9: Prepositions

Ge’ez prepositions stand as independent words with three very important exceptions:

በ᎗ be- in / into / by [locative] “በቤት”= bebét – in the house ለ᎗ le- for / to [dative] “ለቤት” = lebét – to the house እም᎗ əm- from / out of [ablative] “እምቤት” = əmbét – from the house

These three also assimilate into many of the prepositions below, to nuance their meanings (predictably.) Here’s a list of all the important prepositions, in order of frequency in texts:

ኅበ	xebe	with, near, by	ቤተ፡ነጉሥ፡ውእቱ፡ኀበ፡ሀገር። The house of the king is near the city.
ውስተ	wəste	within, inside	ወስተ፡ሀገር፡ውእቱ። It is inside the city.
ዲበ	dibe	on, over	ዲበ፡ደብር፡ውእቱ። It is on the mountain.
ላዕለ	laºle	upon, concerning	ላዕለ፡ዝክታብ Concerning this book…
ታሕተ	taḥte	Under	ታሕተ፡ዛዕፅ፡አንተ። You are under this tree.
ከመ	keme	like, similar to	ከመ፡ወለተ፡ንጉሥ፡ይእቲ። She is like a princess.
ምስለ	məsle	in the company of	ምስለ፡ሊቃነ፡ዛቲ፡ሀገር፡ንሕነ። We are in the company of the elders of this town.
እንተ	ənte	by way of, through	እንተ፡ቤት፡ካህን …through the priest’s house
በእንተ	be'nte	about, concerning	በእንተ፡አግበርተ፡አምላክ …concerning the Lord’s servants.
ድኅረ	dəxre	behind, after	ድኅረ፡ቤተ፡ክርስቲያን፡ አነ። I am behind the church.
ቅድመ	qədme	in front of, before	ቅድመ፡ዛቤት፡አንቲ። You [f.] are in front of the house.
እስከ	əske	until, up to, as far as	መድረ፡ንጉሥ፡እስከ፡አድባር፡ይእቲ። The land of the king [extends] up to the mountains.
ማከለ	makele	Among	ነቢይ፡ውእቱ፡ማከለ፡ነቢያት። He is a prophet among the prophets.