An honest look at the Amharic online course from 17-Minute-Languages: what you learn, who it’s for, where it stops, and how long learning Amharic really takes.
Short answer: is this Amharic course right for you?
Yes, if you’re a beginner and want a structured start: about 1,300 words in dialogues with native speaker audio, 15 to 20 minutes a day, aimed at level A2 after roughly three months, with a free 2-day trial. No, if you’re already advanced: for Amharic, the course covers the beginner levels only. For speaking practice beyond A2, you’ll need a tutor or conversation partner on top.
Learning Amharic is harder than learning Spanish or French, and not only because of the script. Good material in English is rare. Most of what you find online are loose word lists, YouTube videos without a plan or apps that don’t offer Amharic at all.
Many people who search for an Amharic course have a very personal reason: an Ethiopian partner, the in-laws, their own family roots. Some understand quite a lot because they grew up hearing it, but they freeze when they have to answer. In more than 20 years of learning languages through self-study, I’ve found that exactly this gap closes fastest with short daily practice and dialogues, not with grammar books.
That’s what this page is about: an honest look at the Amharic online course from 17-Minute-Languages, what it does well and where it stops.
What’s in the Amharic course: 1,300 words in real dialogues
The Amharic basic course teaches a core vocabulary of more than 1,300 words. They aren’t isolated flashcards. Each word appears in dialogue texts and phrases on everyday topics, so you learn it in a full sentence. All texts and vocabulary are recorded by native speakers, and each lesson adds a little grammar along the way.
- Level: beginner, aiming at A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference after about three months (provider’s estimate).
- Daily time: about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Devices: browser on PC, tablet or smartphone. Your progress is saved automatically.
- Exercise types: multiple choice, typing, listening. You decide how many new words you want per day.
- Trial: 2 days free.
Try the Amharic course free for 2 days
- 1,300 words in everyday dialogues with native speaker audio
- Short lessons, only 15 to 20 minutes per day
- Long-term memory method, so the words actually stay
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Who this course is for, and who it isn’t for
A good fit if you…
- are starting from zero and want a clear daily plan instead of collecting random videos and word lists.
- have an Ethiopian partner or family and want to follow conversations at the table and answer in Amharic.
- understand some Amharic but can’t speak well. Many heritage learners know the sound of the language from childhood. Hearing and repeating full dialogues every day is exactly what turns passive understanding into words you can actually say.
- are travelling to Ethiopia or work with Amharic speakers and want more than a phrase list.
Not the right choice if you…
- are already beyond A2. For Amharic, 17-Minute-Languages only offers the beginner levels. There is no intermediate or advanced Amharic course.
- need real conversation practice right away. No app replaces talking to people. Use the course for vocabulary and listening, and practise speaking with your partner, family or a tutor.
- need a certificate for work or study. Then a university course is the better route.
How long does it take to learn Amharic?
For English speakers, Amharic is one of the harder languages. The US Foreign Service Institute places it in Category III, the hard languages, with about 44 weeks or 1,100 class hours to reach professional working proficiency. That’s full-time training for diplomats, so don’t let the number scare you.
What makes Amharic challenging:
- The Fidel script (ፊደል): each character stands for a consonant plus vowel, which gives you more than 200 characters. It looks like a wall at first, but it’s very regular once you see the system.
- Male and female forms: “you” changes depending on whether you talk to a man, a woman or an elder.
- Verbs carry a lot of information in one word. “I’m hungry” is literally “hunger has got me”.
For everyday conversations, you don’t need 1,100 hours. With 15 to 20 minutes a day, a solid basic vocabulary at A2 level in a few months is realistic. That’s enough to greet the family properly, follow simple conversations and answer without switching to English.
How the long-term memory method works
The course repeats every word on a fixed daily rhythm. If you know a word several days in a row, it moves into your long-term memory and comes back less often. If you forget it, it goes back to the start of the loop. You don’t have to plan anything: every day the course gives you a ready-made task, and you decide how much time you have. Little time? Then multiple choice. More time? Type the words yourself and practise the spelling.
From my own experience with Norwegian and other languages, this daily repetition is what makes the difference. Not the long weekend sessions, but the ten or fifteen minutes you actually do every day.
Online course, community college or private lessons?
For Amharic, the choice is smaller than for most languages. Local classes are rare outside cities with a large Ethiopian community, and good tutors are hard to find. Here’s an honest comparison:
| Criteria | Online course | College / university course | Private tutor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Availability for Amharic | anywhere | rare, mostly big cities | limited |
| Flexibility | high | low | medium |
| Cost | low | medium | high |
| Speaking practice | listening and repeating | some | a lot |
| Best for | beginners, daily routine | certificates | conversation beyond A2 |
My recommendation: start with the online course for vocabulary and listening, and use your partner, family or a tutor for speaking. That combination costs little and covers both sides.
Start with the phrases you’ll need first
Before your first lesson, have a look at the most common Amharic phrases: greetings, how are you, goodbye and the words you’ll hear at every family visit, in Fidel with easy pronunciation. That way, the first course dialogues will already sound familiar.
Your first Amharic conversation starts here
Test the course for 2 days. It costs nothing, and after two days you’ll know whether this way of learning works for you.
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Frequently asked questions about the Amharic course
How long does it take to learn Amharic?
The US Foreign Service Institute estimates about 44 weeks or 1,100 class hours for professional proficiency. For everyday conversations, much less is enough: with 15 to 20 minutes a day, a basic level of A2 is realistic within a few months.
Is there an advanced Amharic course?
Not from 17-Minute-Languages. For Amharic, the course covers the beginner levels up to about A2. After that, a private tutor, a university course or regular conversations with native speakers are the best way to keep improving.
Is Amharic hard to learn for English speakers?
It is one of the harder languages, mainly because of the Fidel script, the male and female forms and the verbs. The good news: the script is very regular, and pronunciation is easier than it looks.
I understand Amharic but can’t speak it. Will the course help?
Yes, that’s a common situation for people who grew up with Amharic at home. Listening to and repeating full dialogues every day helps you turn passive understanding into active speaking. Combine it with real conversations in your family.
Related links
- Amharic phrases for everyday life
- The different ways of learning languages
- Learning vocabulary successfully
- Motivated language learning
- Train your listening comprehension
- Learning languages quickly, is it possible?
- The different types of language learners
Prefer another language?
About the author
Sven Mancini has published four books on language learning and has over 20 years of hands-on experience learning languages through self-study, from Norwegian (business fluent since 2005) to English, Danish, Swedish, French and Spanish. He doesn’t claim to speak every language he writes about. He writes about the methods and courses that actually work. Read more about Sven here.