Reading Comprehension: Professional Life

This unit focuses on the language of professional life in Ethiopia. The reading passages introduce workplace vocabulary, business terminology, and the conventions of formal communication used in offices, meetings, and commercial settings.

Reading Material

Passage 1: bə-Tsıhfət bet wısT (In the Office)

Fidel: ወይዘሮ አስቴር በአንድ ትልቅ ድርጅት ውስጥ ትሠራለች። ሥራ አስኪያጅ ናት። በየቀኑ ጠዋት ስብሰባ አላት። ከሠራተኞቿ ጋር ስለ ሥራ ትነጋገራለች። ደብዳቤ ትጽፋለች፣ ስልክ ትደውላለች፣ ሪፖርት ታዘጋጃለች። ሥራዋ ብዙ ኃላፊነት አለው።

Romanized: weyzəro Aster bə-and tilliK dirjit wısT tisəraləčč. sira askiyaj nat. bə-yəKənu Tewat sıbsəba alat. kə-səratəñočwa gar sılə sira tinəgagəraləčč. dəbdabe tıTSıfaləčč, sılk tıdəwwılaləčč, riport tazəgajjaləčč. sırawa bizu halafinət aləw.

Translation: Mrs. Aster works in a large organization. She is a manager. Every morning she has a meeting. She discusses work with her employees. She writes letters, makes phone calls, and prepares reports. Her work has a lot of responsibility.

Passage 2: yə-nigid sıra (Business Work)

Fidel: አቶ ዳዊት ነጋዴ ነው። የራሱ ሱቅ አለው። ዕቃ ከውጭ አገር ያስመጣል። ዕቃውን በሱቁ ውስጥ ይሸጣል። ደንበኞቹ ብዙ ናቸው። ግብር ይከፍላል። ሒሳብ ያስላል። ንግዱ ጥሩ ነው።

Romanized: ato Dawit nəgade new. yə-rasu suK aləw. ıKa kə-wıČ agər yasməTTal. ıKawn bə-suKu wısT yišəTTal. dənbəñoču bizu naččəw. gıbır yikəfflal. hisab yaslal. nıgıdu Tıru new.

Translation: Mr. Dawit is a merchant. He has his own shop. He imports goods from abroad. He sells the goods in his shop. His customers are many. He pays taxes. He calculates accounts. His business is good.

Passage 3: yə-sıra Kəţəro (Job Interview)

Fidel: ማርያም አዲስ ሥራ ትፈልጋለች። ዛሬ ቃለ መጠይቅ አላት። ወደ ቢሮ ሄደች። ሥራ አስኪያጁ ጠየቃት — “ምን ተምረሻል?” “ልምድሽ ምንድን ነው?” ማርያም “ሦስት ዓመት ልምድ አለኝ” አለች። ስለ ደመወዟ ተነጋገሩ። ሥራውን አገኘች።

Romanized: Maryam addis sira tıfəlligaləčč. zare Kalə məTəyiK alat. wədə biro hedəčč. sira askiyaju TəyyəKat — “mın təmrəšal?” “lımıdıš mındın new?” Maryam “sost amət lımıd aləñ” aləčč. sılə dəməwəzwa tənəgagəru. sırawn agəññəčč.

Translation: Maryam wants a new job. Today she has a job interview. She went to the office. The manager asked her — “What have you studied?” “What is your experience?” Maryam said, “I have three years of experience.” They discussed her salary. She got the job.

Key Vocabulary

Amharic	Fidel	English
dirjit	ድርጅት	organization, company
sira askiyaj	ሥራ አስኪያጅ	manager
sıbsəba	ስብሰባ	meeting
səratəñña	ሠራተኛ	employee, worker
dəbdabe	ደብዳቤ	letter (correspondence)
sılk	ስልክ	telephone
riport	ሪፖርት	report
halafinət	ኃላፊነት	responsibility
nəgade	ነጋዴ	merchant, trader
suK	ሱቅ	shop, store
ıKa	ዕቃ	goods, merchandise
yišəTTal	ይሸጣል	he sells
yasməTTal	ያስመጣል	he imports
dənbəñña	ደንበኛ	customer, client
gıbır	ግብር	tax
Kalə məTəyiK	ቃለ መጠይቅ	interview
lımıd	ልምድ	experience
dəməwəz	ደመወዝ	salary, wages
biro	ቢሮ	office, bureau

Reading Comprehension Questions

On Passage 1:

1. weyzəro Aster mın nat? (What is Mrs. Aster?) → sira askiyaj nat
2. bə-yəKənu Tewat mın alat? (What does she have every morning?) → sıbsəba alat
3. sırawa mın aləw? (What does her work have?) → bizu halafinət aləw

On Passage 2:

4. ato Dawit ıKa ke-yet yasməTTal? (Where does Mr. Dawit import goods from?) → kə-wıČ agər yasməTTal
5. nıgıdu indət new? (How is his business?) → nıgıdu Tıru new
6. gıbır yikəfflal? (Does he pay taxes?) → awo, gıbır yikəfflal

On Passage 3:

7. Maryam sint amət lımıd alat? (How many years of experience does Maryam have?) → sost amət lımıd alat
8. sırawn agəññəčč? (Did she get the job?) → awo, sırawn agəññəčč

Writing Practice

Exercise 1: Workplace Vocabulary Matching

Match each fidel word to its English meaning:

Fidel	Meaning
ስብሰባ	meeting
ደመወዝ	salary
ሠራተኛ	employee
ደንበኛ	customer
ኃላፊነት	responsibility
ድርጅት	organization

Exercise 2: Write About Your Work

Write 4-5 sentences about your job or a job you know in romanized Amharic:

Model: bə-Tsıhfət bet wısT isərallehu. bə-yəKənu sıbsəba aləñ. riport azəgajjallehu. kə-səratəñoče gar innənəgagəralən. sırae beTam yimäsTalləñ.

Exercise 3: Interview Dialogue

Complete the interview dialogue with appropriate responses:

Question	Your Answer
sımwo man yibal? (What is your name?)	sıme ___ yibal
mın təmrəwal? (What have you studied?)	___ təmmarku
lımıdwo sint amət new? (How many years of experience?)	___ amət lımıd aləñ
ləmın yih sira yifəlligalu? (Why do you want this job?)	yih sira ___ sil yifälligalləñ

Cultural Notes

Business Culture in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s business environment blends traditional values with modern practices. Meetings often begin with extended greetings and personal inquiries before turning to business matters. The concept of /gıbıbba/ (input, contribution) is valued — decisions tend to be reached through consensus rather than unilateral direction. Titles are important: people are addressed as /ato/ (Mr.), /weyzəro/ (Mrs.), or /weyzerit/ (Miss) followed by their first name, not surname. Business cards are exchanged respectfully, and punctuality is appreciated in formal settings, though social time operates more flexibly. The growing private sector in cities like Addis Ababa has created new professional vocabulary, often borrowing from English: /riport/, /biro/, /bıdjet/ (budget), /projəkt/ (project).