Ethiopic or Ge’ez (ግዕዝ) Alphabet
and transliteration to Latin & International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)Ge’ez (the script) is a script that originated as an abjad (consonant-only alphabet) and – though it is now used for writing several languages in Eritrea and Ethiopia, including the closely related languages of Tigre, Tigrinya and Amharic – it was originally used to write it’s namesake language, ልሳነ ግዕዝ, which currently survives only as the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
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Below are tables of the Ge’ez Script
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TWO-LEGGED CHARACTERS
| Latin | ä (æ) | u (u) | i (i) | a (aː) | e (e) | ə (ɨ) | o (o) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| b (b) | በ | ቡ | ቢ | ባ | ቤ | ብ | ቦ |
| v (v) | ቨ | ቩ | ቪ | ቫ | ቬ | ቭ | ቮ |
| s (s) | ሰ | ሱ | ሲ | ሳ | ሴ | ስ | ሶ |
| ś (ɬ) | ሸ | ሹ | ሺ | ሻ | ሼ | ሽ | ሾ |
| k (k) | ከ | ኩ | ኪ | ካ | ኬ | ክ | ኮ |
| x (x) | ኸ | ኹ | ኺ | ኻ | ኼ | ኽ | ኾ |
| l (l) | ለ | ሉ | ሊ | ላ | ሌ | ል | ሎ |
| ' (ʔ) | አ | ኡ | ኢ | ኣ | ኤ | እ | ኦ |
| z (z) | ዘ | ዙ | ዚ | ዛ | ዜ | ዝ | ዞ |
| ž (ʒ) | ዠ | ዡ | ዢ | ዣ | ዤ | ዥ | ዦ |
| d (d) | ደ | ዱ | ዲ | ዳ | ዴ | ድ | ዶ |
| j (dʒ) | ዸ | ዹ | ዺ | ዻ | ዼ | ዽ | ዾ |
| ṣ (t͡s') | ጸ | ጹ | ጺ | ጻ | ጼ | ጽ | ጾ |
| p̣ (p') | ጰ | ጱ | ጲ | ጳ | ጴ | ጵ | ጶ |
THREE-LEGGED CHARACTERS
| Latin | ä (æ) | u (u) | i (i) | a (aː) | e (e) | ə (ɨ) | o (o) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ṭ (t') | ጠ | ጡ | ጢ | ጣ | ጤ | ጥ | ጦ |
| č̣ (t͡ʃ') | ጨ | ጩ | ጪ | ጫ | ጬ | ጭ | ጮ |
| ḥ (ħ) | ሐ | ሑ | ሒ | ሓ | ሔ | ሕ | ሖ |
ONE-LEGGED CHARACTERS
| Latin | ä (æ) | u (u) | i (i) | a (aː) | e (e) | ə (ɨ) | o (o) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g (g) | ገ | ጉ | ጊ | ጋ | ጌ | ግ | ጎ |
| p (p) | ፐ | ፑ | ፒ | ፓ | ፔ | ፕ | ፖ |
| n (n) | ነ | ኑ | ኒ | ና | ኔ | ን | ኖ |
| ñ (ɲ) | ኘ | ኙ | ኚ | ኛ | ኜ | ኝ | ኞ |
| t (t) | ተ | ቱ | ቲ | ታ | ቴ | ት | ቶ |
| č (t͡ʃ) | ቸ | ቹ | ቺ | ቻ | ቼ | ች | ቾ |
