Episodes

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Season 1 Episodes

S1E1: Pronouns and the Possessive

In this episode we start with the basics, looking at gender, pronouns and the possessive in Amharic using the verb example "to be".

S1E2: People and Family

This episode reviews core vocabulary about people and kinship in Amharic.

S1E3: Basic Greetings

This episode covers a range of basic greetings in Amharic to get you conversational in the basics.

S1E4: Household Vocabulary

This episode is designed for vocabulary learning. In it we simply go over lists of common vocabulary related to the house and objects in it as well as a few key food and drink names you'll inevitably use to start being conversational in Amharic

S1E5: Core Questions and Phrases

This episode covers some questions and phrases that are essential to know at the early stages of Amharic learning. Follow along by repeating the phrases and then practice with a friend.

S1E6: The Infinitive and Present Tense

This episode takes a look at Amharic verbs in the infinitive (to eat, to go, to take, etc.), and how to conjugate these in the present tense (I eat, you go, we take, etc.), using some essential verb examples.

S1E7: Past Tenses and the Continuous

This episode examines the Amharic past tense (I went, you went, they went...) as well as conjugations in the present and past continuous (i am going, you are seeing, we were eating...) with examples and practice exercises.

S1E8: Negative Verbs

This episode details how verbs are negated in Amharic using several examples and practice exercises.

S1E9: Important Irregular Verbs

In this session we go over a few core irregular verbs in the past and present tense, including negatives. These verbs are used very often and in many contexts, so they’re essential to learn early on, but can be tricky to wrap one's mind around. This should serve as a useful introduction.

S1E10: Season Recap and Practice Activities

This is the final episode of Season 1 of Bereka Buna. In it we go over a series of practice exercises designed to help consolidate what you've learned so far.

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Season 2 Episodes

S2E1: Meeting people at a Restaurant

Welcome to Season 2 of Bereka Buna. In this season we dive into some more complicated Amharic language vocabulary and grammar, including practical dialogue and sample exercises. In this episode we look at introductory language around ordering food at a restaurant and meeting someone for the first time.

S2E2: Getting Around with Prepositions

This episode breaks down essential Amharic Prepositions through dialogue and examples. Prepositions are important to learn early on in order to start putting together simple sentences and understanding the gist of the conversation.

S2E3: Conjugating “used to” and “going to” verbs

In this episode we navigate how to build more complex sentences using "used to" and "going to" verb equivalents in Amharic. The episode introduces a form called the Contingent that is also the basis for various other verb conjugations addressed in later episodes.

S2E4: The Conditional: “If” and “When” verbs

In this episode we pick up where we left off last week, using the contingent and various conjunctions to make conditional or dependent sentences like “if I were to X” and “when we do/did Y”. Using several verb examples and practice sentences the episode will help you come away formulating more complex thoughts.

S2E5: Common Core Phrases and Questions Part II

This episode compiles a useful spread of common phrases and questions in Amharic that you'd be likely to encounter on a regular basis. From asking for and offering clarification or help to expressing (mis)understanding, this episode is a practical one for early learners of Amharic.

S2E6: Past and Present Perfect

This episode explains how to conjugate Present and Past Perfect verb forms, using extensive verb charts and practice exercises. The present and past perfect are used to make sentences like "I have eaten" or "I had gone". They rely heavily on the verb construction called The Gerund, which has many uses unique to Amharic and will be essential for building compound sentences later on.

S2E7: Expressing Emotion

In this episode we explore vocabulary used to express emotion. In Amharic, emotion is expressed most often as a verb rather than an adjective, which is common in English. These emotive verbs are often irregular, so they're useful to review on their own in order to start empathizing with and expressing emotion.

S2E8: Story Series: The Good Bird

In this first Episode of our Story Series we are joined by the wonderful Selamawit Geleta whose animated narration of a wordless picture book provides learners with new vocabulary, and a practical journey through sentence construction in Amharic. Follow along with the illustrations and full list of vocabulary in the transcript.

S2E9: Story Series: Bird’s New Hat

For this Story Series episode, we are lucky to be joined again by Selamawit Geleta as she narrates a wordless picture book in Amharic. Follow along with the transcript (linked in the show bio) to see the illustrations and a list of new vocabulary.

S2E10: Season Recap and Practice

This episode reviews material covered in the second Season of Bereka Buna, using extensive practice activities to refresh your knowledge of elements covered so far, get you practicing, and test your comprehension. View the transcript at berekabuna.org for the practice activities, including amharic fidel.

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Season 3 Episodes

S3E1: Telling time and the Ethiopian Calendar

Welcome back to another Season of Bereka Buna. In these next ten episodes we’ll continue to solidify your language and cultural learning by expanding on your vocabulary, knowledge of grammar, and familiarity with spoken and narrative Amharic. As with previous seasons you will have practice exercises, dialogue, and stories to help you deep-dive into the language. Let’s kick off the season by looking at some elements of Amharic culture and language that are quite unique to Ethiopia: the telling of time, the Ethiopian Calendar and holidays.

S3E2: Subject and Object Conjugations

In this episode we’ll get into some challenging but very important elements of the Amharic language. That is, how to incorporate the person who is doing the action (the subject) and the person who is receiving the action, or whom the action is being done upon (the object) in a sentence. Learning this means that we can build and understand more complex and specific sentences. Due to the complexity of these conjugations, I highly recommend following along with the episode transcript (link in the show bio).

S3E3: Subject and Object Conjugations, Cont.

