The Preposition 'lä-' (to, for)
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
The prefix 'ለ-' (lä-) attaches to the start of a word to mean 'for' or 'to'.
- Attach 'ለ-' directly to the start of a noun: 'ለሰው' (for a person).
- Attach 'ለ-' to pronouns: 'ለእኔ' (for me), 'ለአንተ' (for you).
- Use it to indicate the recipient of an action: 'ለጓደኛዬ ሰጠሁት' (I gave it to my friend).
Formation with Pronouns
| Pronoun | Prefix | Result | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
|
እኔ
|
ለ-
|
ለእኔ
|
For me
|
|
አንተ
|
ለ-
|
ለአንተ
|
For you (m)
|
|
አንቺ
|
ለ-
|
ለአንቺ
|
For you (f)
|
|
እሱ
|
ለ-
|
ለእሱ
|
For him
|
|
እሷ
|
ለ-
|
ለእሷ
|
For her
|
|
እኛ
|
ለ-
|
ለእኛ
|
For us
|
|
እናንተ
|
ለ-
|
ለእናንተ
|
For you (pl)
|
|
እነሱ
|
ለ-
|
ለእነሱ
|
For them
|
Meanings
The prefix 'ለ-' is a dative marker used to express purpose, destination, or the recipient of an action.
Beneficiary
Indicates who benefits from an action (for).
“ለልጄ ምግብ አዘጋጀሁ።”
“ለእንግዶች ቡና አቀረብን።”
Recipient
Indicates the destination or recipient of an object (to).
“ለአስተማሪው ደብዳቤ ጻፍኩ።”
“ለእህቴ መጽሐፍ ሰጠኋት።”
Purpose
Indicates the reason or purpose for something.
“ለስራ እሄዳለሁ።”
“ለእረፍት ወደ ባህር ዳር ሄድን።”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative
|
ለ + Noun
|
ለጓደኛዬ (For my friend)
|
|
Negative (Purpose)
|
ለ + Noun + አደለም
|
ለእኔ አይደለም (It's not for me)
|
|
Question
|
ለ + Noun + ነው?
|
ለእኔ ነው? (Is it for me?)
|
|
Pronoun
|
ለ + Pronoun
|
ለእኛ (For us)
|
|
Abstract
|
ለ + Concept
|
ለስራ (For work)
|
|
Recipient
|
ለ + Person
|
ለአስተማሪው (To the teacher)
|
Spectre de formalité
ይህ ለእርስዎ ነው። (Giving a gift)
ይህ ለአንተ ነው። (Giving a gift)
ይህ ላንተ ነው። (Giving a gift)
ላንተ ነው! (Giving a gift)
The 'ለ-' Prefix Map
Beneficiary
- ለእኔ For me
Recipient
- ለአስተማሪው To the teacher
Purpose
- ለስራ For work
Exemples par niveau
ለእኔ ነው?
Is it for me?
ለአባቴ ስጦታ።
A gift for my father.
ለስራ።
For work.
ለጓደኛዬ።
For my friend.
ለእንግዶች ቡና አቀረብን።
We served coffee to the guests.
ለጥናት ጊዜ የለኝም።
I don't have time for study.
ለማን ነው የጻፍከው?
Who did you write to?
ለእህቴ መጽሐፍ ገዛሁ።
I bought a book for my sister.
ለዚህ ፕሮጀክት ብዙ ሰርተናል።
We worked a lot for this project.
ለአስተማሪው ጥያቄ ጠየቅኩ።
I asked the teacher a question.
ለእረፍት ወደ ባህር ዳር ሄድን።
We went to Bahir Dar for vacation.
ለማንኛውም ሁኔታ ዝግጁ ነኝ።
I am ready for any situation.
ለሀገሬ እድገት አስተዋጽኦ አደርጋለሁ።
I will contribute to my country's development.
ለተፈጠረው ችግር ይቅርታ እጠይቃለሁ።
I apologize for the problem that occurred.
ለቀጣዩ ስብሰባ መዘጋጀት አለብን።
We must prepare for the next meeting.
ለእውቀት መጣር አስፈላጊ ነው።
Striving for knowledge is important.
ለፍትህ መቆም የዜጎች ግዴታ ነው።
Standing for justice is the duty of citizens.
ለአካባቢ ጥበቃ የሚደረግ ጥረት።
Efforts made for environmental protection.
ለባህላችን መጠበቅ እንሰራለን።
We work for the preservation of our culture.
ለዘመናት የቆየ ወግ።
A tradition that has lasted for centuries.
ለዚህ ክስተት የሰጡት ምላሽ አስገራሚ ነበር።
The response they gave to this event was surprising.