| q (k') | ቀ | ቁ | ቂ | ቃ | ቄ | ቅ | ቆ |
| qʰ (q) | ቐ | ቑ | ቒ | ቓ | ቔ | ቕ | ቖ |
| y (j) | የ | ዩ | ዪ | ያ | ዬ | ይ | ዮ |
L-SHAPED CHARACTERS
| Latin | ä (æ) | u (u) | i (i) | a (aː) | e (e) | ə (ɨ) | o (o) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| r (r) | ረ | ሩ | ሪ | ራ | ሬ | ር | ሮ |
| f (f) | ፈ | ፉ | ፊ | ፋ | ፌ | ፍ | ፎ |
NON-LEGGED CHARACTERS
| Latin | ä (æ) | u (u) | i (i) | a (aː) | e (e) | ə (ɨ) | o (o) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| h (h) | ሀ | ሁ | ሂ | ሃ | ሄ | ህ | ሆ |
| ʿ (ʕ) | ዐ | ዑ | ዒ | ዓ | ዔ | ዕ | ዖ |
| w (w) | ወ | ዉ | ዊ | ዋ | ዌ | ው | ዎ |
| m (m) | መ | ሙ | ሚ | ማ | ሜ | ም | ሞ |
MODERN
| Latin | ä (æ) | u (u) | i (i) | a (aː) | e (e) | ə (ɨ) | o (o) | wa (waː) | jä (jæ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| h (h) | ሀ | ሁ | ሂ | ሃ | ሄ | ህ | ሆ | ||
| l (l) | ለ | ሉ | ሊ | ላ | ሌ | ል | ሎ | ሏ | |
| ḥ (ħ) | ሐ | ሑ | ሒ | ሓ | ሔ | ሕ | ሖ | ሗ | |
| m (m) | መ | ሙ | ሚ | ማ | ሜ | ም | ሞ | ሟ | ፙ |
| ś (ɬ) | ሠ | ሡ | ሢ | ሣ | ሤ | ሥ | ሦ | ሧ | |
| r (r) | ረ | ሩ | ሪ | ራ | ሬ | ር | ሮ | ሯ | ፘ |
| s (s) | ሰ | ሱ | ሲ | ሳ | ሴ | ስ | ሶ | ሷ | |
| q (k') | ቀ | ቁ | ቂ | ቃ | ቄ | ቅ | ቆ | ቋ | |
| b (b) | በ | ቡ | ቢ | ባ | ቤ | ብ | ቦ | ቧ | |
| t (t) | ተ | ቱ | ቲ | ታ | ቴ | ት | ቶ | ቷ | |
| h̬ (χ) | ኀ | ኁ | ኂ | ኃ | ኄ | ኅ | ኆ | ኋ | |
| n (n) | ነ | ኑ | ኒ | ና | ኔ | ን | ኖ | ኗ | |
| ' (ʔ) | አ | ኡ | ኢ | ኣ | ኤ | እ | ኦ | ኧ | |
| k (k) | ከ | ኩ | ኪ | ካ | ኬ | ክ | ኮ | ኳ | |
| w (w) | ወ | ዉ | ዊ | ዋ | ዌ | ው | ዎ | ||
| ʿ (ʕ) | ዐ | ዑ | ዒ | ዓ | ዔ | ዕ | ዖ | ||
| z (z) | ዘ | ዙ | ዚ | ዛ | ዜ | ዝ | ዞ | ዟ | |
| y (j) | የ | ዩ | ዪ | ያ | ዬ | ይ | ዮ | ||
| d (d) | ደ | ዱ | ዲ | ዳ | ዴ | ድ | ዶ | ዷ | |
| g (ɡ) | ገ | ጉ | ጊ | ጋ | ጌ | ግ | ጎ | ጓ | |
| ṭ (t') | ጠ | ጡ | ጢ | ጣ | ጤ | ጥ | ጦ | ጧ | |
| p̣ (p') | ጰ | ጱ | ጲ | ጳ | ጴ | ጵ | ጶ | ጷ | |
| ṣ (t͡s') | ጸ | ጹ | ጺ | ጻ | ጼ | ጽ | ጾ | ጿ | |
| ṣ́ (tɬʼ) | ፀ | ፁ | ፂ | ፃ | ፄ | ፅ | ፆ | ||
| f (f) | ፈ | ፉ | ፊ | ፋ | ፌ | ፍ | ፎ | ፏ | ፚ |
| p (p) | ፐ | ፑ | ፒ | ፓ | ፔ | ፕ | ፖ | ፗ | |
| qw (kʷˈ) | ቈ | ቊ | ቋ | ቌ | ቍ | ||||
| h̬w (χʷ) | ኈ | ኊ | ኋ | ኌ | ኍ | ||||
| gw (ɡʷ) | ጐ | ጒ | ጓ | ጔ | ጕ | ||||
