Amharic alphabet chart
Every letter of the Amharic alphabet (ፊደል) in all seven forms. The small text under each letter is what you type on an English keyboard to get it. Tap any letter to copy it.
| Letter | 1st (ä) | 2nd (u) | 3rd (i) | 4th (a) | 5th (é) | 6th (ə) | 7th (o) | wa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ሀ | ||||||||
| ለ | ||||||||
| ሐ | ||||||||
| መ | ||||||||
| ሠ | ||||||||
| ረ | ||||||||
| ሰ | ||||||||
| ሸ | ||||||||
| ቀ | ||||||||
| በ | ||||||||
| ቨ | ||||||||
| ተ | ||||||||
| ቸ | ||||||||
| ኀ | ||||||||
| ነ | ||||||||
| ኘ | ||||||||
| አ | ||||||||
| ከ | ||||||||
| ኸ | ||||||||
| ወ | ||||||||
| ዐ | ||||||||
| ዘ | ||||||||
| ዠ | ||||||||
| የ | ||||||||
| ደ | ||||||||
| ጀ | ||||||||
| ገ | ||||||||
| ጠ | ||||||||
| ጨ | ||||||||
| ጰ | ||||||||
| ጸ | ||||||||
| ፀ | ||||||||
| ፈ | ||||||||
| ፐ |
How to read the chart
Each row is one consonant, and each column is a vowel. Amharic letters are syllables: the base shape is the consonant, and small changes to it (a stroke, a ring, a shorter leg) add the vowel. That is why በ, ቡ, ቢ, ባ, ቤ, ብ and ቦ all look alike.
The sixth column (ሳድስ) is the consonant with a short ə sound or no vowel at all. It is the most common form in everyday writing: ስም (name), ልጅ (child), ፍቅር (love). To type it, type the consonant alone: sm, lj, fqr.
The last column is the wa form, which adds a w sound: ሏ, ቧ, ጓ. Type the consonant and ua. Letters like ቀ, ከ and ገ also have a full w row (ቈ ቊ ቋ ቌ ቍ); type a capital W before the vowel: qWa → ቋ, gWadeN → ጓደኝ.
Letters that sound the same
| Sound | Letters | How to type |
|---|---|---|
| h | ሀ ሐ ኀ | h for ሀ, H for ሐ. ኀ has no key of its own; in Addiyon Keyboard type h and pick it from the suggestions. |
| s | ሰ ሠ | s for ሰ, S for ሠ |
| a (glottal) | አ ዐ | a for አ, A for ዐ |
| ts’ | ጸ ፀ | ts for ጸ, Ts for ፀ |
Amharic punctuation
On the typing tool and in Addiyon Keyboard, . types ።, , types ፣ and ? types ፧. The rest are on the keyboard’s symbols page. Ethiopic numbers have their own chart.
Common questions.
How many letters are in the Amharic alphabet?
Amharic uses 33 basic consonant letters (34 if you count ቨ, used for words borrowed with a v sound). Each has seven forms, one per vowel, which gives 231 core characters. With the wa forms and the extra labialized letters, there are well over 250.
What is the Amharic alphabet called?
It is called ፊደል (Fidel), meaning letter or alphabet. The script itself is Ge’ez (ግዕዝ), also called Ethiopic, and it is also used for Tigrinya and other languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
What are the seven orders of Fidel?
Each consonant has seven forms called orders: ግዕዝ (ä), ካዕብ (u), ሣልስ (i), ራብዕ (a), ኀምስ (é), ሳድስ (ə or no vowel) and ሳብዕ (o). For example ለ ሉ ሊ ላ ሌ ል ሎ.
Why are there several letters for the same sound?
ሀ ሐ ኀ, ሰ ሠ, አ ዐ and ጸ ፀ were different sounds in Ge’ez but sound the same in modern Amharic. They are kept because the spelling of many words, names and church texts uses them.
How do I type these letters on my phone?
Install a keyboard that converts English letters to Fidel, such as Addiyon Keyboard for Android. The keys shown under each letter in the chart are exactly what you type.
Type Amharic in every app.
Addiyon Keyboard is free on Google Play. It turns English letters into Fidel as you type, works offline, and keeps your typing on your phone.