EFE learning modules / Public Transportation & Taxi

Public Transportation & Taxi

Common Expressions Back to Catalog

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Miss the bus

/ሚስ ዘ ባስ/

ዕድል ማጣት

To miss an opportunity or a chance.

አንድን አጋጣሚ ወይም ዕድል ማጣት።

In Practice

"I waited too long and missed the bus on that investment."
"If you don't apply now, you'll miss the bus."
Fluent Tip

Used when someone is too slow to take advantage of a situation.

Take someone for a ride

/ቴክ ሰምዋን ፎር ኤ ራይድ/

ማታለል

To deceive or cheat someone.

አንድን ሰው ማታለል ወይም ማጭበርበር።

In Practice

"The taxi driver took me for a ride by going the long way."
"I think that salesman is trying to take us for a ride."
Fluent Tip

Informal usage for being tricked, often financially.

Drive a hard bargain

/ድራይቭ ኤ ሃርድ ባርገን/

በዋጋ መደራደር

To be very demanding when negotiating a price.

በዋጋ ድርድር ወቅት በጣም ጠንካራ መሆን።

In Practice

"The taxi driver drives a hard bargain for the fare."
"She drives a hard bargain but she is fair."
Fluent Tip

Used in fare negotiations or business deals.

At the end of the line

/አት ዘ ኤንድ ኦፍ ዘ ላይን/

መጨረሻው ላይ መድረስ

The final stop or the point where something must stop.

የመጨረሻው መቆሚያ ወይም አንድ ነገር ማቆም ያለበት ነጥብ።

In Practice

"This is the end of the line for this bus route."
"I've reached the end of the line with this job."
Fluent Tip

Literal for transit, metaphorical for ending a situation.

In the same boat

/ኢን ዘ ሴም ቦት/

ተመሳሳይ ሁኔታ ውስጥ መሆን

To be in the same difficult situation as someone else.

ከሌላ ሰው ጋር ተመሳሳይ አስቸጋሪ ሁኔታ ውስጥ መሆን።

In Practice

"We are all in the same boat waiting for this late bus."
"None of us have the fare, so we are in the same boat."
Fluent Tip

Expressing shared hardship.

Backseat driver

/ባክሲት ድራይቨር/

ሹፌሩን የሚያዝ ተሳፋሪ

A passenger who gives unwanted advice to the driver.

ለሹፌሩ አላስፈላጊ ምክር የሚሰጥ ተሳፋሪ።

In Practice

"My brother is such a backseat driver when I take him to the city."
"Stop being a backseat driver and let me drive!"
Fluent Tip

Critical description of an annoying passenger.

On the right track

/ኦን ዘ ራይት ትራክ/

በትክክለኛው መንገድ ላይ

Doing something in a way that will lead to success.

ለስኬት በሚያበቃ መንገድ አንድን ነገር ማድረግ።

In Practice

"We are on the right track to catch the last train."
"The project is finally on the right track."
Fluent Tip

Metaphorical, derived from rail transport.

Off the beaten track

/ኦፍ ዘ ቢትን ትራክ/

ገለልተኛ ቦታ

A place that is not frequently visited by people.

ብዙ ሰዎች የማይጎበኙት ገለልተኛ ቦታ።

In Practice

"The taxi took us to a restaurant off the beaten track."
"I like traveling to places that are off the beaten track."
Fluent Tip

Describing remote or unusual locations.

Hit the road

/ሂት ዘ ሮድ/

ጉዞ መጀመር

To begin a journey.

ጉዞ መጀመር።

In Practice

"It's time to hit the road if we want to beat the traffic."
"We hit the road at 5 AM to catch the bus."
Fluent Tip

Informal way to say let's start traveling.

Smooth sailing

/ስሙዝ ሴይሊንግ/

ቀላል ጉዞ

A situation where everything goes easily and without problems.

ሁኔታዎች ያለምንም ችግር በቀላሉ የሚሄዱበት ሁኔታ።

In Practice

"Once we got a taxi, it was smooth sailing to the airport."
"The commute was smooth sailing today."
Fluent Tip

Describing an easy process.

The wheels fall off

/ዘ ዊልስ ፎል ኦፍ/

ነገሮች ሲበላሹ

When a situation fails completely.

አንድ ሁኔታ ሙሉ በሙሉ ሲከሽፍ።

In Practice

"The plan was good until the wheels fell off at the bus station."
"Everything was fine until the wheels fell off our budget."
Fluent Tip

Describing a total collapse of a plan.

Train of thought

/ትሬይን ኦፍ ቶት/

የሃሳብ ቅደም ተከተል

The connection between consecutive thoughts.

በተከታታይ ሃሳቦች መካከል ያለው ግንኙነት።

In Practice

"The loud bus horn made me lose my train of thought."
"I'm trying to follow your train of thought."
Fluent Tip

Metaphor for logical thinking.