Directions

1. ሆቴሉ የት ነው?

   hotelu yet new?

   Where is the hotel?

   Usage

   Asking where the hotel is located

   Grammar Note

   Amharic attaches definite articles as suffixes (ሆቴሉ = hotel + "-u" for masculine). Question words precede the verb.

2. ቀጥ ብለው ይሂዱ

   qet bilew yihidu

   Go straight ahead

   Usage

   Giving polite directions to go straight

   Grammar Note

   Amharic uses the second-person plural as polite form. "ይሂዱ" is the polite imperative. Informal: "ሂድ" (male), "ሂጂ" (female).

3. ወደ ግራ ዙሩ

   wede gira zuru

   Turn to the left

   Usage

   Instructing someone to turn left

   Grammar Note

   "ወደ ቀኝ" (to the right), "ወደ ግራ" (to the left) are the core direction expressions in Amharic.

4. ምን ያህል ሩቅ ነው?

   min yahil ruq new?

   How far is it?

   Usage

   Asking how far a destination is

   Grammar Note

   "ምን ያህል" asks about quantity or degree. Amharic follows SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) word order.

5. ካርታ ላይ ያሳዩኝ

   karta lay yasayugn

   Please show me on the map

   Usage

   Asking someone to point to a location on a map

   Grammar Note

   "ያሳዩኝ" combines the causative verb with object marker "ኝ" (me). Amharic verbs incorporate object markers into the verb stem.

6. ታክሲ ተራ የት ነው?

   taksi tera yet new?

   Where is the taxi stand?

   Usage

   Asking for the location of a taxi stand

   Grammar Note

   In Addis Ababa, blue shared minibuses ("blue taxis") and metered taxis coexist. The ride-hailing app "Ride" is also popular.

7. ወደ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ለመሄድ ምን ያህል ጊዜ ይወስዳል?

   wede bete kirstiyan lemehd min yahil gize yiwesdal?

   How long does it take to get to the church?

   Usage

   Asking how long it takes to travel to a destination

   Grammar Note

   The prefix "ለ-" (in lemehd = to go) marks purpose/infinitive. Amharic verbs always come at the end of the sentence (SOV order).

8. ይህ አቅጣጫ ትክክለኛ ነው?

   yih aqtacha tikkilegna new?

   Is this the right direction?

   Usage

   Checking whether you are heading in the right direction

   Grammar Note

   "ነው" (is) is the Amharic copula, always sentence-final. Yes/no questions have the same word order as statements, marked by intonation.

9. መንገድ ጠፋብኝ

   menged tefabign

   I am lost

   Usage

   Telling someone you are lost and need help

   Grammar Note

   "መንገድ ጠፋብኝ" literally means "the road got lost on me". The ending "-ብኝ" marks something happening to the speaker's disadvantage; this is the set way to say you are lost.

10. በአቅራቢያ ጣቢያ አለ?

    beaqrabiya tabiya ale?

    Is there a nearby stop or station?

    Usage

    Asking if there is a nearby bus stop or transport station

    Grammar Note

    "አለ" is the Amharic existential ("there is"). Its negative is "የለም". Addis Ababa has a Light Rail Transit (LRT) system.

11. ቀኝ

    kegn

    Right

    Usage

    One word a driver can read at a glance

12. ግራ

    gira

    Left

    Usage

    One word a driver can read at a glance

13. ቀጥታ

    ketita

    Straight ahead

    Usage

    For showing which way to go at a junction

14. ይመለሱ

    yimelesu

    Please go back

    Usage

    For when you have overshot; polite imperative

15. ይቁሙ

    yikumu

    Please stop

    Usage

    Show it where you want to get out; polite imperative

16. ሰሜን

    semen

    North

    Usage

    For matching a direction against a map

17. ደቡብ

    debub

    South

    Usage

    For matching a direction against a map

18. ምሥራቅ

    misrak

    East

    Usage

    For matching a direction against a map

19. ምዕራብ

    mi'irab

    West

    Usage

    For matching a direction against a map

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