For visitors to countries where Tigrinya is spoken, it’s helpful to know some common Tigrinya to English translations. Here are some of the most common words and phrases from our expert Tigrinya translators.
እንቋዕ ብድሐን ጸናሕካ (ənqwaˋ bdeHen SenaHka) “wonderful that you have arrived safely”
እንቋዕ ብድሐን ጸናሕኪ (ənqwaˋ bdeHen SenaHki) “wonderful that you have stayed well”
ሰላም (selam) Hello (General greeting)
መን’ዩ ሸምካ (menyu shimka) What’s your name?
ነዊሕ ኮይኑ ካብ ዘይንረአአ (Newih Koynu Kab Zeynire’e) Long time no see
ስመይ….ይበሃል (simey … yebehal) My name is …
አግዚኣብሔር ይመስገን! (Ezgher Yimesgen!) Reply to ‘How are you?’
ከመይ ኣምሲኻ (kemey Amsika) Good evening
ካበይ ዓዲ መጺኻ (Kabey Adi Metsika) Where are you from?
ኣነ ካብ … መጽየ (Ane kab … Metsiye) I’m from …
ጽቡቕ ሌላ (SbuQ liela) Pleased to meet you
ልዋም ለይቲ (Lwam Leyti) Goodbye
ከመይ ሓዲርካ (kemey Hadirka) or ከመይ ሓዲርኪ (kemey Hadirki) Good morning
ደሓን ውዓሉ (deHan wˋalu) Have a nice day
ከመይ ሓዲርክን (kemey Hadirkin) Good afternoon
ከመይ ውዒልካ (kemey Wu’elka)
ሰላማት (selamat) (Parting phrases)
ጽቡቅ ዕድል (Tsibuk E’dl) Good luck!
ንጥዕናና (nTi’enana) Cheers! Good Health!
ቡሩኽ ለይቲ (Buruk Leyti) Good night
ቡሩኽ መግቢ (Buruk Megbi) Bon appetit /Have a nice meal
ብደሓን እቶ (bdeHn əto) Bon voyage /Have a good journey