Café & Drinks

1. የቡና ሥነ ሥርዓት ይፈልጋሉ?

   yebuna sine sirat yifelgalu?

   Would you like a coffee ceremony?

   Usage

   Offering or requesting the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony

   Grammar Note

   The Ethiopian coffee ceremony serves 3 rounds: awol, tona, bereka. Fresh beans are roasted with incense — a multi-sensory experience.

2. ቡና ከወተት ጋር ትፈልጋለህ?

   buna kewetet gar tifeligaleh?

   Do you want coffee with milk?

   Usage

   Asking a male friend how they like their coffee

   Grammar Note

   Amharic verbs change with the addressee's gender: male "-ህ", female "-ሽ", polite "-ሉ". This distinction is grammatically required.

3. ብዙ ውሃ እፈልጋለሁ

   bizu wiha ifeligalehu

   I need a lot of water

   Usage

   Requesting plenty of water — important in Ethiopia's hot and dry climate

   Grammar Note

   Amharic first-person verbs begin with "እ-" (e.g. እፈልጋለሁ = I want). Word order is SOV.

4. ጠጅ ቤት ምን ይባላል?

   tej bet min yibalal?

   What is a tej house called?

   Usage

   Asking about tej (Ethiopian honey wine/mead) houses — a traditional drinking experience

   Grammar Note

   Tej is honey wine fermented with gesho (buckthorn). "Tej bet" (tej house) is the common name for establishments serving it.

5. የቀዘቀዘ ጭማቂ አለ?

   yeqezeqeze chemaqi ale?

   Is there cold juice?

   Usage

   Asking for chilled fresh fruit juice — widely available in Ethiopian cities

   Grammar Note

   "የቀዘቀዘ" is a relative clause from "ቀዘቀዘ" (to cool). The prefix "ye-" forms relative clauses in Amharic.

6. ቢራ ይፈልጋሉ?

   bira yifelgalu?

   Would you like beer?

   Usage

   Offering Ethiopian beer such as St. George or Harar

   Grammar Note

   Ethiopia has domestic beer brands like St. George (est. 1922) and Harar. "ቢራ" is borrowed from English "beer".

7. ሻይ ስኳር ሳይኖርበት እፈልጋለሁ

   shay sikuwar sayinorbet ifeligalehu

   I want tea without sugar

   Usage

   Specifying no sugar in tea — Ethiopian tea is typically served sweet

   Grammar Note

   "ሳይኖርበት" combines the negation prefix "ሳይ-" (without) with "ኖር" (to be present). Amharic negation uses prefixes.

8. ሙዝ ስፕሪስ ይፈልጋሉ?

   muz sipris yifelgalu?

   Would you like a banana juice blend?

   Usage

   Suggesting spris (layered fruit juice), a popular Ethiopian café specialty

   Grammar Note

   "Spris" (from "surprise") is Ethiopia's signature layered fruit juice — avocado, mango, and banana are common combinations.

9. ብዙ ቀዝቃዛ ውሃ ያዝዙ

   bizu qezqaza wiha yazizu

   Please order plenty of cold water

   Usage

   Ordering large amounts of cold water for a group at a restaurant

   Grammar Note

   "ያዝዙ" is the polite (second-person plural) imperative form — appropriate for addressing waitstaff respectfully.

10. ቡናውን ያምጡልኝ

    bunawun yamtulign

    Please bring the coffee

    Usage

    Politely asking the server to bring coffee

    Grammar Note

    "-ውን" is the accusative (object case) suffix for masculine nouns. "ቡና" + "-ውን" = "the coffee" (object). Amharic marks case with suffixes.

11. የታሸገ ውሃ

    yetasheg wiha

    Bottled water

    Usage

    Do not drink tap water — this asks for a sealed bottle

12. የፈላ ውሃ

    yefela wiha

    Boiled / hot water

    Usage

    For asking for hot water for medicine or formula

13. በረዶ

    beredo

    Ice

    Usage

    Beredo also means snow and hail; in a drinks context it is ice

14. ያለ በረዶ

    yale beredo

    Without ice

    Usage

    Ice may be made from tap water — show this to skip it

Browse all TravelPhrases languages