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Welcome back to Part 2 Amharic Alphabet Step-by-Step Guide! In the first lesson, we uncovered 7 key facts that make it easier to recognize and read the Amharic alphabet. In this Part 2 lesson, we’ll explore some additional facts of the Amharic language alphabet. This lesson will help you:

• Understand similar Amharic letters that look different but sound the same; like ህ, ሕ, and ኅ.
• Learn about unique Amharic letters like ኸ (khe), ፐ (pe), ቨ (ve), and ጰ (Pe) which were added to write sounds not native to the Amharic language.
• Practice the 7 hardest Amharic sounds for English speakers, with clear examples.

At the end, you’ll also find real Amharic word lists to help you see these letters in use.

Let’s continue your journey to mastering the Amharic alphabet!

1. Similar Amharic Letters:

1.1. ህ፣ ሕ & ኅ (H)

In the Amharic alphabet, there are three different “H” letters that look different but sound the same. They all have the same pronunciation (“h”) and meaning in most cases, but their shapes is different. Let’s look at their full forms in the following picture:

Although all three look different, only the first “ህ” (from the ሀ-family) is commonly used in modern Amharic. The others appear in names, old texts, or religious writings, but are rare in everyday language.

1.2. ስ / ሥ (s): Two Shapes, One Sound

There are two types of “s” sounds in the Amharic alphabet: ስ and ሥ. They sound the same and have the same meaning, but their shapes are different.

Here are the full 7 forms of each:

Rarely Used:
ሠ ሡ ሢ ሣ ሤ ሥ ሦ
Se Su Si Sa Sie S So

Commonly Used:
ሰ ሱ ሲ ሳ ሴ ስ ሶ
Se Su Si Sa Sie S So

In daily writing, we mostly use ስ (the second type). The other one, ሥ, which looks like an “M” shape turned upward (ሠ), is rarely used in modern Amharic. You’ll mostly see ሠ in very old words, names, or religious texts.

1.3. እ / ዕ (E) Two Shapes, One Sound

The first letter “አ / A” is the most commonly used. But the second “ዐ / A” is usually used by Muslims and Tigrinya, because it is a throaty sound. Amharic does not have a letter that can be read by throat. And the Muslims use it to represent the Arabic letter (ع).

1.4.  ጽ vs ፅ – Two Sets, Same Sound

When it comes to these two Amharic letters — ጽ and ፅ — there’s no strict rule about which one to use. Both are used interchangeably in modern Amharic, and the meaning stays the same.

So don’t worry about choosing the “right” one. Just use whichever is easier for you to type or recognize. Ethiopians use both, and no one will misunderstand you!

2. Four foreign Letters Added to the Amharic Alphabet

Did you know there are a few extra Amharic letters that were added to represent foreign sounds, especially for Greek, Arabic, English, and Italian words? These are not originally part of the Amharic Fidel Gebeta, but they’re now part of modern usage. Let’s explore them below.

2.1. “ኸ / Kh”

The first one is “ኸ / Kh”. This Fidel is not Amharic or Geez, but it is Tigrigna. People who speak Tigrinya and Arabic use this alphabet a lot. The Fidel “ኸ / Kh” represents the Arabic letter “خ” and is widely used by Amharic speaking Muslims.

 Let’s look at the words used by Amharic speaking Muslims.

Forms:
ኸ ኹ ኺ ኻ ኼ ኽ ኾ
Khe Khu Khi Kha Khie Kh Kho

Examples from Muslim names and Arabic words:

• ኸይር — Khair (good, better)

• ኸውለት — Khawlat (girl’s name)

• ኹወይሊድ — Khuwaylid (father of Khadijah)

• ኺታም — Khitam (end)

• ኻሊድ — Khalid (boy’s name)

• አኼራ — Akhira (the hereafter)

• ሸይኽ — Sheikh (Muslim scholar)

2.2. ጵ / p

“ጵ” is a Greek sound, not Amharic. This letter was created to represent the Greek letter “π” and its sound. Example:

2.3. ፕ / p

The letter “ፕ / P” is not Amharic letter either. It is a letter created to represent English and Italian letters. For example, the nouns “Polis, Pasta, or Vite” do not have other Amharic nouns. That’s what we call them in their original language.

We use the word “ፕ / P” to pronounce the following words:

4.4. ቭ (v)

ቭ (v) is not from the Amharic language alphabet also

The letter “ቨ / V” is also a letter inherited from a foreign language, probably from English.

We almost don’t use this letter. We use this letter only when we want to pronounce the following words. There may be other words that I don’t remember right now:

But the fact that these same letters are rarely used by Amharic speakers does not mean that the letters are unnecessary at all.

3. Seven Challenging Amharic Letters for Beginners

If you can pronounce these 7 Amharic letters correctly, speaking Amharic will become much easier for you. These letters are the ones most Amharic learners struggle with — especially English speakers and Western learners.

