This final unit of the FSI Amharic Basic Course provides a comprehensive review of both volumes and includes glossaries for reference. Use this unit to assess your overall proficiency and as a reference for continued study.

Reading Material

Course Summary Passage

Fidel: ይህ የአማርኛ ኮርስ መጨረሻ ነው። በቅጽ ፩ ውስጥ አማርኛ መናገር ተምረናል — ሰላምታ፣ ጥያቄ፣ የግስ ጊዜያት፣ ሰዋስው — ሁሉንም ተለማምደናል። በቅጽ ፪ ውስጥ ፊደል አንብበናል፣ ጽፈናል፣ ስለ ኢትዮጵያ ባህልና ታሪክ አንብበናል። አሁን አማርኛ መናገር፣ ማንበብ፣ መጻፍ እንችላለን። ይህ መጀመሪያ ነው — ይቀጥሉ!

Romanized: yih yə-amarıñña kors mäčäräša new. bə-KıTS 1 wısT amarıñña mänagər tämmırnalən — salamta, TiyaKe, yə-gıs gizeyat, säwasıw — hullunım tälämamıdänalən. bə-KıTS 2 wısT fidəl anıbbäbänalən, TSıfänalən, sılə ityoTya bahılınna tarik anıbbäbänalən. ahun amarıñña mänagər, manəbbəb, mäTSaf ınıčılalən. yih mäjämmäriya new — yiKäTTılu!

Translation: This is the end of the Amharic course. In Volume 1 we learned to speak Amharic — greetings, questions, verb tenses, grammar — we practiced everything. In Volume 2 we read and wrote fidel, and read about Ethiopian culture and history. Now we can speak, read, and write Amharic. This is the beginning — continue!

Volume 1 Review: Key Structures

Unit Range	Structure	Example
1–5	Greetings and introductions	TenayisTilliñ, sıme Mark new
6–10	Directions and locations	posta bet ye-yet new?
11–15	Shopping and time	yih sint new? bə-ammist sə’at
16–20	Travel and weather	bə-awroplan hedku, zənab yizənbal
21–25	Family and descriptions	abbate rəjjim new, sost lij aləw
26–30	Past tense	tilant hedku, bəllahu
31–35	Future tense and plans	nege ihidallehu
36–40	Complex sentences	sılə mäTTa, … alä
41–43	Relative clauses, conditionals, compounds	yəmeTTaw sew, kəhedə
44–46	Comparatives, instrumentals, spatials	ke-John yilK, bə-ıjj, kewedih
47	Review of Units 41–46	—
48	Intensive and conative aspect	kəffəttə, ləməhid sil
49	Full course review	—
50	Emphatic suffix /-a/	hedə-a! mann-a ayawKim

Volume 2 Review: Reading Skills

Unit	Topic	Key Skill
51	Amharic syllabary	Consonant-vowel chart (h, l, m, r, s)
52	Basic words and sentences	Second consonant set (b, t, n, w, y)
53	Connected text	Third consonant set (d, g, k, f, z); paragraphs
54	Daily life passages	Routine vocabulary, multiple paragraphs
55	Education passages	Academic vocabulary
56	Society passages	Formal/informal registers
57	Professional life passages	Workplace and business vocabulary
58	Culture and history passages	Historical and cultural vocabulary
59	Current affairs passages	Contemporary and news vocabulary

Key Vocabulary

Glossary A: Volume 1 — Core Spoken Vocabulary

Amharic	English
TenayisTilliñ	hello (polite)
dehna	fine, well
ameseginalehu	thank you
awo	yes
yellem / ay	no
ishi	okay
sıme … new	my name is …
ke-yet	from where
ye-yet	where
sint	how many, how much
man	who
min	what
ləmın	why
indət	how
meče	when
bet	house
sira	work
meTShaf	book
sew	person
lij	child
wıha	water
mıgıb	food
genzeb	money
Kən	day
nege / tilant / ahun	tomorrow / yesterday / now
beTam	very
Tıru	good, fine
tilliK / tinniš	big / small
Kirb / ruku	near / far
hedə / meTTa	he went / he came
bəlla / TəTTa	he ate / he drank
särra	he worked, he did
tənaggərə	he spoke, he conversed
anəbbəbə / TSafə	he read / he wrote
yifəlligal / yawKal / yičılal	he wants / he knows / he can

