In this post, you will learn how to say ‘how are you?’ in Tigrinya, also known as Tigrigna. You’ll also learn common responses so you can respond if you’re asked this question. This can be really useful if you’re speaking with someone from Ethiopia, Eritrea or if you’re travelling to either of the two.
Tigrinya is an Ethiopic language spoken in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia across an area known as the Tigray region. There are approximately 9.7 million native speakers.
Table of Contents
How To Say ‘How Are You?’ In Tigrinya
There are a few different ways to ask ‘how are you?’ in Tigrinya. It varies depending on if you’re speaking with a male or a female.
If you’re speaking to a male, then say:
| How are you? | Kemay aleka? |
If you’re speaking to a female, then say:
| How are you? | Kemay aleki? |
If you’re speaking to a group, then say:
| How are you? | Kemay alekum? |
How To Respond To ‘How Are You?’ In Tigrinya
There are many different ways that you can reply to this question. Below are the most common responses to this question. I’ve also included how to say ‘thank you’ as it’s polite to thank someone if they ask how you are.
| Thank you | Yekeniyeley |
| Fine | Dehan-iye |
| Not bad | Dehan aloghu |
| Very well | Sennay |
| Good | Tsa-buke |
| I’m happy | Anay tehaguise aleku |
| I’m sad | Anay haziney aleku |
| I’m tired | Anay degimay aleku |
| I’m sick | Hamime |
Many people reply to ‘how are you?’ by saying ‘thanks God’.
| Thanks God | Ezgher yimesgen |
Check out the below video to hear the pronunciation of some of these phrases by a native speaker:
It’s also useful to know how to say ‘and you?’ or ‘what about you?’ to find out how someone else is if they ask you. Again, these vary depending on if you’re speaking to a male or female person.
| And you? (speaking to a male) | Neshighum ke? |
| And you? (speaking to a female) | Neshighi ke? |
Example Conversation:
Person 1: Kemay aleka? (How are you?)
Person 2: Tsa-buke, yekeniyeley. Neshighum ke? (I’m good, thank you. And you?)
Person 1: Tsa-buke (I’m good)
Thanks for reading this post.
You should now know how to say ‘how are you?’ in Tigrinya and you should also be able to respond if you’re asked this question!
You can’t go wrong with these simple phrases.
Someone’s birthday coming up? Learn how to wish them a happy birthday in Tigrinya.
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