To form the plural of a noun in Amharic, you have to add the suffix -woč or -oč depending if the noun ends in a vowel or a consonant.
For example:
English | Amharic Singular |
Ahmaric Plural |
Student/s | tämari ተማሪ |
tämariwoč ተማሪዎች |
House/s | bet ቤት |
betoč ቤቶች |
But it is also possible to add the suffix -oč to a noun ending in a vowel if we drop the last vowel to the singular form of a noun, for example:
English | Amharic Singular |
Amharic Plural |
Student/s | tämari ተማሪ |
tämaroč ተማሮች |
In the case of nouns that end in -awi, like those referring to a nationality, the plural is formed changing the suffix -awi for -awïyan. For example:
English | Amharic Singular |
Amharic Plural |
Englishman/men | ïngïlzawi እንግሊዛዊ |
ïngïlizawïyan እንግሊዛውያን |
Ethiopian/s | ityop’ïyawi ኢትዮጵያዊ |
ityop’ïyawïyan ኢትዮጵያውያን |
When various suffixes are added to a noun, the suffix denoting the plural goes before the one that corresponds to the definite article. For example:
English | Amharic | |
The students | tämari - woč - u = | tämariwoču |
(student - s - The) | ተማሪዎቹ |
There are also some irregular plurals, for example in the case of numerals.
When we use a numeral higher than one with a noun, it is not necessary to use the plural, for example:
English | Amharic | |
Eight students | sïmmïnt tämari | ስምንት ተማሪ |
(eight student) |
But if we want to stress the individuality of each member of a group, then we will use the plural:
English | Amharic | |
Eight (separate) students | sïmmïnt tämariwoč | ስምንት ተማሪዎች |
(eight students) |
The same principle can be applied to other words that denote quantity, like “many” ( bïzu - ብዙ ) or “all” (hullu - ሁሉ)
AliciA
2 users commented in " Amharic - Noun plurals "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackALICIA NO TE OLVIDES DE ENVIARME LOS DATOS DE TU HOTEL, ESPERO PODER VERTE ALLI , QUE TODO SALGA BIEN , QUE TU VIAJE SEA SOÑADO Y EL ENCUENTRO PRECIOSO. NOSOTROS ESTAMOS … BUENO , ESTAMOS, QUE NO ES POCO , NO SE DESCRIBIRTE NUESTRO ESTADO PORQUE TENEMOS TODAS LAS SENSACIONES JUNTAS, ESPERO PODER ESTAR EN ADDIS LA SEMANA QUE VIENE CON MIS NENES. DE SER ASI SUPONEMOS QUE ESTAREMOS EN EL AMANAYA , PERO NO LO TENGO SEGURO , ASI QUE MEJOR ENVIAME LOS DATOS DE TU HOTEL. BESOTES Y MUY FELIZ VIAJE !, AYYY QUE EMOCIOOOOONNNNN!!!!
Silvana,
Ya te mande los datos que tengo por e-mail de la Casa de huespedes donde vamos a estar. La direccion no la tengo porque ademas hay varios edificios y no se en cual nos alojaremos.
AliciA
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