Latest / Learn Amharic with Fexingo / Amharic Time: Quarter Past
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey Luna, ready to learn something new today? Luna: Absolutely! I've been waiting for this. Lucas: Great. So we've covered days, weather, places... now let's talk about time. Specifically, how to say 'quarter past' in Amharic. Luna: Oh, telling time. That's useful. So how do I ask what time it is first? Lucas: You already know this one from before: ሰዓቱ ስንት ነው? That means 'what time is it?' Let's say it together: ሰዓቱ ስንት ነው? Luna: ሰዓቱ ስንት ነው? Got it. And if someone answers, I need to understand the quarter past part. Lucas: Exactly. So the phrase for 'quarter past' is ሩብ ያለፈው ሰዓት ነው. But more commonly, we just say ሩብ ሰዓት ነው, which means 'it's quarter past'. Luna: Hold on, ሩብ — that sounds like 'rub'? Lucas: Close. ሩብ — it means 'quarter'. So ሩብ ሰዓት ነው — 'it's quarter past'. Luna: Right. So if I want to say it's quarter past four, I'd say... አራት ሩብ ነው? Lucas: Almost. That would mean 'four quarter', which doesn't make sense. You need to say አራት ሩብ ነው? No. Actually, you say: አራት ሩብ ነው? That is correct! But careful: in Amharic, we put the hour first. So አራት ሩብ ነው means 'it's quarter past four'. Luna: Oh, so it's literally 'four quarter'? That's easier than I thought. Lucas: Exactly. So አራት ሩብ ነው — quarter past four. Let's practice: say it with me. Luna: አራት ሩብ ነው. Lucas: Perfect. Now what about quarter past ten? How would you say that? Luna: Umm... አስር ሩብ ነው? Lucas: Yes! አስር ሩብ ነው. Good job. Luna: Sweet. So the pattern is just the number plus ሩብ ነው. Lucas: You got it. And if you want to be more formal, you can say ሩብ ያለፈው ሰዓት ነው, but in daily conversation, the short form is common. Luna: Good to know. So if I'm at a café and someone asks ሰዓቱ ስንት ነው?, I can say አስር ሩብ ነው. Lucas: Exactly. By the way, speaking of learning Amharic, if Fexingo has been helping you, you can support the show at buymeacoffee.com/fexingo. It helps keep things ad-free. Luna: Yeah, every little bit helps us keep making these episodes. Lucas: So back to time. Let's try a few more. What's quarter past two? Luna: ሁለት ሩብ ነው? Lucas: Yes! ሁለት ሩብ ነው. And quarter past seven? Luna: ሰባት ሩብ ነው. Lucas: Perfect. Now remember, this is only for quarter past. We'll do other times later. Luna: Okay. Let me practice: አራት ሩብ ነው, አስር ሩብ ነው, ሁለት ሩብ ነው. Lucas: Beautiful. You're a natural. Luna: Thanks, Lucas. This is really helpful. Lucas: My pleasure. We'll keep building on this next time. For now, practice these phrases. See you next episode! Luna: See you!