Glossary B: Volume 2 — Reading and Cultural Vocabulary

Amharic	Fidel	English
fidəl	ፊደል	script, syllabary
salam	ሰላም	peace
timhirt	ትምህርት	education
timhirt bet	ትምህርት ቤት	school
yunivərsiti	ዩኒቨርስቲ	university
təmari	ተማሪ	student
məmhir	መምህር	teacher
dirjit	ድርጅት	organization
sıbsəba	ስብሰባ	meeting
dəməwəz	ደመወዝ	salary
nəgade	ነጋዴ	merchant
dənbəñña	ደንበኛ	customer
bahil	ባህል	culture, custom
tarik	ታሪክ	history
bə’al	በዓል	holiday, festival
TımKət	ጥምቀት	Timkat (Epiphany)
MəsKəl	መስቀል	Meskel
ingida	እንግዳ	guest
ingidınna	እንግድና	hospitality
bunna	ቡና	coffee
injəra	እንጀራ	injera
gurša	ጉርሻ	feeding by hand
Kibir	ክብር	respect
irswo	እርስዎ	you (formal)
teknoloji	ቴክኖሎጂ	technology
mängıst	መንግሥት	government
kätäma	ከተማ	city
lıwwəT	ለውጥ	change
akababiw	አካባቢ	environment
zaf	ዛፍ	tree

Reading Comprehension Questions

Self-Assessment

Rate your ability in each area (Tıru / mäkakäläñña / yiKärral ılləmmäd — good / intermediate / needs practice):

yə-amarıñña salamta mawKät (Amharic greetings)
TiyaKe mäTäyäK inna mämälles (Asking and answering questions)
yə-gıs gizeyat — yalefə, yə-ahun, yə-wädäfit (Verb tenses — past, present, future)
fidəl manəbbəb (Reading fidel)
fidəl mäTSaf (Writing fidel)
sılə ityoTya bahılınna tarik mänəbbəb (Reading about Ethiopian culture and history)

Comprehensive Questions

Answer in romanized Amharic:

yə-amarıñña fidəl alphabet new woyis syllabary? → syllabary new
yə-ityoTya wanna mıgıb mın new? → injəra kə-wəT gar
bunna sint gize yiTəTTal? → sost gize — abol, tona, bərəka
/-a/ suffix mın yaddərgal? → emphasis yisəTTal
/k(e)-/ prefix mın maləT new? → “from” maləT new
addis ababın man məsärätä? → dagmawi Minilık

Writing Practice

Exercise 1: Course Reflection

Write 5-6 sentences in romanized Amharic about what you learned in this course:

Model: bə-yih kors amarıñña təmmarku. mänagər, manəbbəb, mäTSaf — hullunım ılləmmıdallehu. fidəl manəbbəb mäjämmäriya lay aSKami nəbər, ginbar ahun inčılallehu. yə-ityoTya bahil beTam Tıru new. amarıñña mänagər ıKäTTılallehu.

Exercise 2: Letter Writing

Write a short letter (5-6 sentences) in romanized Amharic to a friend about Ethiopia:

Model: wäddə gwadəññaye,

indämin näh? ıne dehna nəñ. amarıñña ıllämmıdallehu. beTam yimäsTalləñ. sılə ityoTya bahılınna tarik bizu təmmarku. wädə ityoTya məhäd ıfəlligallehu. Konjo agər nat. ıne-a antə-a wäde ityoTya innihid!

kə-Kibir gar, [sımıh]

Exercise 3: Final Fidel Practice

Write the romanized form for each fidel sentence:

Fidel	Romanized
ይህ የአማርኛ ኮርስ መጨረሻ ነው	yih yə-amarıñña kors mäčäräša new
አማርኛ መናገር እንችላለን	amarıñña mänagər ınıčılalən
ኢትዮጵያ ብዙ ታሪክ አላት	ityoTya bizu tarik alat
ፊደል ማንበብ ተምረናል	fidəl manəbbəb tämmırnalən
ይቀጥሉ!	yiKäTTılu! (Continue!)

Cultural Notes

Continuing Your Amharic Journey

Completing this course gives you a foundation in both spoken and written Amharic. To continue improving:

Listen: Ethiopian radio broadcasts, music, and podcasts provide natural listening input. EBC (Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation) and FM Addis 97.1 are accessible sources.
Read: Ethiopian newspapers like /addis zämän/ (Addis Zeman) and /riportär/ (Reporter) offer reading practice. Start with headlines and short articles.
Speak: Seek out Ethiopian communities and cultural events. The Ethiopian diaspora is active worldwide, and most Ethiopians are enthusiastic about sharing their language with learners.
Write: Practice writing in fidel daily, even if only a few sentences. The physical act of forming the characters reinforces memory.

The phrase /amarıñña Konjo Kwankwa new/ (Amharic is a beautiful language) captures what many learners come to feel. Your journey with Amharic has begun — /mälkam guzo!/ (Good journey!)

Course Review and Glossary

Grammar Focus

Course Material