ምን
Amharic
Etymology
From Proto-Semitic *mīn-. Cognates include Ge'ez ምንት (mənt) and Akkadian mīnum.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmɨn/
- Hyphenation: ምን
Pronoun
ምን • (mən)
- what?
- ምን፡ታረጊዋለሽ? ― mən tarägiwaläš? ― What will you do?
Synonyms
- ምንድን (məndən)
See also
Amharic interrogative pronouns
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject | object | subject | object | |
| animate | ማን (man) | ማንን (mannən), ማነን (mannän) ማን (man) | ማን፡ማን (man man), እነማን (ʾənnäman) ማን (man) | ማንን (mannən), ማነን (mannän) ማን (man) |
| inanimate | ምን (mən) | ምን፡ምን (mən mən) ምንና፡ምን (mənənna mən) ምኖች (mənočč) | ||
References
- Thomas Leiper Kane (1990), “ምን”, in Amharic-English Dictionary, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN
- Wolf Leslau (2000) Introductory Grammar of Amharic, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 23
Tigre
Etymology
From Proto-Semitic *min.
Preposition
ምን • (mən)
- from, of, off, out of or away from
- than
- 1913, Enno Littmann, editor, Publications of the Princeton Expedition to Abyssinia. Volume III: Lieder der Tigrē-Stämme: Tigrē Text., Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 167 Nr. 237 line 19:
- ትምባክ፡ፈቴ፡አቡካ፡ምን፡ሐሊብማ፡ወእክል።
- təmbak-fätte-ʾäbuka-mən-ḥälibma-wä-ʾəkəl.
- Tobacco thy father loves more than milk and than cereal.
- translated into German Enno Littmann, editor (1913) Publications of the Princeton Expedition to Abyssinia. Volume IV: Lieder der Tigrē-Stämme: Deutsche Übersetzung und Commentar., Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 353
-
Conjunction
ምን • (mən)
- when, marks a temporal clause
- if, marks the protasis of a conditional sentence
Usage notes
Used before the verb rather than the beginning of the clause.
Derived terms
- ምንማ (mənma, “although”)
References
- Littmann, Enno; Höfner, Maria (1962), “ምን”, in Wörterbuch der Tigrē-Sprache. Tigrē—Deutsch—Englisch (Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur; XI), Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag GmbH, page 126–127