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Alphabet Amharic
Ethiopic Script (Fidel)
The Ethiopic script, called Fidel, is an abugida where each character represents a consonant-vowel combination. It has 33 base characters, each with 7 vowel orders, giving 231 basic syllabic characters. It is one of the world's oldest scripts still in use, dating back over 2,500 years.
Vowel Orders (Example: Hoy)
| Caractère | Nom | Romanisation | Prononciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ሀ | 1st order (ä) | hä | like 'ha' in 'hat' |
| ሁ | 2nd order (u) | hu | like 'hoo' in 'hoop' |
| ሂ | 3rd order (i) | hi | like 'he' in 'heat' |
| ሃ | 4th order (a) | ha | like 'ha' in 'father' |
| ሄ | 5th order (é) | hé | like 'hey' |
| ህ | 6th order (ə) | hə | like 'huh' (schwa) |
| ሆ | 7th order (o) | ho | like 'ho' in 'home' |
Base Characters (1st Order)
| Caractère | Nom | Romanisation | Prononciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ሀ | Hoy | h | like 'h' in 'house' |
| ለ | Lawe | l | like 'l' in 'lamp' |
| ሐ | Hawt | ḥ | a breathy 'h' sound |
| መ | May | m | like 'm' in 'moon' |
| ሰ | Sat | s | like 's' in 'sun' |
| ሸ | Sha | sh | like 'sh' in 'shoe' |
| ቀ | Qaf | q | a deep 'k' from the throat |
| በ | Bet | b | like 'b' in 'book' |
| ተ | Tat | t | like 't' in 'top' |
| ቸ | Cha | ch | like 'ch' in 'cheese' |
| ነ | Nas | n | like 'n' in 'night' |
| ኘ | Gna | ñ | like 'ny' in 'canyon' |
| አ | Alef | ʾ / a | like 'a' in 'apple' |
| ከ | Kaf | k | like 'k' in 'key' |
| ወ | Wawe | w | like 'w' in 'water' |
| ዐ | Ain | ʿ | a voiced pharyngeal sound |
| ዘ | Zay | z | like 'z' in 'zebra' |
| ዠ | Zha | zh | like 's' in 'measure' |
| የ | Yaman | y | like 'y' in 'yes' |
| ደ | Dant | d | like 'd' in 'dog' |
| ጀ | Jan | j | like 'j' in 'jam' |
| ገ | Gemel | g | like 'g' in 'go' |
| ጠ | Tayt | ṭ | an emphatic 't' sound |
| ጨ | Chä | č̣ | an emphatic 'ch' sound |
| ጰ | Pha | pʰ | like 'p' (aspirated) |
| ጸ | Tsapa | ṣ | an emphatic 'ts' sound |
| ፈ | Af | f | like 'f' in 'fan' |
| ፐ | Pa | p | like 'p' in 'pen' |
| ረ | Res | r | a slightly rolled 'r' |
| ሠ | Saynt | ś | like 's' in 'sun' |