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Safari English Academy · Vocabulary · B1 Intermediate

Words: Ethiopian herbs and spices

ቃላት፦ የኢትዮጵያ ቅጠላ ቅጠሎችና ቅመሞች

Name: ________________________Date: ______________

How it works

Ethiopian food is famous for its spices. Many of them, like korarima and timiz, have no common English name, so we use a description such as "Ethiopian cardamom" or "long pepper". Knowing these words helps when you explain a recipe to a visitor or read a food label.

የኢትዮጵያ ምግብ በቅመሞቹ ይታወቃል። እንደ ኮረሪማና ቲምዝ ያሉ ብዙዎቹ የተለመደ የእንግሊዝኛ ስም የላቸውም፤ ስለዚህ "Ethiopian cardamom" ወይም "long pepper" የመሰለ ገለጻ እንጠቀማለን። እነዚህን ቃላት ማወቅ ለእንግዳ የምግብ አሠራር ሲያስረዱ ወይም የምግብ መለያ ሲያነቡ ይረዳዎታል።

Most spice names are uncountable: say "some ginger" or "a little turmeric", not "a ginger". For one piece, say "a clove of garlic" or "a piece of ginger".

አብዛኞቹ የቅመም ስሞች አይቆጠሩም፤ "a ginger" ሳይሆን "some ginger" ወይም "a little turmeric" ይበሉ። አንዱን ቁራጭ ለማለት "a clove of garlic" (አንድ ፍሬ ነጭ ሽንኩርት) ወይም "a piece of ginger" ይበሉ።

Words

fenugreekMy grandmother makes a drink from fenugreek when someone has a stomach ache.አብሽ
black cuminShe adds a little black cumin to the bread before baking it.ጥቁር አዝሙድ
Ethiopian cardamomEthiopian cardamom gives the coffee a warm, sweet smell.ኮረሪማ
rueAt the coffee ceremony, Meron put a leaf of rue in each cup.ጤና አዳም
holy basilThe butter smells wonderful because she cooked it with holy basil.በሶ ብላ
bishop's weedBishop's weed is one of the spices in a good berbere.ነጭ አዝሙድ
long pepperThis stew tastes a little hot because there is long pepper in it.ቲምዝ
turmericAlicha wot is yellow because it is cooked with turmeric.እርድ
gingerWhen I have a cold, I drink hot tea with ginger and honey.ዝንጅብል
garlicChop two cloves of garlic and add them to the onions.ነጭ ሽንኩርት
corianderCoriander seeds have a fresh, slightly sweet taste.ድንብላል
clovesPut a few cloves in the tea to make it smell nice.ቅርንፉድ
cinnamonWe always add cinnamon to the spiced tea in the evening.ቀረፋ
chilli pepperBe careful: this green chilli pepper is very hot.ቃሪያ
cuminThe shopkeeper sold me a small bag of cumin for the shiro.ከሙን

Exercises

  1. Which spice makes alicha wot yellow?

    አልጫ ወጥን ቢጫ የሚያደርገው የትኛው ቅመም ነው?

    • ☐ a) turmeric
    • ☐ b) black cumin
    • ☐ c) cloves

  2. What is "korarima" usually called in English?

    "ኮረሪማ" በእንግሊዝኛ ብዙ ጊዜ ምን ይባላል?

    • ☐ a) holy basil
    • ☐ b) long pepper
    • ☐ c) Ethiopian cardamom

  3. Many people put a leaf of this herb in their coffee. What is it?

    ብዙ ሰዎች የዚህን ቅጠል አንዱን በቡናቸው ውስጥ ያደርጋሉ። ምንድነው?

    • ☐ a) ginger
    • ☐ b) cinnamon
    • ☐ c) rue

  4. Which sentence is correct?

    ትክክለኛው ዓረፍተ ነገር የትኛው ነው?

    • ☐ a) Add a little ginger to the tea.
    • ☐ b) Add many gingers to the tea.
    • ☐ c) Add a ginger to the tea.

  5. Chop two cloves of _______________ and fry them with the onions.

    ሁለት ፍሬ ነጭ ሽንኩርት ከትፈው ከቀይ ሽንኩርቱ ጋር ይጥበሱ።

  6. My mother makes a healthy drink from _______________ seeds.

    እናቴ ከአብሽ ፍሬ ጤናማ መጠጥ ታዘጋጃለች።

  7. ispepperThisverychillihot.

    ይህ ቃሪያ በጣም ያቃጥላል።

    1. 1. cinnamon → ___
    2. 2. long pepper → ___
    3. 3. coriander → ___
    4. 4. cumin → ___
    • a) ቀረፋ
    • b) ድንብላል
    • c) ከሙን
    • d) ቲምዝ

Answer key

  1. a) turmeric
  2. c) Ethiopian cardamom
  3. c) rue
  4. a) Add a little ginger to the tea.
  5. garlic
  6. fenugreek
  7. This chilli pepper is very hot.
  8. 1-a, 2-d, 3-b, 4-c

safarienglish.com/learn/words-herbs-and-spices-b1 · Free lessons with audio and Amharic help