Directions and getting around

Goal: ask people the way politely, understand directions using 'left', 'right', 'straight on' and 'opposite', and talk about places in town and how you get there by bus, taxi or on foot.

Excuse me, how do I get to the central market from here?

ይቅርታ፣ ከዚህ ወደ መካከለኛው ገበያ እንዴት መድረስ እችላለሁ?

Go straight on for two streets, then turn right at the bank.

ለሁለት መንገዶች ቀጥ ብለህ ሂድ፣ ከዚያ ባንክ ጋር ወደ ቀኝ ታጠፍ።

The pharmacy is on the left, opposite the bus station.

ፋርማሲው በግራ በኩል ነው፣ ከአውቶቡስ ጣቢያው ፊት ለፊት።

It is too far to walk, so take a taxi or the next bus.

በእግር ለመሄድ በጣም ሩቅ ነው፣ ስለዚህ ታክሲ ወይም ቀጣዩን አውቶቡስ ያዝ።

slow

Remember the key place words: 'market', 'bank', 'pharmacy', 'church', 'bus station', 'taxi rank', 'square' and 'corner'. You can join them with 'opposite', 'next to', 'near' and 'between'.

Last Friday a visitor named Dawit arrived in Addis Ababa and wanted to find the central market. He stopped a kind woman called Almaz near the square and said, 'Excuse me, how do I get to the market?' Almaz smiled and answered, 'It is not far. Go straight on past the church, and turn left at the corner where the big pharmacy is. Walk for about five minutes, and you will see the bus station on your right. The market is just opposite the bus station.' Dawit thanked her, but he was carrying heavy bags, so Almaz added, 'If you are tired, you can also take a blue taxi from the corner; it costs only twenty birr.' Dawit decided to walk, and ten minutes later he was drinking buna in a small cafe next to the market, very happy that he had asked for help.

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Go straight on for two streets, then turn right at the bank.