Learn Tigrinya

Where it's spoken

Eritrea and northern Ethiopia

Speakers

around 9 million

Writing system

Ge'ez (Fidäl) syllabary

Tigrinya is an official language of Eritrea with a large diaspora, and one of the least served languages in mainstream learning apps.

What makes Tigrinya different

• Uses the same Ge'ez script family as Amharic, with some extra characters.
• Ejective consonants are made with a sharp release of air.
• Verb forms mark gender for both speaker and listener.

Your first Tigrinya phrases

Each phrase is written the way it's spelled, then respelled for English speakers with the stressed syllable in capitals.

• ሰላምHello/seh-LAM/
• የቐንየለይThank you/yeh-qan-yeh-LAY/
• እንቋዕ ደሓን መጻእካWelcome/en-QWA deh-HAN meh-tsa-EH-ka/
• ደሓን ኹንGoodbye/deh-HAN hoon/
• እወYes/EH-weh/
• ኣይፋልንNo/eye-FAH-lin/
• በጃኻPlease/beh-JA-kha/
• ይቕሬታSorry/yee-khee-REH-ta/

Want the full list? Read the free Tigrinya phrasebook with pronunciation, grab the free printable Tigrinya starter kit, or compare SemaSoma with other African language apps.