Latest / Learn Amharic with Fexingo / Amharic Money Basics - ብር and ሳንቲም
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey Luna, ready for another episode of Learn Amharic with Fexingo? Luna: Absolutely! I've been practicing my fruit names. ሙዝ እወዳለሁ! Lucas: Nice! You love bananas. Well today we're talking about something you'll need if you want to buy those bananas at a market. Luna: Ooh, money! I've been wondering how to talk about prices in Amharic. Lucas: Exactly. So let's start with the general word for money. It's ገንዘብ. Say it with me: ገንዘብ. Luna: ገንዘብ. That's fun. Got a rolling sound to it. Lucas: Good. Now in Ethiopia, the currency is called ብር. That's the birr. So if you're talking about cash, you'd say ብር. Luna: ብር. Like the sound of a coin dropping? B-rr. Lucas: Exactly. And coins specifically are ሳንቲም. Say it: ሳንቲም. Luna: ሳንቲም. Almost like 'cent' in English, but with a twist. Lucas: Good ear. Now the key question when you're shopping: 'How much is it?' In Amharic, that's ስንት ነው? Luna: ስንት ነው? Let me try that slowly. ስንት... ነው? Lucas: Perfect. ስንት ነው? means 'how much is it?' You can use it for anything. Luna: Alright, let me put it together. At the market, I see a banana. I ask ስንት ነው? Lucas: Exactly. And the seller might say አስር ብር ነው. That's 'it's ten birr.' But we'll learn numbers another time. For now, focus on the question. Luna: Got it. So ስንት ነው? is my go-to. And if I want to say 'I have money'? Lucas: You'd say ገንዘብ አለኝ. But let's stick with today's words. Let's do a quick recap: ገንዘብ, ብር, ሳንቲም, ስንት ነው? Luna: ገንዘብ is money, ብር is birr, ሳንቲም is coin, and ስንት ነው? is 'how much is it?' Lucas: You nailed it. Now imagine you're at a little shop. You point to a bottle of water and say ስንት ነው? Luna: ስንት ነው? And they say something like ሁለት ብር ነው. That's two birr, right? Lucas: Right. You're picking it up fast. Now let's do a tiny roleplay. I'm the seller. You come up and ask about a banana. Luna: Okay. ሰላም. ይህ ሙዝ ስንት ነው? Lucas: That's great! You said 'hello, this banana how much is it?' Perfect. I'd answer: አምስት ብር ነው. Luna: አምስት ብር ነው. Five birr. I can do that. Lucas: Now you hand over a five-birr note. You can say እነሆ ብር. That means 'here is birr.' But today we're just learning the words, so let's not add too much. Luna: Yeah, keep it simple. So ገንዘብ, ብር, ሳንቲም, ስንት ነው? I think I've got it. Lucas: Let's do one more round. Repeat after me: ገንዘብ. Luna: ገንዘብ. Lucas: ብር. Luna: ብር. Lucas: ሳንቲም. Luna: ሳንቲም. Lucas: ስንት ነው? Luna: ስንት ነው? That's a mouthful but I like it. Lucas: You'll be using it all the time. Remember, practice these words as you go about your day. Imagine you're in Addis Ababa at a market. Luna: I will. Thanks Lucas. This was a really practical episode. Lucas: You're welcome. And thanks to Fexingo for making these lessons possible. Keep practicing, and we'll see you next time on Learn Amharic with Fexingo. Luna: Bye! ደህና ሁን! Lucas: ደህና ሁን! Practice your money words until we meet again.