EFE learning modules / Asking for Directions & Navigation

Asking for Directions & Navigation

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Off the beaten track

/ኦፍ ዘ ቢተን ትራክ/

ብዙ ሰው ከማይሄድበት መንገድ ውጭ

In a remote or less-frequented area.

ገለልተኛ ወይም ብዙ ሰዎች በማይሄዱበት አካባቢ ያለ።

In Practice

"The restaurant is a bit off the beaten track."
"We like traveling off the beaten track."
Fluent Tip

Used to describe locations that are secluded or far from main roads.

Around the corner

/አራውንድ ዘ ኮርነር/

በቅርብ ርቀት ወይም ጥግ ላይ

Very near or close by.

በጣም ቅርብ ወይም ጥግ ላይ ያለ።

In Practice

"The gas station is just around the corner."
"Spring is just around the corner."
Fluent Tip

Commonly used for physical distance or time.

A stone's throw away

/ኤ ስቶንስ ስሮው አዌይ/

በጣም ቅርብ (የድንጋይ ውርወራ ያህል)

A very short distance.

በጣም አጭር ርቀት።

In Practice

"The hotel is a stone's throw away from the beach."
"The museum is just a stone's throw away."
Fluent Tip

Informal way to say something is very close.

Know it like the back of one's hand

/ኖው ኢት ላይክ ዘ ባክ ኦፍ ዋንስ ሃንድ/

እንደ እጅ መዳፍ በሚገባ ማወቅ

To be very familiar with a place.

አንድን ቦታ ወይም ነገር በሚገባ ማወቅ።

In Practice

"I know this city like the back of my hand."
"She knows the forest like the back of her hand."
Fluent Tip

Used when someone has extensive knowledge of a location.

Lose one's bearings

/ሉዝ ዋንስ ቤሪንግስ/

አቅጣጫ መሳት ወይም ግራ መጋባት

To become confused about where you are.

የት እንዳሉ ግራ መጋባት ወይም አቅጣጫ መጥፋት።

In Practice

"I lost my bearings in the heavy fog."
"It is easy to lose your bearings in the mall."
Fluent Tip

Used when someone gets lost or disoriented.

In the middle of nowhere

/ኢን ዘ ሚድል ኦፍ ኖዌር/

በጣም ገለልተኛ ቦታ ላይ

A place far from any town or city.

ከከተማ በጣም የራቀና ሰው የማይኖርበት ቦታ።

In Practice

"Our car broke down in the middle of nowhere."
"They live in the middle of nowhere."
Fluent Tip

Often used to emphasize isolation.

Take the scenic route

/ቴይክ ዘ ሲኒክ ሩት/

በሚያምር መንገድ መሄድ

To take a longer road for its beauty.

ውበትን ለማየት ረጅሙን መንገድ መምረጥ።

In Practice

"We decided to take the scenic route home."
"The scenic route takes an extra hour."
Fluent Tip

Used when choosing travel paths based on aesthetics.

Follow your nose

/ፎሎው ዩር ኖዝ/

አፍንጫህ ወደመራህ ሂድ (ቀጥታ ሂድ)

To go straight ahead or rely on instinct.

ቀጥታ ወደ ፊት መሄድ ወይም ስሜትን መከተል።

In Practice

"Just follow your nose until you hit the main road."
"Follow your nose to the kitchen."
Fluent Tip

Informal direction for going straight.

Go around in circles

/ጎው አራውንድ ኢን ሰርክልስ/

በክብ መዞር (መባከን)

To repeat the same path without progress.

ያለ ምንም መሻሻል በተመሳሳይ መንገድ መመላለስ።

In Practice

"We have been going around in circles for an hour."
"Without a map, we just went around in circles."
Fluent Tip

Describes being lost and repetitive.

All roads lead to Rome

/ኦል ሮድስ ሊድ ቱ ሮም/

ሁሉም መንገድ ወደ ሮም ይወስዳል

Many different ways lead to the same goal.

የተለያዩ መንገዶች ወደ ተመሳሳይ ግብ ያደርሳሉ።

In Practice

"You can take the bus or train; all roads lead to Rome."
"Regardless of the method, all roads lead to Rome."
Fluent Tip

Used when there are multiple ways to reach a destination.

Right under your nose

/ራይት አንደር ዩር ኖዝ/

ከአፍንጫህ ስር (አይንህ ፊት)

In plain sight but unnoticed.

በግልጽ የሚታይ ቦታ ሆኖ ግን ያልተስተዋለ።

In Practice

"The key was right under your nose."
"The shop is right under your nose but you missed it."
Fluent Tip

Used when someone can't find something nearby.

Hit the road

/ሂት ዘ ሮድ/

ጉዞ መጀመር

To leave or start a journey.

መንገድ መጀመር ወይም መውጣት።

In Practice

"It's late, let's hit the road."
"We need to hit the road by dawn."
Fluent Tip

Common informal way to say depart.