Reading an Ethiopian Menu: Amharic Food Words Explained

Sudo Menu Editorial · 3 November 2026

Ethiopian menus are often written in Amharic, English or a mix of both, and even the English versions use many Amharic words that do not translate neatly. Once you know a few dozen of them, almost any menu in Addis Ababa becomes easy to read. This glossary lists the words you will meet most often, written in Ethiopic script with a simple pronunciation and a short explanation.

Spellings in Latin letters vary a lot, so you may see wat, wot or wet for the same word. Go by the sound, not the exact spelling.

How dishes are described

Amharic	Say it	Meaning
ወጥ	wot	A stew, usually spicy and made with berbere.
አልጫ	alicha	A mild stew without berbere, often yellow with turmeric.
ጥብስ	tibs	Meat sautéed with onion, rosemary and chilli.
ቅቅል	kikil	Boiled; a clear, mild meat soup or stew.
ፍርፍር	firfir	Torn injera or bread tossed in sauce.
ክትፎ	kitfo	Finely minced beef with spiced butter and mitmita.
ጥሬ	tire	Raw, as in raw meat dishes.
ለብ ለብ	leb leb	Lightly cooked, warmed through but still rare.
በያይነቱ	beyaynetu	A mixed platter of several small dishes.

Fasting or not

Amharic	Say it	Meaning
ጾም	tsom	Fasting.
የጾም ምግብ	ye-tsom migib	Fasting food: no meat, dairy or eggs.
የፍስክ	ye-fisik	Non-fasting: contains meat, butter, milk or eggs.

Many menus are simply split into a fasting section and a non-fasting section.

Main ingredients

Amharic	Say it	Meaning
ዶሮ	doro	Chicken. Doro wot is the famous chicken stew with egg.
በግ	beg	Lamb or mutton.
ሥጋ	siga	Meat, usually beef.
ዓሳ	asa	Fish.
እንቁላል	enkulal	Egg.
ምስር	misir	Red lentils.
ክክ	kik	Split peas.
ሽሮ	shiro	Ground chickpea or bean stew.
ጎመን	gomen	Collard greens.
ድንች	dinich	Potato.
ቲማቲም	timatim	Tomato.
ሽንኩርት	shinkurt	Onion.
ነጭ ሽንኩርት	nech shinkurt	Garlic (literally “white onion”).

Spices and flavourings

Amharic	Say it	Meaning
በርበሬ	berbere	The red chilli spice blend behind most wot dishes.
ሚጥሚጣ	mitmita	A hot, fine chilli powder, often served with kitfo.
ንጥር ቅቤ	niter kibbeh	Spiced clarified butter.
ቅቤ	kibbeh	Butter.
ዘይት	zeyt	Oil, used instead of butter in fasting dishes.
አዋዜ	awaze	A chilli paste served as a dip.

Breads and grains

Amharic	Say it	Meaning
እንጀራ	injera	The fermented teff flatbread served with most meals.
ጤፍ	teff	The grain used for injera.
ዳቦ	dabo	Bread.
ቂጣ	kita	A thin unleavened flatbread.
ገንፎ	genfo	Thick barley or wheat porridge.

Drinks

Amharic	Say it	Meaning
ቡና	buna	Coffee. Jebena buna is traditional pot-brewed coffee.
ማኪያቶ	macchiato	Espresso with steamed milk, a cafe favourite.
ሻይ	shai	Tea, often spiced.
ስፕሪስ	spris	Half tea, half coffee, poured in layers.
ወተት	wetet	Milk.
ጭማቂ	chimaki	Juice.
ውሃ	wuha	Water.
ስኳር	sukar	Sugar. Ya-le sukar means without sugar.

Useful words at the table

Amharic	Say it	Meaning
ምናሌ / ሜኑ	menu	The menu.
አስተናጋጅ	astenagaj	Waiter or waitress.
ሂሳብ	hisab	The bill.
ትዕዛዝ	tizaz	An order.
አልቋል	alqwal	Sold out; finished.
ቅመም ያለው	kimem yalew	Spicy.
ያለ ቅመም	ya-le kimem	Without spice.
እናመሰግናለን	enameseginalen	Thank you (said by a group or a business).
አመሰግናለሁ	ameseginalehu	Thank you (said by one person).

Putting it together

A menu line like “የጾም በያይነቱ” now reads as “fasting mixed platter”. “ዶሮ ወጥ” is chicken stew, “የበግ ጥብስ” is sautéed lamb and “ሽሮ ተጋቢኖ” is a thick shiro served bubbling in a clay pot. If you see “አልጫ”, expect something mild; if you see “ወጥ”, expect heat.

Bilingual menus help everyone

Many diners in Ethiopia read Amharic more comfortably than English, while visitors and some younger diners prefer English. A bilingual menu, with both languages side by side, means nobody has to guess. On Sudo Menu, every dish has an Amharic and an English name and description, and guests switch language with one tap, so a single menu works for everyone at the table.

In short

You do not need to speak Amharic to order well in Ethiopia. Learn the difference between wot and alicha, recognise tsom for fasting, remember hisab for the bill, and you will be able to read most menus with confidence.