Amharic has 40 Letters | 7 Vowels and 33 Consonants

Q: How many letters are there in Amharic?

There are 7 vowels and 33 consonants in the Amharic script. The consonant letters are often combined with vowel letters to form a syllable known as a "fidel". There are a total of 231 possible fidel combinations . In addition, there are several diacritic marks and additional characters to represent special sounds and loanwords from other languages. For example, the glottal stop is indicated by the symbol "?" , while the pharyngeal consonants are indicated by the letters "ʕ" and "ħ" .

Q: How easy is it to learn Amharic?

The ease of learning the Amharic alphabet depends on the learner’s language background and dedication to the learning process. For English speakers, the following challenges may arise : Firstly, the Amharic script , called Fidel, differs from the Latin alphabet used in English . This requires learning a new set of characters and symbols. Additionally, Amharic has unique vowel sounds, including short and long vowels as well as diphthongs, which may be unfamiliar to English speakers. Another challenge lies in syllable stress patterns. Amharic follows different stress rules compared to English . Mastering the correct stress placement in Amharic words can be difficult for English speakers. Grammar in Amharic also presents difficulties. It involves complex verb conjugations, noun–gender agreement, and the use of prefixes and suffixes to indicate tense. Understanding and applying these grammar rules correctly can be a challenge for English speakers. In addition, English speakers may also encounter obstacles such as the limited availability of learning resources designed for Amharic learners, reduced exposure to the language and native speakers, and difficulties in acquiring vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Despite these challenges, English speakers can achieve proficiency in Amharic with consistent practice. Books, online resources, and learning videos on platforms such as YouTube can greatly support the learning process. With dedication and effort, English speakers can overcome these hurdles and gain a strong command of the Amharic language. It is important to remember that if Amharic speakers can successfully master English, then English speakers can undoubtedly achieve proficiency in Amharic as well !

Q: What is a "fidel" in Amharic?

Great question! A fidel is like a building block of Amharic writing: • It's a syllable made by combining a consonant with a vowel • Think of it like Lego pieces - each fidel represents one sound unit • There are 231 possible fidel combinations in total • Each consonant can combine with any of the 7 vowels For example, the consonant መ (m) can combine with different vowels to make: ሙ (mu), ሚ (mi), ማ (ma), etc. It's like having one symbol for each syllable sound - pretty clever!

Q: Where is Amharic spoken and by how many people?

Amharic is spoken by over 31 million people worldwide: • Ethiopia - where it's the official language • United States - large Ethiopian immigrant communities • Canada - Ethiopian diaspora • Israel - Ethiopian Jewish communities • Several European countries - including UK, Germany, Sweden It's the second most spoken Semitic language after Arabic!

Q: What makes Amharic writing unique?

Amharic has some super cool unique features : • Syllabic system - each symbol represents a whole syllable (consonant + vowel) • Ancient origins - comes from the 1,500-year-old Ge'ez script • No uppercase/lowercase - all letters are the same size • Left-to-right writing - unlike some other ancient scripts • Own number system - has special Amharic numerals (though Arabic numerals are more common now) • Artistic appearance - the script looks beautiful and decorative It's like each character tells a story in just one symbol!

Vowels:

ሀ

[a]

ሁ

[u]

ሂ

[i]

ሃ

[a]

ሄ

[e]

ህ

[ə]

ሆ

[o]

ሀ

[ha]

ሁ

[hu]

ሂ

[hi]

ሃ

[haa]

ሄ

[hee]

ህ

[he]

ሆ

[ho]

ለ

[la]

ሉ

[lu]

ሊ

[li]

ላ

[laa]

ሌ

[lee]

ል

[le]

ሎ

[lo]

ሐ

[hha]

ሑ

[hhu]

ሒ

[hhi]

ሓ

[hhaa]

ሔ

[hhee]

ሕ

[hhe]

ሖ

[hho]

መ

[ma]

ሙ

[mu]

ሚ

[mi]

ማ

[maa]

ሜ

[mee]

ም

[me]

ሞ

[mo]

ሠ

[sza]

ሠ

[szu]

ሢ

[szi]

ሣ

[szaa]

ሤ

[szee]

ሥ

[sze]

ሦ

[szo]

ረ

[ra]

ሩ

[ru]

ሪ

[ri]

ራ

[raa]

ሬ

[ree]

ር

[re]

ሮ

[ro]

ሰ

[sa]

ሱ

[su]

ሲ

[si]

ሳ

[saa]

ሴ

[see]

ስ

[se]

ሶ

[so]

ሸ

[sha]

ሹ

[shu]

ሺ

[shi]

ሻ

[shaa]

ሼ

[shee]

ሽ

[she]

ሾ

[sho]

ቀ

[qa]

ቁ

[qu]

ቂ

[qi]

ቃ

[qaa]

ቄ

[qee]

ቅ

[qe]

ቆ

[qo]

ቐ

[qha]

ቑ

[qhu]

ቒ

[qhi]

ቓ

[qhaa]

ቔ

[qhee]

ቕ

[qhe]

ቖ

[qho]

በ

[ba]

ቡ

[bu]

ቢ

[bi]

ባ

[baa]

ቤ

[bee]

ብ

[be]

ቦ

[bo]

ቨ

[va]

ቩ

[vu]

ቪ

[vi]

ቫ

[vaa]

