Everyday Amharic for the Diaspora: Dates, Times, and Money Phrases

Phone calls between diaspora Ethiopians and family at home cover the same ground repeatedly: when someone is arriving, what something costs, when an event is happening, what time to call back. These conversations involve dates, times, and money amounts, and they involve two different calendar systems and two different ways of reading a clock.

You do not need to be fluent in Amharic to handle these situations well. A focused set of phrases covers most of what comes up in everyday calls and messages.

Talking about dates

The Ethiopian calendar starts its year in September, so the month names you hear will not match the Gregorian ones you are used to. Knowing the month names in order is the foundation:

Meskerem, Tikimt, Hidar, Tahsas, Tir, Yekatit, Megabit, Miazia, Ginbot, Sene, Hamle, Nehasse, Pagume.

Useful phrases for dates:

• ዛሬ ምን ቀን ነው? (Zare men qen new?) — What is today's date?
• ቀኑ 10 ግንቦት ነው። (Qenu 10 Ginbot new.) — The date is 10 Ginbot.
• መቼ ትመጣለህ? (Meche timethaleh?) — When are you coming? (to a man)
• መቼ ትመጪያለሽ? (Meche timetchiwalesh?) — When are you coming? (to a woman)
• ሰኔ 5 እመጣለሁ። (Sene amist emethalhu.) — I am coming on Sene 5.
• ከ Ginbot 10 እስከ Ginbot 20 ድረስ እኖርበታለሁ። — I will be there from Ginbot 10 to Ginbot 20.

If your family mostly uses Gregorian months in conversation, you can still say the date in English and structure the rest of the sentence in Amharic. Mixed-language sentences are completely normal in diaspora phone calls and no one expects pure Amharic.

Talking about time

Ethiopian time starts at sunrise, which is around 6:00 am Western time. To convert: subtract 6 hours to go from Western to Ethiopian, add 6 hours to go from Ethiopian to Western.

Useful phrases for time:

• ስንት ሰዓት ነው? (Sint saat new?) — What time is it?
• ሰዓቱ አራት ነው። (Saatu arat new.) — It is four o'clock (Ethiopian time, meaning 10:00 am Western).
• ከሰዓት በኋላ ሁለት ሰዓት እንገናኛለን። (Kesaat behwala hulet saat engenaygnaln.) — We will meet at two in the afternoon (Ethiopian time, meaning 8:00 pm Western).
• በኢትዮጵያ ሰዓት ወይስ በእንግሊዝ ሰዓት? (BeEthiopia saat weyis beIngliz saat?) — In Ethiopian time or Western time?

That last question is worth asking any time a specific meeting time comes up. It takes two seconds and removes the most common cause of missed calls between Ethiopia and abroad.

Talking about money

Money conversations require numbers plus a few key words. The Ethiopian currency is the birr (ብር), and amounts are usually spoken as a number followed by "birr."

• ዋጋው ስንት ነው? (Wagaw sint new?) — How much does it cost?
• አንድ ሺ ብር ነው። (And shi birr new.) — It is one thousand birr.
• ዋጋውን አልተረዳሁም። (Wagawun alteredahum.) — I did not understand the price.
• ዳግም ንገረኝ። (Dagim negeregny.) — Tell me again.
• ወደ ኢትዮጵያ ገንዘብ ልኬ ነበር። (Wede Ethiopia genzeb likem neberem.) — I sent money to Ethiopia.
• ደርሶህ/ደርሶሽ? (Dersohu/Dersosh?) — Did it arrive? (to a man/woman)

When repeating a large amount over a phone connection, break it into parts: say the thousands figure, pause, then the hundreds, then any remaining units. "Hulet shi... sost me'to... hamsa" is easier to follow than saying the whole number at once, especially when the call quality is poor.

Confirming details before you hang up

Misunderstandings about dates, times, and amounts are common in cross-timezone calls where both calendar and clock systems differ. Before ending any call that involves a specific date, time, or money figure, repeat it back in both systems:

• "So we said Ginbot 10, that is 18 May on my calendar. Is that right?"
• "Four in the morning Ethiopian time, so ten o'clock my time. Confirmed?"
• "Three thousand birr, I will send it on Friday."

This takes thirty seconds and prevents the kind of confusion that results in missed airport pickups, late money transfers, and relatives waiting at the wrong time. The phrase ልጠይቅህ/ልጠይቅሽ (liteyeqih/liteyeqish — "let me ask you" / "just to confirm") is a natural way to signal you are about to repeat something back before hanging up.