activities in Ethiopia. You will encounter new vocabulary related to routines, meals, and common daily tasks while strengthening your ability to read connected Amharic text.

Reading Material

Passage 1: yəKən yəKən sira (Daily Work)

Fidel: ማርክ በየቀኑ ጠዋት ስድስት ሰዓት ይነሳል። ፊቱን ይታጠባል። ቁርስ ይበላል። ከዚያ ወደ ሥራ ይሄዳል። በጽሕፈት ቤት ውስጥ ይሠራል። ከሰዓት በኋላ ምሳ ይበላል። ከምሳ በኋላ ወደ ቤት ይመለሳል።

Romanized: Mark bə-yəKənu Tewat siddist sə’at yinəsal. fitun yitaTTəbal. Kurs yibəlal. kəzziya wədə sira yihedal. bə-Tsıhfət bet wısT yisəral. kə-sə’at bəhwala mısa yibəlal. kə-mısa bəhwala wədə bet yiməlləsal.

Translation: Mark gets up every morning at six o’clock. He washes his face. He eats breakfast. Then he goes to work. He works in an office. In the afternoon he eats lunch. After lunch he returns home.

Passage 2: yəiraTa məsa (Dinner Time)

Fidel: ከምሽት ሰባት ሰዓት ላይ ቤተሰቡ አብረው ይበላሉ። እናቱ ምግብ ታዘጋጃለች። ዛሬ ድሮ ወጥ ከእንጀራ ጋር ነው። ምግቡን ከበሉ በኋላ ሻይ ይጠጣሉ። ከዚያ ቴሌቪዥን ያያሉ።

Romanized: kə-mıšit səbat sə’at lay betəsəbu abrəw yibəlalu. innatu mıgıb tazəgajjaləčč. zare doro wəT kə-injəra gar new. mıgıbun kəbəlu bəhwala šay yiTəTTalu. kəzziya television yayayalu.

Translation: At seven in the evening the family eats together. His mother prepares food. Today it is chicken stew with injera. After they eat the food, they drink tea. Then they watch television.

Passage 3: yəKədame Kən (Weekend)

Fidel: በቅዳሜ ማርክ አይሠራም። ጠዋት ዘግይቶ ይነሳል። ቡና ይጠጣል። ከዚያ ከጓደኞቹ ጋር ወደ ገበያ ይሄዳል። ከገበያ ፍራፍሬና አትክልት ይገዛል።

Romanized: bə-Kıdame Mark ayisəram. Tewat zəgiyto yinəsal. bunna yiTəTTal. kəzziya kə-gwadəñoču gar wədə gəbeya yihedal. kə-gəbeya firafirena atıkılt yigəzal.

Translation: On Saturday Mark does not work. In the morning he gets up late. He drinks coffee. Then he goes to the market with his friends. From the market he buys fruits and vegetables.

Key Vocabulary

Amharic	Fidel	English
Tewat	ጠዋት	morning
yinəsal	ይነሳል	he gets up
fit	ፊት	face
yitaTTəbal	ይታጠባል	he washes (himself)
Kurs	ቁርስ	breakfast
mısa	ምሳ	lunch
iraTa	እራት	dinner
Tsıhfət bet	ጽሕፈት ቤት	office
yiməlləsal	ይመለሳል	he returns
betəsəb	ቤተሰብ	family
mıgıb	ምግብ	food
tazəgajjaləčč	ታዘጋጃለች	she prepares
doro wəT	ድሮ ወጥ	chicken stew
injəra	እንጀራ	injera (flatbread)
šay	ሻይ	tea
bunna	ቡና	coffee
Kıdame	ቅዳሜ	Saturday
firafire	ፍራፍሬ	fruits
atıkılt	አትክልት	vegetables
yigəzal	ይገዛል	he buys

Reading Comprehension Questions

On Passage 1:

1. Mark bə-sint sə’at yinəsal? (At what time does Mark get up?) → bə-siddist sə’at yinəsal
2. Kurs kəbəlla bəhwala mın yaddərgal? (What does he do after eating breakfast?) → wədə sira yihedal
3. yet yisəral? (Where does he work?) → bə-Tsıhfət bet wısT yisəral

On Passage 2:

4. betəsəbu bə-sint sə’at yibəlalu? (At what time does the family eat?) → kə-mıšit səbat sə’at lay yibəlalu
5. man mıgıb yazəgajjaləčč? (Who prepares the food?) → innatu mıgıb tazəgajjaləčč
6. mıgıbun kəbəlu bəhwala mın yiTəTTalu? (What do they drink after eating?) → šay yiTəTTalu

On Passage 3:

7. bə-Kıdame Mark yisəral? (Does Mark work on Saturday?) → yellem, ayisəram
8. kə-gəbeya mın yigəzal? (What does he buy from the market?) → firafirena atıkılt yigəzal

Writing Practice

Exercise 1: Daily Routine

Write your own daily routine in 4-5 sentences using romanized Amharic. Include times, meals, and activities. Model:

bə-yəKənu Tewat səbat sə’at inəsallehu. Kurs ibəllallehu. wədə sira ihidallehu. kə-sə’at bəhwala mısa ibəllallehu. mıšit wədə bet iməlləsallehu.

Exercise 2: Fidel Matching

Match each fidel word to its romanized form:

Fidel	Options	Answer
ጠዋት	a) mısa b) Tewat c) iraTa	b) Tewat
ቁርስ	a) Kurs b) bunna c) šay	a) Kurs
ገበያ	a) bet b) sira c) gəbeya	c) gəbeya
ቡና	a) šay b) bunna c) wıha	b) bunna
ምግብ	a) mıgıb b) mısa c) Kurs	a) mıgıb

Exercise 3: Sentence Writing in Fidel

Rewrite these romanized sentences in fidel:

Romanized	Fidel
Mark bunna yiTəTTal	ማርክ ቡና ይጠጣል
betəsəbu abrəw yibəlalu	ቤተሰቡ አብረው ይበላሉ
wədə gəbeya yihedal	ወደ ገበያ ይሄዳል

Cultural Notes

Injera and Ethiopian Meal Culture

Injera (እንጀራ) is the staple food of Ethiopia — a large, spongy flatbread made from teff flour. Meals are communal: a single large plate of injera is shared, with various stews (wəT) placed on top. Diners tear off pieces of injera and use them to scoop up the stews. Feeding another person by hand (gursha — ጉርሻ) is a sign of affection and respect. The communal meal is central to Ethiopian social life, reflecting values of togetherness and generosity.