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Polite Imperatives with 'ibakkih'

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Pratique

Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Use 'ibakkih' (masculine) or 'ibakkish' (feminine) to turn any command into a polite request.

  • Use 'ibakkih' for males: 'ibakkih, wada bet hid' (Please, go home).
  • Use 'ibakkish' for females: 'ibakkish, wada bet hidi' (Please, go home).
  • The verb must match the gender of the person you are addressing.
ibakkih/ibakkish + Verb (Imperative)

Polite Imperative Formation

Addressee Particle Verb (Affirmative) Verb (Negative)
Male
ibakkih
hid
atihid
Female
ibakkish
hidi
atihidi
Male
ibakkih
amchi
atiamchi
Female
ibakkish
amchi
atiamchi
Male
ibakkih
t'erag
atit'erag
Female
ibakkish
t'eragi
atit'eragi

Meanings

The particle 'ibakkih' acts as the Amharic equivalent of 'please', derived from the verb 'to be kind'. It softens commands into requests.

1

Polite Request

Softening a direct command to a peer or subordinate.

“ibakkih, mits'haf ayu.”

“ibakkish, buna amchi.”

2

Service Interaction

Used when ordering food or asking for help in a shop.

“ibakkih, k'urs amchi.”

“ibakkish, k'al'am sitign.”

3

Urgent Request

Adding emphasis to a request.

“ibakkih, atihid!”

“ibakkish, atinagari!”

Reference Table

Reference table for Polite Imperatives with 'ibakkih'
Form Structure Example
Affirmative (M)
ibakkih + Verb
ibakkih, hid
Affirmative (F)
ibakkish + Verb
ibakkish, hidi
Negative (M)
ibakkih + Neg-Verb
ibakkih, atihid
Negative (F)
ibakkish + Neg-Verb
ibakkish, atihidi
Question (M)
ibakkih + Verb?
ibakkih, hid?
Question (F)
ibakkish + Verb?
ibakkish, hidi?

Espectro de formalidade

Formal
ibakwo, wuhha yastagn.

ibakwo, wuhha yastagn. (Restaurant)

Neutro
ibakkih, wuhha astagn.

ibakkih, wuhha astagn. (Restaurant)

Informal
wuhha amchi.

wuhha amchi. (Restaurant)

Gíria
wuhha.

wuhha. (Restaurant)

Polite Request Structure

Polite Request

Male

  • ibakkih Please (to male)

Female

  • ibakkish Please (to female)

Exemplos por nível

1

ibakkih, buna amchi.

Please, bring coffee.

2

ibakkish, wuhha sitign.

Please, give me water.

3

ibakkih, hid.

Please, go.

4

ibakkish, t'erag.

Please, clean.

1

ibakkih, atihid.

Please, don't go.

2

ibakkish, atinagari.

Please, don't talk.

3

ibakkih, mits'haf ayu.

Please, look at the book.

4

ibakkish, buna atit'eti.

Please, don't drink coffee.

1

ibakkih, yihini mits'haf sitign.

Please, give me this book.

2

ibakkish, betu wust atigebi.

Please, don't enter the house.

3

ibakkih, k'al'am astagn.

Please, help me find a pen.

4

ibakkish, buna atizigaji.

Please, don't prepare coffee.

1

ibakkih, yihini waraqet f'erim.

Please, sign this paper.

2

ibakkish, yihini t'iyake atimelesi.

Please, don't answer this question.

3

ibakkih, t'erag-ew.

Please, clean it.

4

ibakkish, yihini mits'haf atinibi.

Please, don't read this book.

1

ibakkih, yihini hulu atidrig.

Please, don't do all of this.

2

ibakkish, yihini mits'haf atigiz.

Please, don't buy this book.

3

ibakkih, yihini t'iyake atik'erib.

Please, don't present this question.

4

ibakkish, yihini buna atit'eti.

Please, don't drink this coffee.

1

ibakkih, yihini hulu atit'ek'im.

Please, don't use all of this.

2

ibakkish, yihini mits'haf atit'ek'im.

Please, don't use this book.

3

ibakkih, yihini t'iyake atimeles.

Please, don't answer this question.

4

ibakkish, yihini buna atizigaji.

Please, don't prepare this coffee.

Fácil de confundir

Polite Imperatives with 'ibakkih' vs ibakkih vs ibakwo

Learners mix up singular/informal and plural/formal.

Polite Imperatives with 'ibakkih' vs Imperative vs Indicative

Learners use the wrong verb form.

Polite Imperatives with 'ibakkih' vs Gendered Imperatives

Learners forget to change the verb ending.

Erros comuns

✗

ibakkih, hidi

✓

ibakkih, hid

Mismatching gender: 'hidi' is feminine.
✗

ibakkish, hid

✓

ibakkish, hidi

Mismatching gender: 'hid' is masculine.
✗

ibakkih, hidign

✓

ibakkih, hid

Adding unnecessary suffixes.
✗

ibakkih, atihidi

✓

ibakkih, atihid

Mismatching gender in negative.
✗

ibakkih, buna amchi

✓

ibakkih, buna amchi (masc)

Verb form needs to match.
✗

ibakkish, buna amchi

✓

ibakkish, buna amchi (fem)

Verb form needs to match.
✗

ibakkih, atinagari

✓

ibakkih, atinagar

Mismatching gender.
✗

ibakkih, t'erag-ew

✓

ibakkih, t'erag-ew

Grammatically correct but contextually awkward.
✗

ibakkish, t'erag-ew

✓

ibakkish, t'erag-ew

Grammatically correct but contextually awkward.
✗

ibakkih, atibla

✓

ibakkih, atibla

Grammatically correct but contextually awkward.
✗

ibakkih, yihini atidrig

✓

ibakkih, yihini atidrig

Contextual register error.
✗

ibakkish, yihini atidrigi

✓

ibakkish, yihini atidrigi

Contextual register error.
✗

ibakkih, yihini atigiz

✓

ibakkih, yihini atigiz

Contextual register error.

