Weather & Climate

1. ዝናብ

   Zinab

   Rain

   Usage

   Names rain when talking about the weather.

   Grammar Note

   A noun; the same root as the verb ዘነበ ("to rain").

2. ንፋስ

   Nifas

   Wind

   Usage

   Names the wind.

   Grammar Note

   A noun. The dictionary also glosses it as "weather", but in sentences it means "wind".

3. ደበና ኣሎ

   Debena alo

   It is cloudy

   Usage

   Said when the sky is cloudy. Literally "there is cloud".

   Grammar Note

   ደበና = "cloud", ኣሎ = "there is". The sentence says "there is cloud" instead of using a dedicated word for "cloudy".

4. ዝናብ ይዘንብ ኣሎ

   Zinab yizenb alo

   It is raining

   Usage

   Said while it is raining.

   Grammar Note

   ይዘንብ is the 3rd-person masculine imperfective of ዘነበ ("to rain"); ኣሎ adds "is now happening". Built from Tatoeba's "ዝናብ ይዘንብ ነይሩ" ("it was raining") by replacing ነይሩ with ኣሎ.

5. ዝናብ ክዘንብ እዩ

   Zinab kizenb iyu

   It is going to rain

   Usage

   Said when the sky suggests rain is coming.

   Grammar Note

   ክ- plus the copula እዩ marks something about to happen, the same shape as Tatoeba's "ክጅምር እዩ" ("is to begin"). Composed from the verb stem; a native check is recommended.

6. ሎሚ ብዙሕ ሙቐት ኣሎ

   Lomi bizuh muqhet alo

   It is very hot today

   Usage

   A remark about a hot day. Literally "today there is much heat".

   Grammar Note

   ሙቐት ("heat") plus ኣሎ, the affirmative of Tatoeba's "ብዙሕ ሙቐት የልቦን" ("it isn't that hot"). ሎሚ is "today" in Tigrinya, not Amharic "lemon".

7. ብርቱዕ ንፋስ ኣሎ

   Birtu'i nifas alo

   There is a strong wind

   Usage

   Said on a windy day.

   Grammar Note

   ብርቱዕ ("strong") modifies ንፋስ ("wind"), as in Tatoeba's phrase "ብርቱዕ ንፋስ"; ኣሎ turns it into a sentence.

8. ሎሚ ኩነታት ኣየር ከመይ እዩ?

   Lomi kunetat ayer kemey iyu?

   How is the weather today?

   Usage

   Asks about the weather.

   Grammar Note

   ኩነታት ኣየር literally means "state of the air", i.e. weather. The ከመይ question is composed from verified words and should get a native check. Tatoeba also spells it ኲነታት ኣየር.

9. ጽላል የድልየኒ

   Tsilal yedliyeni

   I need an umbrella

   Usage

   Says what you need. The same form for a male or female speaker.

   Grammar Note

   የድልየኒ = "it is needed by me" (a verb with the "to me" suffix -ኒ). ጽላል means "umbrella" in Wikivoyage and the dictionary; Tatoeba uses it for "shadow", so context matters.

10. ነጎዳ

    Negoda

    Thunder

    Usage

    Names thunder.

    Grammar Note

    A noun; the dictionary pairs it with the verb ነጎደ ("to thunder").

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