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Struggling to tell Amharic letters apart? These 7 simple visual rules will help you recognize any letter fast.

In this Part 1 Amharic alphabet guide, I’ll walk you through seven key facts every beginner needs to know before trying to read Amharic letters.

Most people who try to learn the Amharic alphabet give up too soon, not because it’s too hard, but because no one showed them the right things first. This guide does exactly that.

By the end of this article, you’ll be able to recognize the shape and name of Amharic letters much faster than you would on your own.

These seven points will also help you tell similar-looking letters apart, which is where most beginners get stuck.

Many people have gone through this same guide and are now reading Amharic without much struggle. You can do the same, but only if you read it to the end.

So if you have ten minutes right now, keep reading. If not, bookmark this page and come back later. Either way, don’t skip it; this is the foundation, and everything else builds on it.

The point is this: Amharic has many letters, but learning to read it is very manageable when you start with the right ones. That is exactly what the 7 facts below will help you do.

The 7 simple facts you should know about the Amharic alphabet:

The letters in the first row are all simple letters with little addition to their bodies. They are pronounced like “ኧ” or “eh, e.”

Row 1: Simple Letters (sound like “eh”)

The letters in the first row are all simple letters with little addition to their bodies. They are pronounced like “ኧ” or “eh, e.”

Row 2: The Small Right Mark (makes “u” sound)

The Amharic letters in the second row have a small mark on their right side, but the suffix mark for “ሩ and ፉ” is under them. This symbol makes them read as “u.” Example: ሁ Hu፣ ሉ Lu፣ ሙ Mu.

Row 3: The Right‑Pointing Leg (makes “i” sound)

All the Amharic letters except “ሪ ri,” “ዪ yi,” and “ፊ fi” in the third row have a right-pointing suffix on their right leg. For example: ሂ (hi), ሊ (Li), ሚ (mi), ሲ (Si), etc. This suffix makes the Amharic letter read as “i.”

Row 4: Shortest Leg on the Left (makes “a” sound)

The letters with two or more legs, such as “ሓ/ha, ላ/la, ሳ/sa, and ባ/ba” in the fourth row, have the shortest leg on the left. That is why they are pronounced as “a.” You can look at them now.

Row 5: The Ring on the Right Leg (makes “ie” sound)

Figure 5: All the Amharic letters in the fifth row have a ring on their right leg. This makes them read as “ie.” For example: ሄ Hie, ሌ Lie, ሜ Mie, ሤ, ሴ, Sie.

Row 6: Pure Consonants (no vowel sound)

But the Amharic alphabet in the sixth row consists of consonant letters. So we need to read them like “ህ H, ል L, ም M, ስ S, ር R.” For example, “ምስር / MSR,” which means “lentil,” and “ስድስት / SDST,” which means “six.” If we add another vowel symbol to these letters, their shape, sound, and meaning will change. The remaining 6 letters are vowel letters. They change their shape and sound due to the addition of vowel letters. (አ, ኡ, ኢ, ኣ, ኤ, ኦ, (a u i a ie o)

Row 7: The Ring for “o” Sound

The letters in the seventh row, such as “ሆ / ho, ሎ / lo, ሮ / ro, ኖ / no,” have a ring on the right. Two-legged letters like “ሶ / so,” “ቦ / bo,” and “ሾ / sho” have the shortest leg on the right. And those with one leg, like Fidel, ቆ / Qo, ቾ / Cho, and ቶ / To, have a ring mark on their head. But they are all pronounced as “o.”

If you understand these facts well, you can learn and even memorize these Amharic letters very easily. Now, when you read the letters below, read them keeping in mind the facts that we have seen above. But if you have a problem with pronouncing these Amharic letters correctly, contact me on Telegram; I will give you a 1-hour paid tutor for only $10.

I will teach you additional facts in the next lessons about the Amharic alphabet, but for now read the following Amharic alphabet using the transliterations under each of them or by watching this short YouTube video.

Read the Amharic alphabet full chart:

I have listed below the complete Amharic letters with English letters and audio. Read them carefully while listening to the audio at the same time, so you will not get confused about the Amharic letters again.