Padrões de frases

ibakkih, ___ amchi.

ibakkish, ___ hidi.

ibakkih, ___ atidrig.

ibakkish, ___ atinagari.

Real World Usage

Restaurant very common

ibakkih, buna amchi.

Texting common

ibakkih, hid.

Street common

ibakkih, agizegn.

Shop common

ibakkish, k'al'am sitign.

Home constant

ibakkih, t'erag.

Office occasional

ibakkih, yihini f'erim.

💡

Gender Check

Always check the gender of the listener.
⚠️

Don't Overuse

Too many 'ibakkih's sound unnatural.
🎯

Intonation

Use a polite, rising tone.
💬

Respect

It shows you respect the person.

Smart Tips

Always add 'ibakkih' or 'ibakkish'.

buna amchi. → ibakkih, buna amchi.

Use 'ibakkish'.

ibakkih, buna amchi. → ibakkish, buna amchi.

Use 'ibakwo'.

ibakkih, hid. → ibakwo, hidu.

Use 'ibakwo'.

ibakkih, f'erim. → ibakwo, f'erimu.

Pronúncia

ee-bah-kee-h

ibakkih

Pronounced ee-bah-kee-h. The 'h' at the end is soft.

ee-bah-kee-sh

ibakkish

Pronounced ee-bah-kee-sh. The 'sh' is like 'shoe'.

Rising intonation

ibakkih? ↗

Polite question/request

Memorize

Mnemônico

Think of 'ibakkih' as 'I-buck-he' (a man) and 'ibakkish' as 'I-buck-she' (a woman).

Associação visual

Imagine a gentleman bowing (ibakkih) and a lady curtsying (ibakkish) while offering a gift.

Rhyme

For a guy say ibakkih, for a girl say ibakkish.

Story

A traveler arrives in Addis Ababa. He asks a man for directions using 'ibakkih'. The man smiles and helps. Then he asks a woman for the bus station using 'ibakkish'. She also helps. He realizes politeness is the key to the city.

Word Web

ibakkihibakkishhidamchit'eragsitign

Desafio

Go to a mirror and practice saying 'ibakkih' and 'ibakkish' with 5 different verbs.

Notas culturais

Politeness is highly valued. Using 'ibakkih' is a sign of good upbringing.

Similar usage, though some dialectal variations exist.

Often used to maintain cultural identity.

Derived from the verb 'to be kind'.

Iniciadores de conversa

“

ibakkih, buna amchi?

“

ibakkish, mits'haf sitign?

“

ibakkih, agizegn?

“

ibakkish, yihini atinagari?

Temas para diário

Write about a time you asked for help in Amharic.
Describe a restaurant visit.
Write a dialogue between two friends.
Discuss the importance of politeness.

Erros comuns

Incorrect

Correto

Incorrect

Correto

Incorrect

Correto

Incorrect

Correto

Test Yourself

Fill in the blank.

___, hid.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkih
Correct particle for male.
Choose the correct form. Múltipla escolha

Which is correct for a female?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkish, hidi
Matches gender.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

ibakkih, hidi.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkih, hid
Fix gender mismatch.
Change to negative. Sentence Transformation

ibakkih, hid.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkih, atihid
Correct negative form.
Match particle to gender. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkih
Correct match.
Fill in the blank.

___, atinagari.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkish
Correct particle for female.
Choose the correct form. Múltipla escolha

Which is correct for a male?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkih, amchi
Matches gender.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

ibakkish, atinagar.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkish, atinagari
Fix gender mismatch.

Score: /8

Exercicios praticos

8 exercises
Fill in the blank.

___, hid.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkih
Correct particle for male.
Choose the correct form. Múltipla escolha

Which is correct for a female?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkish, hidi
Matches gender.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

ibakkih, hidi.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkih, hid
Fix gender mismatch.
Change to negative. Sentence Transformation

ibakkih, hid.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkih, atihid
Correct negative form.
Match particle to gender. Match Pairs

Male?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkih
Correct match.
Fill in the blank.

___, atinagari.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkish
Correct particle for female.
Choose the correct form. Múltipla escolha

Which is correct for a male?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkih, amchi
Matches gender.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

ibakkish, atinagar.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ibakkish, atinagari
Fix gender mismatch.

Score: /8

Perguntas frequentes (8)

It means 'if you are kind'.

When talking to a female.

Yes, with imperatives.

It is neutral/polite.

People will understand, but it sounds odd.

'ibakwo' is for groups/elders.

Yes, it is very common.

Use 'ibakwo' instead.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

In Other Languages

Spanish high

por favor

Amharic particle is gendered.

French moderate

s'il vous plaît

Amharic is more concise.

German high

bitte

German 'bitte' is not gendered.

Japanese moderate

onegaishimasu

Amharic is simpler.

Arabic high

min fadlak

Very similar structure.

Chinese low

qing

No gender in Chinese.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Formation of the Imperative

Related Grammar Rules

C1

Second Person Honorifics
C1

Third Person Honorifics
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