ቬ

[vee]

ቭ

[ve]

ቮ

[vo]

ተ

[ta]

ቱ

[tu]

ቲ

[ti]

ታ

[taa]

ቴ

[tee]

ት

[te]

ቶ

[to]

ቸ

[ca]

ቹ

[cu]

ቺ

[ci]

ቻ

[caa]

ቼ

[cee]

ች

[ce]

ቾ

[co]

ኀ

[xa]

ኁ

[xu]

ኂ

[xi]

ኃ

[xaa]

ኄ

[xee]

ኅ

[xe]

ኆ

[xo]

ነ

[na]

ኑ

[nu]

ኒ

[ni]

ና

[naa]

ኔ

[nee]

ን

[ne]

ኖ

[no]

ኘ

[nya]

ኙ

[nyu]

ኚ

[nyi]

ኛ

[nyaa]

ኜ

[nyee]

ኝ

[nye]

ኞ

[nyo]

አ

[a]

ኡ

[au]

ኢ

[ai]

ኣ

[aa]

ኤ

[aee]

እ

[ae]

ኦ

[ao]

ኸ

[kxa]

ኹ

[kxu]

ኺ

[kxi]

ኻ

[kxaa]

ኼ

[kxee]

ኽ

[kxe]

ኾ

[kxo]

ወ

[wa]

ዉ

[wu]

ዊ

[wi]

ዋ

[waa]

ዌ

[wee]

ው

[we]

ዎ

[wo]

ዐ

[a]

ዑ

[u]

ዒ

[i]

ዓ

[aa]

ዔ

[ea]

ዕ

[e]

ዖ

[o]

ዘ

[za]

ዙ

[zu]

ዚ

[zi]

ዛ

[zaa]

ዜ

[zee]

ዝ

[ze]

ዞ

[zo]

ዠ

[zha]

ዡ

[zhu]

ዢ

[zhi]

ዣ

[zhaa]

ዤ

[zhee]

ዥ

[zhe]

ዦ

የ

[ya]

ዩ

[yu]

ዪ

[yi]

ያ

[yaa]

ዬ

[yee]

ይ

[ye]

ዮ

[yo]

ደ

[da]

ዱ

[du]

ዲ

[di]

ዳ

[daa]

ዴ

[dee]

ዴ

[de]

ዶ

[do]

ዸ

[dda]

ዹ

[ddu]

ዺ

[ddi]

ዻ

[ddaa]

ዼ

[ddee]

ዽ

[dde]

ዾ

[ddo]

ጀ

[ja]

ጁ

[ju]

ጂ

[ji]

ጃ

[jaa]

ጄ

[jee]

ጅ

[je]

ጅ

[jo]

ገ

[ga]

ገ

[gu]

ጊ

[gi]

ጋ

[gaa]

ጌ

[gee]

ግ

[ge]

ጎ

[go]

ጘ

[gga]

ጙ

[ggu]

ጚ

[ggi]

ጛ

[ggaa]

ጜ

[ggee]

ጝ

[gge]

ጞ

[ggo]

ጠ

[tha]

ጡ

[thu]

ጢ

[thi]

ጣ

[thaa]

ጤ

[thee]

ጥ

[the]

ጦ

[tho]

ጨ

[cha]

ጩ

[chu]

ጩ

[chi]

ጩ

[chaa]

ጬ

[chee]

ጭ

[che]

ጮ

[cho]

ጰ

[pha]

ጰ

[phu]

ጰ

[phi]

ጰ

[phaa]

ጰ

[phee]

ጰ

[phe]

ጰ

[pho]

ጸ

[tsa]

ጹ

[tsu]

ጹ

[tsi]

ጹ

[tsaa]

ጹ

[tsee]

ጹ

[tse]

ጹ

[tso]

ፀ

[tza]

ፁ

[tzu]

ፂ

[tzi]

ፃ

[tzaa]

ፄ

[tzee]

ፅ

[tze]

ፆ

[tzo]

ፈ

[fa]

ፉ

[fu]

ፊ

[fi]

ፋ

[faa]

ፌ

[fee]

ፍ

[fe]

ፎ

[fo]

ፐ

[pa]

ፑ

[pu]

ፒ

[pi]

ፓ

[paa]

ፔ

[pee]

ፕ

[pe]

ፖ

[po]

ዜሮ

[zero]

አንድ

[1]

ሁለት

[2]

ሶስት

[3]

አራት

[4]

አምስት

[5]

ስድስት

[6]

ሰባት

[7]

ዘጠኝ

[8]

አስር

[9]

፡

።

፣

፤

፥

፦

፧

፨

፠

ለውጥ

[lawt]

አባል

[abäl]

ተግባር

[tagäbär]

Expand All Collapse All

How many letters are there in Amharic?

How easy is it to learn Amharic?

What is a "fidel" in Amharic?

Where is Amharic spoken and by how many people?

What makes Amharic writing unique?

References:

[1] Fischer, S. R. (2004). A History of Writing. Reaktion Books.
[2] Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D. "Ethnologue: Ethiopia". Ethnologue. SIL International. Retrieved 21 July 2021
[3] CIA. (n.d.). The World Factbook - Ethiopia. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ethiopia/
[4] [4][5] Ethnologue. (2022). Amharic. Retrieved from https://www.ethnologue.com/language/amh