| kw (kʷ) | ኰ | ኲ | ኳ | ኴ | ኵ | ||||
| š (ʃ) | ሸ | ሹ | ሺ | ሻ | ሼ | ሽ | ሾ | ሿ | |
| qʰ (q) | ቐ | ቑ | ቒ | ቓ | ቔ | ቕ | ቖ | ||
| qʰʷ (qʷ) | ቘ | ቚ | ቛ | ቜ | ቝ | ||||
| v (v) | ቨ | ቩ | ቪ | ቫ | ቬ | ቭ | ቮ | ቯ | |
| č (t͡ʃ) | ቸ | ቹ | ቺ | ቻ | ቼ | ች | ቾ | ቿ | |
| (ŋʷ) | ⶓ | ⶔ | ⶕ | ⶖ | |||||
| ñ (ɲ) | ኘ | ኙ | ኛ | ኜ | ኝ | ኞ | ኟ | ||
| x (x) | ኸ | ኹ | ኺ | ኻ | ኼ | ኽ | ኾ | ||
| xʷ (xʷ) | ዀ | ዂ | ዃ | ዄ | ዅ | ||||
| ž (ʒ) | ዠ | ዡ | ዢ | ዣ | ዤ | ዥ | ዦ | ዧ | |
| ǧ (d͡ʒ) | ጀ | ጁ | ጂ | ጃ | ጄ | ጅ | ጆ | ጇ | |
| (ŋ) | ጘ | ጙ | ጚ | ጛ | ጜ | ጝ | ጞ | ጟ | |
| č̣ (t͡ʃ') | ጨ | ጩ | ጪ | ጫ | ጬ | ጭ | ጮ | ጯ |
CLASSIC
| ä (æ) | u (u) | i (i) | a (aː) | e (e) | ə (ɨ) | o (o) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| አ | ቡ | ጊ | ዳ | ሄ | ው | ዞ |
| በ | ጉ | ዲ | ሃ | ዌ | ዝ | ዦ |
| ገ | ዱ | ሂ | ዋ | ዜ | ዥ | ሖ |
| ደ | ሁ | ዊ | ዛ | ዤ | ሕ | ጦ |
| ሀ | ዉ | ዚ | ዣ | ሔ | ጥ | ጮ |
| ወ | ዙ | ዢ | ሓ | ጤ | ጭ | ዮ |
| ዘ | ዡ | ሒ | ጣ | ጬ | ይ | ኮ |
| ዠ | ሑ | ጢ | ጫ | ዬ | ክ | ኾ |
| ሐ | ጡ | ጪ | ያ | ኬ | ኽ | ሎ |
| ጠ | ጩ | ዪ | ካ | ኼ | ል | ሞ |
| ጨ | ዩ | ኪ | ኻ | ሌ | ም | ኖ |
| የ | ኩ | ኺ | ላ | ሜ | ን | ኟ |
| ከ | ኹ | ሊ | ማ | ኔ | ኞ | ሶ |
| ኸ | ሉ | ሚ | ና | ኝ | ስ | ሾ |
| ለ | ሙ | ኒ | ኜ | ሴ | ሽ | ዖ |
| መ | ኑ | ኛ | ሳ | ሼ | ዕ | ፎ |
| ነ | ኙ | ሲ | ሻ | ዔ | ፍ | ጾ |
| ኘ | ሱ | ሺ | ዓ | ፌ | ጽ | ቆ |
| ሰ | ሹ | ዒ | ፋ | ጼ | ቅ | ሮ |
| ሸ | ዑ | ፊ | ጻ | ቄ | ር | ሦ |
| ዐ | ፉ | ጺ | ቃ | ሬ | ሥ | ቶ |
| ፈ | ጹ | ቂ | ራ | ሤ | ት | ቾ |
| ጸ | ቁ | ሪ | ሣ | ቴ | ች | ኆ |
| ቀ | ሩ | ሢ | ታ | ቼ | ኅ | ጶ |
| ረ | ሡ | ቲ | ቻ | ኄ | ጵ | ፆ |
| ሠ | ቱ | ቺ | ኃ | ጴ | ፅ | ፖ |
| ተ | ቹ | ኂ | ጳ | ፄ | ፕ | ጆ |
| ቸ | ኁ | ጲ | ፃ | ፔ | ጅ | ኦ |
| ኀ | ጱ | ፂ | ፓ | ጄ | እ | ቦ |
| ጰ | ፁ | ፒ | ጃ | ኤ | ብ | ጎ |
| ፀ | ፑ | ጂ | ኣ | ቤ | ግ | ዶ |
| ፐ | ጁ | ኢ | ባ | ጌ | ድ | ሆ |
| ጀ | ኡ | ቢ | ጋ | ዴ | ህ | ዎ |
NUMBERS (1-9)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ፩ | ፪ | ፫ | ፬ | ፭ | ፮ | ፯ | ፰ | ፱ |
| *አሐዱ | *ክልኤቱ | *ሠለስቱ | አርባዕቱ | ኀምስቱ | ስድስቱ | ሰብዐቱ | ሰማንቱ | ተስዐቱ |
| *(ʾäḥädu) | *(kəlʾetu) | *(śälästu) | (ʾärbaʿtu) | (ḫämsətu) | (sədsətu) | (säbʿätu) | (sämantu) | (täsʿätu) |
