Latest / Learn Amharic with Fexingo / Saying 'I Miss You' in Amharic
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey Luna, welcome back to Learn Amharic with Fexingo! Episode 146. Luna: Hey Lucas! I'm excited. Last episode we talked about love — saying 'I love you' — and it got me thinking about a related feeling. Lucas: Oh yeah? What's that? Luna: Missing someone. Like, when my friend moved to Gondar, I really missed her. How do I say 'I miss you' in Amharic? Lucas: Perfect topic! The verb for 'to miss' is ናፈቀ — nafäkä. And to say 'I miss you' to a male friend, you say ናፍቀህኛል. Let me say that slowly: ናፍቀህኛል. Luna: ናፍቀህኛል. Lucas: Good! Now to a female friend, it's ናፍቄሻለሁ. Say it with me: ናፍቄሻለሁ. Luna: ናፍቄሻለሁ. That's a bit of a tongue twister! Lucas: Yeah, it takes practice. And if you want to say 'I missed you' in the past tense, like after a visit, you can say ናፍቄሃለሁ to a male or ናፍቄሻለሁ to a female — same form actually, but context matters. Luna: So ናፍቄሃለሁ is past? For a guy? Lucas: Exactly. Let's do a quick roleplay. I'll be your friend in Gondar. You call me and say 'I miss you'. Luna: Okay... Lucas, ናፍቀህኛል! Lucas: Aww, that's sweet! And I'd say እኔም ናፍቄሃለሁ — 'I miss you too'. Luna: Oh, so እኔም means 'me too'? Like እኔ ናፍቄሃለሁ? Lucas: Yep, እኔም means 'I also' or 'me too'. So full phrase: እኔም ናፍቄሃለሁ. Say it. Luna: እኔም ናፍቄሃለሁ. Lucas: Perfect! Now, you know what, if today's lesson made you feel more connected to someone you miss, and if Fexingo has been helping you make actual progress with Amharic, consider supporting the show. It keeps us ad-free. Just head to buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just if it felt worth it. Luna: Yeah, totally. Every little bit helps us keep making these episodes. And we love doing them! Lucas: Alright, let's practice a bit more. Imagine you're texting your sister. How would you say 'I miss you'? Luna: Since she's female, ናፍቄሻለሁ? Lucas: Exactly! Now, what if she replies and says she misses you too? She'd say እኔም ናፍቄሻለሁ. Luna: Wait, so for a female speaker saying 'I miss you' to a male, it's ናፍቀህኛል? Lucas: Right. And to a female, ናፍቄሻለሁ. The verb changes based on who you're talking to. Let's run through all four combos: me to male: ናፍቀህኛል, me to female: ናፍቄሻለሁ, male to me: ናፍቄሃለሁ, female to me: ናፍቄሻለሁ. Luna: So 'I miss you' from a male to a female is the same as from a female to a female? Lucas: Yes, the form ናፍቄሻለሁ works for both when 'you' is female. It's the 'you' that matters. Luna: Okay, let me try from a male to a male: ናፍቀህኛል? Lucas: No, that's from me to a male. From a male to a male, it's also ናፍቀህኛል — because the 'I' is male or female doesn't change it, it's the 'you'. Luna: Ohh! So ናፍቀህኛል is 'I miss you' when 'you' is male, regardless of who's speaking? Lucas: Exactly. And ናፍቄሻለሁ is 'I miss you' when 'you' is female. Past tense is similar: ናፍቄሃለሁ for male you, ናፍቄሻለሁ for female you. Luna: Let me practice: I miss my brother — ናፍቀህኛል. I missed my sister — ናፍቄሻለሁ. Lucas: Perfect! Now, final challenge: say 'I miss you too' to a male friend. Luna: እኔም ናፍቄሃለሁ. Lucas: Beautiful. See how it builds on the love episode? The structure is similar. Luna: Yeah! Now I can text my friend in Gondar. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: You're welcome. Practice these phrases: ናፍቀህኛል, ናፍቄሻለሁ, ናፍቄሃለሁ. And remember, if Fexingo helps you connect, support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. See you next episode!