Some of these Amharic sounds are easy because they also exist in English, but others have no English equivalent at all, so they are completely unique to the Amharic alphabet.

That’s why we use combinations like “ts” for ጽ, “gn” for ኝ, “shift+c” for ጭ, or Shift + Z for ዥ when typing. So, mastering these will sharpen your pronunciation and help you sound more native.

Let’s go step by step:

3.1. ተ vs ጠ (Te vs Ṭe)

These look and sound similar, but they’re not the same.
ተ is a soft “t” like in take, while ጠ is a tight or emphatic “ṭ” sound with more pressure from your tongue.

ተ ቱ ቲ ታ ቴ ት ቶ ቷ = Te Tu Ti Ta Tie T To Tua
ጠ ጡ ጢ ጣ ጤ ጥ ጦ ጧ = Te Tu Ti Ta Tie T To Tua

Can you say “ጧት” now? It means morning in Amharic. Without understanding the difference, it’s easy to misread even this short word.

3.2. ከ vs ቀ (Ke vs Qe)

These two letters confuse many learners. Both sound like a “k,” but ቀ is pronounced more tightly.

ከ ኩ ኪ ካ ኬ ክ ኮ ኳ = Ke Ku Ki Ka Kie K Ko Kua
ቀ ቁ ቂ ቃ ቄ ቅ ቆ ቋ = Qe Qu Qi Qa Qie Q Qo Qua

We use “q” just to show it’s different from ከ, but there’s no exact English sound for ቀ.

3.3. ጀ vs ቸ vs ጨ (Je, Che, Ṭche)

ጀ (Je) and ቸ (Che) are easy because they sound like jelly and cheese.

But ጨ is stronger and has no English sound. It’s often written as “Che” or “shift+c,” and sounds more like an emphatic “ch”.

ጀ ጁ ጂ ጃ ጄ ጅ ጆ ጇ = Je Ju Ji Ja Jie J Jo Jua
ቸ ቹ ቺ ቻ ቼ ች ቾ ቿ = Che Chu Chi Cha Chie Ch Cho Chua
ጨ ጩ ጪ ጫ ጬ ጭ ጮ = Che Chu Chi Cha Chie Ch Cho

3.4. ኘ (Gne)

This letter doesn’t exist in English at all. That’s why we type it using “gn” or “shift+n”.

ኘ ኙ ኚ ኛ ኜ ኝ ኞ
Gne Gnu Gni Gna Gnie Gn Gno

3.5. ጸ vs ፀ (Tse)

These are also unique Amharic sounds. They don’t exist in English, so we type them as “ts.”

ጸ ጹ ጺ ጻ ጼ ጽ ጾ
ፀ ፁ ፂ ፃ ፄ ፅ ፆ
Tse Tsu Tsi Tsa Tsie Ts Tso

3.6. ጰ (Pe)

This is a Greek sound, not originally Amharic, and is pronounced differently from the English “p.”
That’s why some people mispronounce ኢትዮጵያ / Ethiopia — they use the soft English “p” instead of the strong “ጵ”.

ጰ ጱ ጲ ጳ ጴ ጵ ጶ
Pe Pu Pi Pa Pie P Po

3.7. ኸ (Khe)

This Fidel is from Tigrinya, not native Amharic, but many Muslims who speak Arabic also use it often.
It’s pronounced like the Arabic خ / Khaa.

ኸ ኹ ኺ ኻ ኼ ኽ ኾ
Khe Khu Khi Kha Khie Kh Kho

💡 Bonus: Easy but Rare – ዠ (Zh)

This sound is not hard for English speakers because we say it in “vision,” “decision,” or “television.”

ዠ ዡ ዢ ዣ ዤ ዥ ዦ
Zh Zhu Zhi Zha Zhe Zh Zho

⌨️ Having Trouble Typing These Amharic Letters?

If you’re unsure how to type these Amharic letters using your keyboard, read this helpful article:
👉 How to Enable Amharic Keyboard on Windows — It shows you step-by-step how to install and use the Amharic language keyboard online or offline.

4. Read The whole Fidel Once Again below.

Now read the letters from left to right, right to left, top to bottom and bottom to top. After that, you will learn some basic Amharic words. Therefore, do this work well first. Read it from left to right, right to left, top to bottom and bottom to top without getting bored. In this way, you can easily master Amharic fiddle.

If you find it difficult to pronounce all the Amharic letters correctly, contact me on WhatsApp or Telegram:

• https://t.me/LearnAmharicLanguage
• https://wa.me/251955404900

5. The whole Amharic letters in use:

Now start making your Amharic vocabulary more complex and advanced by reading the following Amharic words and phrases, also try to read their meanings too.

• Part One: 7 Facts about the Amharic Alphabet 
• Part Two: Learn the Amharic alphabet deeper
• Part Three: (3) ድቃላ ሆሄያት (hybrid letters)

All Amharic courses: https://easyamharic.com/courses/