ለአንባቢው ግልጽ እንዲሆን ተደረገ።
It was made clear for the reader.
ለእግዚአብሔር ምስጋና ይሁን።
Thanks be to God.
ለማንኛውም ጥርጣሬ ቦታ የለም።
There is no room for any doubt.
Facile à confondre
Both mean 'to'.
Both are prefixes.
Both are prefixes.
Erreurs courantes
ለ ቤት
ለቤት
ለ አዲስ አበባ
ወደ አዲስ አበባ
ለእኔ ነው
ለእኔ ነው
ለ እኔ
ለእኔ
ለ መሄድ
ለመሄድ
ለ እሱ
ለእሱ
ለ እሷ
ለእሷ
ለ እኛ
ለእኛ
ለ እውነት
ለእውነት
ለ እረፍት
ለእረፍት
ለ አዲስ
ለአዲስ
ለ አገር
ለአገር
ለ አድማጭ
ለአድማጭ
Structures de phrases
ይህ ___ ነው?
___ እሄዳለሁ።
___ ስጦታ ገዛሁ።
___ መስራት አስፈላጊ ነው።
Real World Usage
ለእኔ አንድ ቡና።
ይህ ስጦታ ለእርስዎ ነው።
ለዚህ ፕሮጀክት ዝግጁ ነን።
ለእረፍት ወደ ባህር ዳር።
ለጓደኞቼ።
ለዚህ ስራ አመልክቻለሁ።
No space!
Not for movement
Vowel changes
Respect
Smart Tips
Always check for the space. If there is a space, delete it!
Focus on the 'l' sound at the start of the word.
Ask yourself: is it a person or a place?
Use 'ለ-' for abstract goals.
Prononciation
Prefix attachment
The 'ለ' sound is a light 'l' sound. It should flow directly into the next word.
Question
ለእኔ ነው? ↗
Rising intonation at the end for questions.
Mémorise-le
Moyen mnémotechnique
Think of 'ለ' as a 'Lasso' that pulls the noun toward you. It grabs the word and says 'This is for me!'
Association visuelle
Imagine a gift box with a big 'ለ' tag on it. Every time you see 'ለ', imagine you are handing that box to someone.
Rhyme
For me, for you, for everyone too, just add 'ለ' and you'll know what to do!
Story
Abebe wanted to buy a gift. He said 'ለእናትዬ' (for my mom). He went to the shop and said 'ለእኔ' (for me) he bought a coffee. Then he gave it 'ለጓደኛው' (to his friend).
Word Web
Défi
Write 5 sentences today using 'ለ-' for things you do for others.
Notes culturelles
Using 'ለ-' correctly shows respect, especially when using the formal 'እርስዎ' (you).
The usage is identical in Tigrinya-influenced Amharic.
Younger generations sometimes drop the prefix in very casual speech, but it is considered incorrect.
The prefix 'ለ-' is a Semitic dative marker, common in Ge'ez and other Ethiopic languages.
Amorces de conversation
ይህ ስጦታ ለማን ነው?
ለስራ ነው የመጣኸው?
ለአስተማሪው ደብዳቤ ጻፍክ?
ለሀገርህ ምን ማድረግ ትፈልጋለህ?
Sujets d'écriture
Erreurs courantes
Test Yourself
___ እኔ ነው? (Is it for me?)
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
ለ ቤት ሄድኩ (I went to the house).
ለእኔ / ነው / ይህ
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
___ ስራ እሄዳለሁ።
___ እህቴ ስጦታ ገዛሁ።
ለአንተ ነው (It is for you).
Score: /8
Exercices pratiques
8 exercises___ እኔ ነው? (Is it for me?)
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
ለ ቤት ሄድኩ (I went to the house).
ለእኔ / ነው / ይህ
ለአባቴ
___ ስራ እሄዳለሁ።
___ እህቴ ስጦታ ገዛሁ።
ለአንተ ነው (It is for you).
Score: /8
FAQ (8)
No, it is also for purposes like 'ለስራ' (for work).
No, use 'ወደ' for physical movement to a place.
It is a prefix, not a separate word.
No, 'ለ-' is gender-neutral.
Use 'ለእርስዎ'.
Yes, it covers both 'for' and 'to' in many contexts.
The prefix integrates with the vowel.
Yes, 'ለማን ነው?' (Who is it for?).
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
para/a
Amharic uses a single prefix for both functions.
pour/à
Amharic is a prefix-based system.
für/zu
Amharic merges these into one prefix.
ni/tame ni
Amharic uses prefixes before the noun.
li-
Very similar in both form and function.
wèi
Amharic is an agglutinative prefix language.