Today we’ll continue from where we left off last week with our object modifiers, this time adding two important preposition that can completely change the meaning of the object-modified verb. These are the prepositions ለ and በ, the addition of which adds a layer of differing meaning to the word. In this episode, travel through full verb conjugation examples followed by sample sentences for practice.

S3E4: The Imperative and Jussive

In this week’s episode we’ll look at the Imperative and the Jussive, which are related forms of command or request. The Imperative is the name given to a direct command: i.e. go, come, listen, stop, etc. The Jussive can be thought of as an indirect command, more along the lines of “let him eat”, “let her take”, etc. It is often phrased as a question or request: “shall we?”, “may I?”, “could you?”, etc. In Amharic, as with all verb conjugations, these command forms vary according to the person being addressed.

S3E5: Variations on the verb Ale

In this episode we’ll look at some of the most often used, but also most complex, verbs in the Amharic language. That is, uses of the verb አለ “Ale”. If you’ve made it this far in your language learning you’re likely to have come across the following verbs fairly regularly: አለ, አለው, አለሁ, አልኩ, አለኝ, etc. These variations on አለ are often written and even sound almost exactly the same, but they have different meanings and origins. This episode is designed to help you Identify them from one another and know which to use in any given context. The episode ends with an “appendix” wherein full verb conjugations are found. As always, the full conjugations can be found in the episode transcript.

S3E6: Story Series: Ato Andreas Part I

Today we’re lucky to be back with another episode in our Stories Series with the fabulous Selamawit Geleta. If you’re interested in taking Amharic classes, please visit our website at berekabuna.org. As with the last two story series episodes, you’ll find the picture book images and a list of vocabulary in the transcript at our website. I’d recommend following along to test your comprehension and learn new vocabulary.

S3E7: Story Series: Ato Andreas Part II

In this episode we pick up again with the second half of Ato Andreas’s story, narrated by the wonderful Selamawit Geleta. As always, if you enjoy her teaching style, you can connect by visiting our website, berekabuna.org. As with the last episode, you can find the illustrated story, as well as comprehension questions, suggested activities and a list of vocabulary in the transcript. If you would like to comment on the story series or other aspects of the podcast, please send us an email. The address is contact@berekabuna.org. In the meantime, enjoy!

S3E8: Creating Compound Sentences

Today we’ll look at how to construct compound sentences using a verb form called The Gerund. We introduced the Gerund and how it is used to make past perfect conjugations in Episode 6 of Season 2, so if you’re struggling with this episode, I’d recommend going back for a recap. Now we’re going to go a step further and look at how the gerund is used in conjunction with other verbs to build compound sentences in which more than one action is taking place.

S3E9: Unique Expressions in Amharic

In this week’s episode we’ll give grammar and technicalities a break to have a look at some of the unique phrases or expressions in Amharic that have no translation in English, and which give the language so much character. While I learned some of these just by listening and understanding context, many were actually new to me when I started this episode. Now that I know them, though, I can’t stop hearing them used everywhere. I hope this episode helps make you feel more at home with colloquial Amharic.

S3E10: Season Recap and Practice

Welcome to the final episode of Season 3 of Bereka Buna, where we’ll do our recap and practice for everything we’ve gone over this season. As always, you’ll hear the activity followed by the answer. If you’d like to use this as a test of your knowledge, make sure to pause before the answer is given and then check your answer. Also remember you can always open up the transcript to see the Amharic Fidel and review more by visiting berekabuna.org. መልካም እድል እና እስከ የሚቀጥለው ጊዜ, ሰላም ሁኑ!

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Season 4 Episodes

S4E1: Adjectives

Welcome back to a new Season of Bereka Buna! This episode kicks off the Season with a look at Adjectives and how to use them in a sentence. We run through several examples of adjectives and numerals and then look at the grammatical rules to bear in mind when using adjectives in Amharic.

S4E2: The Causative - Direct and Indirect

In this episode we take a deep dive into an element of Amharic grammar known as The Causative. The Causative, as the name implies, refers to actions which wouldn’t happen of their own accord and so must be caused to occur. Amharic has both Direct and Indirect causative verbs. In this episode we look at both, running through some simple examples of causative verbs, and then deconstructing when and how these forms is used and rounding off with many more examples and practice sentences.

S4E3: The Passive Form

This episode introduces a complex element of Amharic grammar: The Passive Form. An active sentence in English might be “She painted the house”. A similar sentence in its passive form might be “the house was painted”. In this episode we look at how to construct passive sentences starting with verbs in the simple past perfect. I’d recommend pulling up the transcript to follow along with this episode.

S4E4: Conjugating the Passive

Today we’ll continue on from where we left off last episode with a look at more complex aspects of the Passive form, including how to conjugate passive verbs in the Simple Past to other tenses, including the Present/Future, the Contingent, the Gerund, the Imperative, and more. If you are at the early stages of Amharic learning, we recommend going back to previous episodes where each tense is explained more in depth before continuing with this episode on how to conjugate the Passive form. It may also be helpful to pull up the transcript to follow along with conjugations for this episode and better identify subtle differences in the fidel and pronunciation of the active and passive forms.

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Bereka Buna is a federally recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.
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About

What We Do
Our Story
Our Name
Our Team

Episodes

Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4

DONATE

Bereka Buna is a federally recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.
EIN 99-1154265

donate

Contact

contact@berekabuna.org

Join Our Newsletter

subscribe