Download Amharic Alphabet Audio File

1. ሀ ሁ ሂ ሃ ሄ ህ ሆ
2. ሐ ሑ ሒ ሓ ሔ ሕ ሖ
3. ኀ ኁ ኂ ኃ ኄ ኅ ኆ
   He Hu Hi Ha Hie H Ho
4. ለ ሉ ሊ ላ ሌ ል ሎ
   Le  Lu  Li  La Lie  L  Lo
5. መ ሙ ሚ ማ ሜ ም ሞ
   Me Mu Mi Ma Mie M Mo
6. ሠ ሡ ሢ ሣ ሤ ሥ ሦ
7. ሰ ሱ ሲ ሳ ሴ ስ ሶ
   Se Su Si Sa Sie  S So
8. ረ ሩ ሪ ራ ሬ ር ሮ
   Re Ru Ri Ra Rie  R Ro
9. ሸ ሹ ሺ ሻ ሼ ሽ ሾ
   She Shu Shi Sha Shie Sh Sho
10. ቀ ቁ ቂ ቃ ቄ ቅ ቆ
    Qe Qu Qi Qa Qie Q Qo
11. ከ ኩ ኪ ካ ኬ ክ ኮ
    Ke Ku Ki Ka Kie K Ko
12. በ ቡ ቢ ባ ቤ ብ ቦ
    Be Bu Bi  Ba Bie  B Bo
13. ቸ ቹ ቺ ቻ ቼ ች ቾ
    Che Chu Chi Cha Chie Ch Cho
14. ጨ ጩ ጪ ጫ ጬ ጭ ጮ
    Che Chu Chi Cha Chie Ch Cho
15. ነ ኑ ኒ ና ኔ ን ኖ
    Ne Nu Ni Na Nie N No
16. ኘ ኙ ኚ ኛ ኜ ኝ ኞ
    Gne Gnu Gni Gna Gnie Gn Gno
17. አ ኡ ኢ ኣ ኤ እ ኦ
18. ዐ ዑ ዒ ዓ ዔ ዕ ዖ
    A U I A Aie I O
19. ወ ዉ ዊ ዋ ዌ ው ዎ
    We Wu Wi Wa Wie W Wo
20. ዘ ዙ ዚ ዛ ዜ ዝ ዞ
    Ze Zu Zi Za Zie Z Zo
21. ዠ ዡ ዢ ዣ ዤ ዥ ዦ
    Zhe Zhu Zhi Zha Zhie Zh Zho
22. የ ዩ ዪ ያ ዬ ይ ዮ
    Ye Yu Yi Ya Yie Y Yo
23. ደ ዱ ዲ ዳ ዴ ድ ዶ
    De Du Di Da Die D Do
24. ጀ ጁ ጂ ጃ ጄ ጅ ጆ
    Je Ju Ji Ja Jie J Jo
25. ገ ጉ ጊ ጋ ጌ ግ ጎ
    Ge Gu Gi Ga Gie G Go
26. ተ ቱ ቲ ታ ቴ ት ቶ
    Te Tu Ti Ta Tie T To
27. ጠ ጡ ጢ ጣ ጤ ጥ ጦ
    Te Tu Ti Ta Tie T To
28. ጸ ጹ ጺ ጻ ጼ ጽ ጾ
29. ፀ ፁ ፂ ፃ ፄ ፅ ፆ
    Tse Tsu Tsi Tsa Tsie Ts Tso
30. ጰ ጱ ጲ ጳ ጴ ጵ ጶ
    Pe Pu Pi Pa Pie P Po
31. ፈ ፉ ፊ ፋ ፌ ፍ ፎ
    Fe Fu Fi Fa Fie F Fo
32. ኸ    ኹ     ኺ    ኻ    ኼ    ኽ   ኾ
    Khe Khu Khi Kha Khie Kh Kho
33. ቨ   ቩ   ቪ  ቫ   ቬ   ቭ  ቮ
    Ve Vu Vi Va Vie V Vo
34. ፐ    ፑ   ፒ  ፓ  ፔ   ፕ  ፖ
    Pe Pu Pi Pa Pie P Po

Understanding Amharic Alphabet Basics:

The Amharic alphabet consists of around 34 consonant letters. It is organized into 7 rows; the letters in each row follow specific patterns:

1. First Row: Simple letters pronounced with “eh, e.”
2. Second Row: Small mark on the right side indicating the vowel sound “u.”
3. Third Row: Right-pointing suffix indicating the vowel sound “i.”
4. Fourth Row: The shortest leg on the left indicates the vowel sound “a.”
5. Fifth Row: Ring on the right leg indicating the vowel sound “ie.”
6. Sixth Row: Consonant letters without vowel additions, read as consonants alone.
7. Seventh Row: Characters with rings on the right or specific leg arrangements indicating the vowel sound “o.”

• The seventh row of Amharic fidel has specific markers, such as a ring on the right side of the character. Examples like “ሆ” (ho), “ሎ” (lo), “ሮ” (ro), and “ኖ”
• Two-legged letters in this row have the shortest leg on the right. Examples like “ሶ” (so), “ቦ” (bo), and “ሾ” (sho) 
• One-legged letters have a ring mark on their head, like “ቆ” (Qo), “ቾ” (Cho), and “ቶ” (To).
• All these Amharic letters in the seventh row are pronounced with the vowel sound “o.” You need to circle your lips to pronounce them correctly. 

By understanding these distinctive Amharic alphabet patterns and practicing with the provided examples, you can more easily identify and differentiate the seventh row of Amharic letters from others.

Homework: Connect Amharic letters together to make words.

I want you to take two or three of the letters we learned and write them down on your paper. For example, you could write ‘Bal,’ ‘tew,’ or ‘Abatie.’

Keep making up new words on your page using two letters each time. Don’t worry about what they mean; just focus on putting the letters together.

You will need to practice saying the words out loud too. When you’re done, send them to me through this Telegram group. I will look to them and give you gold stars for the best made-up words.

Okay, you can begin your word writing now! I’m excited to see what creative words you come up with.

Now, read the next Amharic alphabet lesson here.

• Read Part one (here)
• Read Part Two (Here)
• Read Part Three (Here)

If you have a problem with pronouncing these Amharic letters correctly, contact me on WhatsApp, and I will give you a 1-hour paid tutor for only 10 dollars, and you will master them in four hours only, God willing.

Download the Amharic Alphabet PDF for free here.