| *As ordinal numbers are, respectively, pronounced: ቀዳሚ (ḳädami); ካልዕ (kalʿ) and; ሠልስ (śäls) |
NUMBERS (10s)
| 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ፲ | ፳ | ፴ | ፵ | ፶ | ፷ | ፸ | ፹ | ፺ |
| ዐሠርቱ | እስራ | ሠላሳ | አርብዓ | ሃምሳ | ስድሳ | ሰብዓ | ሰማንያ | ተሰዓ |
| (ʿäśärtu) | (ʾəsra) | (śälasa) | (ʾärəbʿa) | (haməsa) | (sədsa) | (säbəʿa) | (sämanəya) | (täsäʿa) |
| For numbers between the decades, simply combine, adding "wä" for "and" - i.e. ፲፩ (ʾäśärətu wäʾäḥädu) for 10 and 1, equaling 11 |
NUMBERS (Other)
| 0 | 100 | 1,000 | 10,000 | 100,000 | 1,000,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ፻ | ፻ | ፼ | ፻፻ | ፲፻፻ | ፻፻፻ |
| አልቦ | ምዕት | አሠርቱ ምዕት | እልፍ | አሠርቱ እልፍ | አእላፋት |
| (ʾälbo) | (məʿt) | (ʾäśärətu məʿt) | (ʾləf) | (ʾäśärətu ʾləf) | (ʾäʾəlafat) |
| For numbers between 100-1,000, simply combine, adding "wä" for "and" between the two right-most words in the compound - i.e. ፻፲፩ (məʿt ʾäśärətu wäʾäḥädu) for 100+10+1, equaling 111 |
CALENDAR DAYS
| Weeks | ||
|---|---|---|
| እሑድ ('ehud) | from "አሐደ (ahade)" for "first." God started his creation on this day. | Sunday |
| ሰኞ (senuy) | from "ሳንይ (saney)" for "the next day." | Monday |
| ማግሰኞ (mag'sen) | from "ሠሉስ (selus)" for "the third." | Tuesday |
| ረቡዕ (rab'e') | from "ረብዐ (rebi‘a)" for "the fourth." | Wednesday |
| ኃሙስ (khamus) | from "ኃመሰ (hamese)" for "the fifth." | Thursday |
| ዓርብ (Ar'b) | from "ዓርበ (arbe)" for "the end/end of work." Creation happened this day. | Friday |
| ቅዳሜ (q'damey) | from "ቀደመ (qedeme)" for "before [preceding]." Day before creation. | Saturday |
CALENDAR MONTHS
| Months | |
|---|---|
| ከረመ (Kereme) | September 11/12 |
| ጠቀመ (T’ek’eme) | October 11/12 |
| ኀደረ (Hedere) | November 10/11 |
| ኀሠሠ (Hasese) | December 10/11 |
| ጠሐር (T’eher) | January 9/10 |
| ከተተ (Ketete) | February 8/9 |
| መገበ (Megebe) | March 10 |
| አኀዘ (Ahaze) | April 9 |
| ግንባት (Genbat) | May 5 |
| ሠነየ (Seneye) | June 6 |
| ሐመለ (Hamele) | July 8 |
| ነሐሰ (Nehasse) | August 8 |
| ጳጕሜን (Pagumein) | September 6 |
