EFE learning modules / Learning Strategies & Language Learning

Learning Strategies & Language Learning

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

Explore Contexts

Select a specific social context to practice.

Hit the books

/ሂት ዘ ቡክስ/

ማጥናት መጀመር

To study hard or begin a study session

ጠንክሮ ማጥናት ወይም የማጥናት ጊዜ መጀመር።

In Practice

"I need to hit the books tonight for my exam."
"Let's hit the books if we want to pass."
Fluent Tip

Informal context when starting to study.

Learn by heart

/ለርን ባይ ሃርት/

በቃል መያዝ

To memorize something perfectly

አንድን ነገር ፍጹም በሆነ ሁኔታ በቃል መያዝ ወይም በልብ ማጥናት።

In Practice

"She learned the entire poem by heart."
"It is hard to learn irregular verbs by heart."
Fluent Tip

Used for memorization tasks.

Get the hang of it

/ጌት ዘ ሃንግ ኦፍ ኢት/

መለማመድ ወይም መልመድ

To learn how to do something or understand it

አንድን ነገር እንዴት ማድረግ እንደሚቻል መማር ወይም መረዳት።

In Practice

"English grammar is hard, but you'll get the hang of it."
"I'm finally getting the hang of this app."
Fluent Tip

Used when someone is in the process of mastering a skill.

Pick someone's brain

/ፒክ ሰምዋንስ ብሬይን/

ከአንድ ሰው እውቀት መካፈል

To ask someone for advice or information

አንድን ሰው ለምክር ወይም ለመረጃ መጠየቅ።

In Practice

"Can I pick your brain about your study habits?"
"I want to pick the teacher's brain on this topic."
Fluent Tip

Used when seeking expert advice or tips.

Read between the lines

/ሪድ ቢትዊን ዘ ላይንስ/

ውስጠ ወይራውን መረዳት

To understand the hidden meaning

የተደበቀውን ትርጉም መረዳት።

In Practice

"You need to read between the lines to understand the poem."
"The teacher didn't say it, but I read between the lines."
Fluent Tip

Common in literature or subtle conversations.

A piece of cake

/ኤ ፒስ ኦፍ ኬክ/

በጣም ቀላል

Something very easy to do

ለማድረግ በጣም ቀላል የሆነ ነገር።

In Practice

"The English test was a piece of cake."
"Learning the alphabet is a piece of cake."
Fluent Tip

Informal way to describe an easy task.

Back to basics

/ባክ ቱ ቤይሲክስ/

ወደ መሠረታዊ ነገሮች መመለስ

Returning to the simplest concepts

ወደ በጣም ቀላል እና መሠረታዊ ወደሆኑ ጽንሰ-ሀሳቦች መመለስ።

In Practice

"Let's go back to basics and review grammar."
"Sometimes you need to go back to basics to progress."
Fluent Tip

Used when foundational review is needed.

Put your thinking cap on

/ፑት ዩር ቲንኪንግ ካፕ ኦን/

በጥልቀት ማሰብ

To think seriously or solve a problem

በቁም ነገር ማሰብ ወይም ችግርን መፍታት።

In Practice

"Put your thinking cap on and help me translate this."
"We need to put our thinking caps on for the project."
Fluent Tip

Often used by teachers or mentors.

Show someone the ropes

/ሾው ሰምዋን ዘ ሮፕስ/

መንገዱን ማሳየት

To teach someone how to do a task

አንድን ስራ እንዴት እንደሚሰራ ለአንድ ሰው ማስተማር።

In Practice

"The senior student showed me the ropes of the library."
"Can you show me the ropes of this language lab?"
Fluent Tip

Used when orienting a beginner.

Work like a charm

/ዎርክ ላይክ ኤ ቻርም/

በጣም ውጤታማ መሆን

To be very effective or successful

በጣም ውጤታማ ወይም ስኬታማ መሆን።

In Practice

"Flashcards work like a charm for memorization."
"This study method worked like a charm."
Fluent Tip

Describing a method that produces good results.

Lose one's tongue

/ሉዝ ዋንስ ታንግ/

መደንገጥ ወይም መታሰር

To be unable to speak, often due to shyness

በአይነ አፋርነት ወይም በድንጋጤ ምክንያት መናገር አለመቻል ሊሆን ይችላል።

In Practice

"I lost my tongue during the English interview."
"Don't lose your tongue; just speak clearly."
Fluent Tip

Used in situations where nervousness affects speech.

On the tip of my tongue

/ኦን ዘ ቲፕ ኦፍ ማይ ታንግ/

ከአፌ ላይ አለቀቀኝም

Almost remembered but not quite

ሊታወስ የቀረብ ግን በትክክል ያልተገኘ።

In Practice

"The word is on the tip of my tongue."
"His name was on the tip of my tongue."
Fluent Tip

When you struggle to recall a specific word.