Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
To ask a Yes/No question in Amharic, add the suffix '-w' or '-y' to the end of the sentence and raise your pitch.
- Add '-w' or '-y' to the final word: 'Betam-w?' (Is it very?)
- Raise your voice pitch at the end of the sentence.
- The word order remains the same as a statement.
Meanings
The primary way to turn a statement into a Yes/No question in Amharic is by appending the interrogative suffix '-w' (or '-y' depending on the preceding vowel) and using rising intonation.
Standard Yes/No
Used to confirm facts or ask for a binary response.
“መጣህ ወይ?”
“እሱ ሄደ ወይ?”
Yes/No Question Formation
| Statement | Question Particle | Resulting Question |
|---|---|---|
| እሱ መጣ | ወይ | እሱ መጣ ወይ? |
| እሷ ትበላለች | ወይ | እሷ ትበላለች ወይ? |
| ይህ ጥሩ ነው | ወይ | ይህ ጥሩ ነው ወይ? |
| እነሱ ሄዱ | ወይ | እነሱ ሄዱ ወይ? |
| አንተ ተማሪ ነህ | ወይ | አንተ ተማሪ ነህ ወይ? |
| ቡና አለ | ወይ | ቡና አለ ወይ? |
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | Subject + Object + Verb | እሱ መጣ |
| Question | Subject + Object + Verb + ወይ | እሱ መጣ ወይ? |
| Negative | አል + Verb | እሱ አልመጣም |
| Negative Question | አል + Verb + ወይ | እሱ አልመጣም ወይ? |
| Short Answer (Yes) | አዎ | አዎ፣ መጣ |
| Short Answer (No) | አይደለም | አይደለም፣ አልመጣም |
フォーマル度スペクトル
ይመጣሉ ወይ? (Social invitation)
ትመጣለህ ወይ? (Social invitation)
ትመጣለህ ወይ? (Social invitation)
ትመጣለህ? (Social invitation)
The Question Particle
Function
- Yes/No Binary
Position
- End Suffix
レベル別の例文
ደህና ነህ ወይ?
Are you well?
ይህ ቤት ነው ወይ?
Is this a house?
ቡና ትፈልጋለህ ወይ?
Do you want coffee?
እሱ መጣ ወይ?
Did he come?
ዛሬ ትምህርት አለ ወይ?
Is there class today?
እሷ ትበላለች ወይ?
Is she eating?
ይህ መጽሐፍ የአንተ ነው ወይ?
Is this book yours?
አዲስ አበባ ሄደሃል ወይ?
Have you been to Addis Ababa?
ስለ ፕሮጀክቱ ሰምተሃል ወይ?
Have you heard about the project?
እነሱ ነገ ይሄዳሉ ወይ?
Are they leaving tomorrow?
ይህ ውሳኔ ትክክል ነው ወይ?
Is this decision correct?
እሷን ማግኘት ትችላለህ ወይ?
Can you reach her?
የቀረበው ሀሳብ ተቀባይነት አለው ወይ?
Does the proposed idea have acceptance?
በዚህ ጉዳይ ላይ መወያየት እንችላለን ወይ?
Can we discuss this matter?
የተፈጠረው ችግር ተፈቷል ወይ?
Has the created problem been solved?
እቅዱ በጊዜው ይጠናቀቃል ወይ?
Will the plan be finished on time?
የፖለቲካው ሁኔታ መረጋጋት አሳይቷል ወይ?
Has the political situation shown stability?
የተጠቀሰው መረጃ ትክክለኛነት ተረጋግጧል ወይ?
Has the accuracy of the mentioned data been verified?
ይህ የሕግ ማሻሻያ ለሕዝቡ ይጠቅማል ወይ?
Does this legal reform benefit the public?
የቴክኖሎጂው እድገት የሥራ እድል ፈጥሯል ወይ?
Has technological advancement created job opportunities?
የቋንቋው መዋቅር ለባህላዊ ለውጦች ተጋላጭ ነው ወይ?
Is the language structure susceptible to cultural changes?
የታሪካዊው ክስተት ትርጓሜ በአሁኑ ትውልድ ዘንድ ተቀባይነት አለው ወይ?
Is the interpretation of the historical event accepted by the current generation?
የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ስምምነቱ በዓለም አቀፍ ደረጃ ተፈፃሚ ይሆናል ወይ?
