ይህ
Amharic
Etymology
From Proto-Semitic *ḏV- (“this”). Cognates include Ge'ez ዝ (zə) and Arabic ذَا (ḏā).
The palatalisation *z- > y- was irregular.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈjɨh/
- Hyphenation: ይህ
Determiner
ይህ • (yəh)
- this (masculine)
Pronoun
ይህ • (yəh)
- this (masculine)
See also
Amharic demonstratives
| masculine | feminine | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| proximal | simple | ይህ (yəh) | ይህች (yəhəčč) | እነዚህ (ʾənnäzzih) |
| emphatic | ይህኛው (yəhəññaw) | ይችኛዋ (yəččəññawa) | ||
| enclitic | -ዚህ (-zzih) | -ዚች (-zičč) | — | |
| distal | simple | ያ (ya) | ያች (yačč) | እነዚያ (ʾənnäzziya) |
| emphatic | ያኛው (yaññaw) | ያችኛዋ (yaččəññawa) | ||
| enclitic | -ዚያ (-zziya) | -ዚያች (-zziyačč) | — | |
| *) See the respective entries for alternative forms | ||||
Usage notes
- When following a preposition, the enclitic -ዚህ (-zzih) is used.
References
- Thomas Leiper Kane (1990), “ይህ”, in Amharic-English Dictionary, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN
- Wolf Leslau (2000) Introductory Grammar of Amharic, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 21