10 important and unique facts about the Amharic Language

13 April 2023

Amharic is a beautiful and unique language, that is spoken by more than 25 million people around the world. Along with four other Ethiopian languages: Afar, Oromo, Somali, and Tigrinya, Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia, and is also spoken in Eritrea, Israel, and other countries with Ethiopian diaspora. Despite being one of the oldest and most widely spoken languages in Africa, Amharic is still relatively unknown to many people outside of the Ethiopian community. This is a shame, as Amharic is a fascinating language with a rich history and culture. In this article, we will explore 10 important and unique facts about the Amharic language that will help you gain a deeper appreciation for this beautiful language.

The Amharic Language has its own Alphabet

The Amharic language is written using the Amharic Alphabet known as “Fidel”, which originates from a scripture called Ge'ez. Geez is an ancient Ethiopian Semitic language used as the main liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Eritrean Catholic Church, and the Beta Israel Jewish community.

The Amharic Alphabet!

The Amharic Alphabet consists of 34 characters, and each of these characters creates other 6 derivatives of itself, so there are a total of 338 characters in the Amharic alphabet. But that is without counting the Hybrid letters (Diqala Fidelat - ዲቃላ ፊደላት), which are the seventh derivatives of some of the main 34 characters and are used to write diphthong sounds. The image below shows the 338 letters (Fidels) in the Amharic alphabet. And the hybrid letters in the Amharic Alphabet are; ኋ, ሏ, ሟ, ሷ, ሯ, ቋ, ቧ, ቷ, ቿ, ኗ, ኟ, ጧ, ጓ, ጇ, ዷ, ቯ.

The Amharic language has a rich literary tradition with works dating back to the 16th century and a modern literature that includes poetry, novels and plays.

Amharic started to emerge as a written language from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Abba Gorgoryos, an Ethiopian priest, and lexicographer who lived from 1595 to 1658 was a pivotal figure during this period. Abba Gorgoryos co-wrote the first Amharic grammar book, as well as an Amharic-Latin dictionary, with his German orientalist colleague and friend Hiob Ludolf.

Abba Gorgoryos!

Amharic was the first African language to have its translation into Latin. Gorgoryos' other accomplishments include creating a Ge'ez lexicon, co-authoring Amharic and Ge'ez encyclopaedias, and contributing to Ludolf's book “A New History of Ethiopia”. The Honorable Doctor Haddis Alemayehu is arguably the most well-known Amharic literary contributor of the twentieth century. Love to the Grave ( ፍቅር እስከ መቃብር - Fqr skä Mäqabr) is one of the most renowned books in modern Ethiopian literature, widely regarded as a modern masterpiece.

Fikir Eske Mekabir - Haddis Alemayehu!

This work is adored by the Ethiopian people and it was read and broadcast by the country’s national radio service. It also has highly successful Amharic music that depicts its story titled. The song is titled - Mar eske Tuaf (ማር እስከ ጧፍ), written and sung by the beloved Honorary Doctor Tewodros Kassahun, Tedy Afro.

Oromay, another fiction written in 1983, by Be’alu Girma is also a well-regarded Amharic literary work. In the modern era, Amharic literature has continued to flourish, with a range of new writers and genres emerging. These include novels, plays, and poetry, as well as works of non-fiction such as memoirs and political commentary. These works offer insights into contemporary Ethiopian society and culture and help to keep the Amharic language vibrant and relevant. Overall, the rich literary tradition of Amharic demonstrates the depth and complexity of this language, and highlights its importance as a tool for cultural expression and creativity. Whether one is interested in the history of Ethiopian literature or simply seeking to learn a new language, Amharic offers a wealth of opportunities for exploration and discovery.

The Amharic language and alphabet are an important part of Ethiopian culture and history, reflecting the country's long and rich history.

Ethiopia is a country with a long and rich history dating back to the pre-Axumite period. The Axumite kingdoms that emerged in the northern highlands between the 1st and 7th centuries AD are widely regarded as the cradle of Ethiopian civilization. The Amharic language and alphabet have been used to capture this rich history and culture. Ethiopia was one of the first countries in Africa to have a written script, and the Amharic alphabet was developed in the 4th century AD. The Ge'ez script, the precursor to the Amharic alphabet, was used to write religious texts, and it is still used today in Ethiopian Orthodox churches. The above image is found in the British Museum, under the Royal Collection Trust. It shows the first Amharic translation of the Book of Genesis, presented to George IV. It is the first book of the Bible that was translated from the GEEZ language into Amharic by Abu Rumi (believed to have been called “Aba Abraham” in Ethiopia), who lived from 1750 to 1819, an Ethiopian linguist and translator.

The Book of Genesis, by Abu Rumi!

The Amharic language and alphabet played an important role in the spread of Christianity in Ethiopia, which played a significant role in shaping the country's cultural identity. The Amharic language and alphabet have been used to document the rich and diverse cultural heritage of Ethiopia. Ethiopia has a rich tradition of oral storytelling, and the Amharic language has been used to preserve and document these stories. Oral storytelling has been passed down through generations, and these stories are an essential part of Ethiopian culture. Many of these stories have been written down and translated into different languages, including Amharic, helping to preserve them for future generations. The Amharic language and its alphabet are an important part of Ethiopia's cultural and historical identity. They have played a significant role in the spread of Christianity, the documentation of Ethiopia's rich cultural heritage, and the preservation of its oral traditions. The Amharic language and alphabet reflect the country's long and rich history and are a testament to its resilience and enduring cultural legacy.

The Amharic Alphabet is one of the oldest written languages in the world, dating back to the 4th century AD.

