Ethiopian Culture

• Greetings are very important in Ethiopia. It is expected that people acknowledge one another courteously even if they do not speak the same language.
• It is rude to rush through a greeting or pass by someone without acknowledging them even briefly. 
• Greet the eldest people first out of respect.
• It is common to shake hands to greet strangers, using the right hand or both hands. Make eye contact during a handshake. However, this should be the only assertive aspect of the interaction. People generally hold one another’s hands quite lightly.
• Men often greet other men that are close friends by pulling one another into an embrace (whilst still shaking hands) and using their other hand to rub the person’s back.
• Close friends often kiss one another on the cheek around three times. If it has been a long time since people have met, they may even kiss four or five times and embrace for longer.
• Some Muslims may prefer not to embrace members of the opposite gender unless they are a close family member. Therefore, men should wait until a woman extends her hand first before extending his own hand for a handshake.
• The elderly are greeted with significant respect. Some may kiss their hands to greet them, while others may give a small bow or lower their head.
• The elderly often kiss children on the forehead, and may receive a kiss on their knee or leg in return.
• Use people’s titles to address them until invited to move on to a casual basis. Common titles include ‘Ato’ (Mr), ‘Woizerit’ (Miss) and ‘Woizero’ (Mrs).

Verbal Greetings

• Verbal greetings vary between ethnic groups’ languages, but generally mean the equivalent of ‘How are you?’.
• In Amharic, friends and peers say “Indemin nih?” to a male and “Indemin nish?” to a female. To say the same greeting to an elder, one says “Indemin nawot?”.
• In Oromiffa, one greets members of either gender with “Akam jirta?”
• The Tigrinya form is "Kameleha?" for a man and "Kamelehee?" for a woman.
• Muslims of different ethnicities may also greet using the traditional Islamic Arabic greeting “Assalaam 'alaikum” (Peace be upon you).
• A more formal Amharic greeting is “Tena Yistilin” (May God give you health).
• A casual greeting is to say “Salam” (Hello).