Will the environmental protection agreement be implemented globally?
የፍልስፍናው መርህ ከዘመናዊው አስተሳሰብ ጋር ይጣጣማል ወይ?
Does the philosophical principle align with modern thinking?
間違えやすい
Learners mix up the placement of 'ወይ' with Wh- words.
Learners forget the rising intonation.
Learners don't know how to negate and ask at the same time.
よくある間違い
ወይ መጣህ?
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ (flat tone)
መጣህ ወይ? (rising tone)
መጣህ ወይ (no question mark)
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይይ
መጣህ ወይ?
እሷ ትበላለች ወይ?
እሷ ትበላለች ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ ነው?
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ?
እሱ መጣ ወይ?
እሱ መጣ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ ወይ?
文型パターン
___ ነህ ወይ?
___ ትፈልጋለህ ወይ?
___ ሄደሃል ወይ?
___ ተጠናቋል ወይ?
Real World Usage
መጣህ ወይ?
ቡና አለ ወይ?
ይህንን ማድረግ ይችላሉ ወይ?
አውቶቡሱ ይሄዳል ወይ?
ይህንን አይተሃል ወይ?
ይህ ግልጽ ነው ወይ?
Rising Pitch
Don't Change Order
Elongate the Vowel
Politeness
Smart Tips
Use the plural verb form to show respect.
You can omit the particle if the context is clear.
Always use 'ወይ' to be safe.
Negate the verb first.
発音
Rising Intonation
The pitch of your voice must rise on the final syllable of the question.
Rising Terminal
መጣህ ወይ? ↗
Signals a polar question.
暗記しよう
記憶術
Think of 'Wey' as 'Way'—it's the way to ask a question.
視覚的連想
Imagine a person standing at the end of a sentence holding a sign that says 'ወይ' and pointing their finger up to the sky to remind you of the rising pitch.
Rhyme
At the end of the sentence, add 'ወይ', and your voice must go up, don't be shy!
Story
Abebe wants to know if his friend is coming. He says 'መጣህ' (You came). His friend doesn't answer. Abebe realizes he forgot the magic word. He adds 'ወይ' at the end: 'መጣህ ወይ?'. Now his friend answers!
Word Web
チャレンジ
Ask 5 people around you (or imaginary friends) a question using 'ወይ' in the next 5 minutes.
文化メモ
In formal religious settings, questions are often phrased with more respect, using plural verbs even for individuals.
Youth often drop the 'ወይ' particle and rely entirely on intonation.
The particle 'ወይ' is often pronounced with a distinct glottal stop.
The particle 'ወይ' is derived from the Ge'ez disjunctive 'or'.
会話のきっかけ
ዛሬ ደህና ነህ ወይ?
ቡና ትፈልጋለህ ወይ?
ስለ ትምህርቱ ሰምተሃል ወይ?
በዚህ ጉዳይ ላይ መወያየት እንችላለን ወይ?
日記のテーマ
Test Yourself
እሱ መጣ ___?
Choose the correct one.
Find and fix the mistake:
ምን መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ / ወይ / ?
Are you a student?
Answer starts with: ተማሪ...
Amharic questions change word order.
A: መጣህ ወይ? B: ___
እሷ መጣች ወይ?
Score: /8
練習問題
8 exercisesእሱ መጣ ___?
Choose the correct one.
Find and fix the mistake:
ምን መጣህ ወይ?
መጣህ / ወይ / ?
Are you a student?
Amharic questions change word order.
A: መጣህ ወይ? B: ___
እሷ መጣች ወይ?
Score: /8
よくある質問 (8)
In casual speech, you can rely on intonation alone, but 'ወይ' is safer for clarity.
No, the verb stays in the same form as the statement.
No, Wh- questions use specific words like 'ምን' or 'የት'.
It is neutral and used in all contexts.
It will sound like a statement, which might confuse the listener.
No, it must be at the end.
Use 'አዎ' (yes) or 'አይደለም' (no).
There are others for different types of questions, but 'ወይ' is the primary one for Yes/No.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Intonation + ¿...?
Amharic uses a mandatory particle.
Est-ce que...
Position of the marker.
Verb-first inversion
Word order change vs particle addition.
ka particle
Amharic particle is also a disjunctive.
Hal/A
Position of the marker.
ma particle
Amharic is a Semitic language.