The Amharic alphabet is one of the oldest languages in the world that is still in use today. The Amharic alphabet is a Semitic language that is closely related to Hebrew and Arabic and has its roots in the ancient Sabean language.

Sabean Script!

The origin of the Amharic alphabet can be traced back to the Aksumite Empire, which existed from the first to the seventh century AD. As discussed earlier, the Aksumites were known as the pioneers of Ethiopian civilization, and their impact can still be felt in Ethiopia's customs and culture today. The Amharic alphabet is derived from the ancient Sabaean script, which was used by the Kingdom of Saba in present-day Yemen. It was through contact with the Sabaeans that the Aksumite Empire learned to read and write. The Aksumite Empire used the Sabaean script to write religious texts, and as a result, the script took on a religious significance. Over time, the script evolved, and the Ge'ez script came into existence, a script that is known to be the predecessor of the Amharic alphabet. The Ge'ez script was used extensively for religious texts, and it is still used today in Ethiopian Orthodox churches. The Ge'ez script's influence on the Amharic alphabet can be seen in the numerous similarities between the two scripts. The Amharic alphabet's significance extends beyond Ethiopia's borders. The alphabet was one of the first African scripts to be widely used and has influenced other scripts in the region.

Amharic is written from left to right.

Unlike most other languages without vowels, such as Arabic, Syriac, Hebrew, and Urdu, Amharic language is written from left to right, similar to English. This means that when reading or writing Amharic, the text progresses from left to right, with the leftmost character being read or written first.

Amharic, Arabic, and Hebrew Writing!

It is worth noting that while Amharic has been written for centuries, some of the words used today were not commonly used in writing until the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Despite this, the basic structure of the written language has remained consistent, with Amharic being written from left to right for hundreds of years. Overall, the left-to-right writing direction of Amharic makes it more similar to many European languages than to some other languages in the region. If you are learning or using Amharic, understanding this fundamental aspect of the language is essential for both reading and writing.

The Amharic alphabet also includes unique punctuation marks not found in other languages.

There are fifteen punctuation marks in the Amharic language, each with its own designated purpose, these punctuation marks are;

አንድ ነጥብ - ‘nd netb (.)
ሁለት ነጥብ - hulet netb (:)
ሁለት ነጥብ ከሠረዝ - ‘nd netb ke serez (:-)
ነጠላ ሠረዝ - Netela serez (፣ or ፥)
ድርብ ሠረዝ - Drib serez (፤)
ሦስት ነጥብ - Sost netb (. . .)
ትምህርተ ጥቅስ - Tmihrte tiks (“ ”)
ትምህርተ - አንክሮ or ቃለ አጋኖ - Timhirte-ankro, or Qale agano (!)
ትምህርተ - ጥያቄ or የጥያቄ ምልክት - Yetiyaqe mlikit (?)
እዝባር or አቆልቋይ - Ezbar, or Aqolquay(/)
ቅንፍ - Qinif ( )
ሠረዝ - Serez (-)
ዕሩይ - Eruy (=)
ረድፍ or ኮከብ - Redf, or Kokeb (*)
አራት ነጥብ - Arat netb (።)

The Amharic language has its own unique grammar, which includes verb conjugation, noun declension, and gender agreement.

In linguistics, conjugation is the process of creating derived forms of a verb from its principal parts through inflection (alteration of form according to rules of grammar). The verb break, for example, can be conjugated to form the words breaks, broken, broke, and breaking. When it comes to the Amharic language, verb conjugation extends to altering verbs to make them gender specific. But this is not restricted to verbs; it also applies to contractions, nouns, adjectives, and so on. . . Let’s look at some examples;

English	Amharic female	Amharic Male
You	አንቺ / Anchi	አንተ / Ante
You are	አንቺ ነሽ / Anchi nesh	አነተ ነህ / Ante neh
She danced	ደነሰች / Denesech
He danced		ደነሰ / Denese
She cried	አለቀሰች / Alekesech
He cried		Alekese / አለቀሰ
She came	መጣች / Metach
He came		መጣ / Meta
She is jumping	እየዘለለች ነው / Eyezelelech new
He is jumping		አየዘለለ ነው / Eyezelele new

More on Amharic translation is addressed in our other Article titled “How to converse: Best English to Amharic translation for tourists”.

The Amharic language has a formal and informal version of the second and third-person singular pronoun, which is used depending on the level of respect or familiarity between speakers.

English pronoun	Male	Female	With respect (any gender)	For a group
You	Ante / አንተ	Anchi/ አንቺ	Erso / እርሶ	Enante / እናንተ
Her/him	Esu / እሱ	Esua / እሷ	Esachew / እሳቸው
He/she	Esu / እሱ	Esua / እሷ	Esachew / እሳቸው

The Amharic language includes many loanwords from other languages, such as Arabic, English, and Italian.

The Amharic language has borrowed many words from other languages over time; these borrowed words are called loanwords. These loanwords are used in Amharic in various contexts, such as in everyday conversation, in literature, and in technical or specialized fields. Some loanwords may be used as direct replacements for existing Amharic words, while others may be used to express concepts that do not have a direct equivalent in Amharic.

The Amharic language has its own unique writing system, which is different from other writing systems like the Latin alphabet or Arabic script.

As we have seen in multiple parts of our discussion, the Amharic language has its own alphabet and punctuation marks. We have also seen that the Amharic language has an Abjad writing system, meaning there are no vowels in its writing system. This enables the Amharic writing system to address complex consonant-vowel (Syllable) combinations, with ease. To understand this better, I suggest you read our other article titled "How to Pronounce each Letter in the Amharic Alphabet – with Audio"