Ge'ez (ግዕዝ, gəʿəz) is a South Semitic language — a cousin of Hebrew and Arabic — that flourished in the ancient Kingdom of Aksum and remains the liturgical language of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches today. To read it is to read the prayers, hymns, and scriptures of a tradition more than fifteen centuries old. This lesson will teach you how its script works and let you sound out your first words.
I.What kind of writing is this?
The Ge'ez script is called the Fidel (ፊደል). It is not an alphabet like English, and not a syllabary — it is an abugida: each character stands for a consonant joined to a vowel. Change the vowel, and you modify the shape of the consonant in a small, regular way.
Three things to remember from the start: Ge'ez is read left to right, like English; there are 26 base consonants in classical Ge'ez; and each consonant appears in seven "orders" — one for each vowel sound.
II.The Seven Orders
Every consonant is shown below in its seven orders, using the base consonant ሀ (the sound h). Notice how the core shape stays recognizable while small marks change the vowel.
| Order | Name | Vowel | Example (h-) | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | ግዕዝ (gəʿz) | ä | ሀ | hä — "ha" in hut |
| 2nd | ካዕብ (kaʿb) | u | ሁ | hu — "hoo" |
| 3rd | ሣልስ (salis) | i | ሂ | hi — "hee" |
| 4th | ራብዕ (rabʿ) | a | ሃ | ha — "haa" |
| 5th | ኃምስ (ḫamis) | e | ሄ | he — "hay" |
| 6th | ሳድስ (sadis) | ə | ህ | hə — short, or no vowel |
| 7th | ሳብዕ (sabʿ) | o | ሆ | ho — "hoe" |
Master this single pattern and you have learned the engine of the whole script. The same seven vowel-modifications apply to every other consonant.
III.Your first consonants
Here are twelve common consonants in their first order (the base "-ä" form). Say each one aloud.
To build any syllable, take a consonant and place it in one of the seven orders. For instance, the consonant በ (b) gives: በ ቡ ቢ ባ ቤ ብ ቦ — bä, bu, bi, ba, be, bə, bo.
IV.Numbers & punctuation
Ge'ez has its own numerals, written with distinctive marks rather than Arabic digits:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ፩ | ፪ | ፫ | ፬ | ፭ | ፮ | ፯ | ፰ | ፱ | ፲ | ፻ |
Two marks of punctuation will appear constantly. The word separator ፡ (hulät näṭäb, "two dots") sits between words, and the full stop ። (arat näṭäb, "four dots") ends a sentence.
V.Your first sacred phrase
Ethiopian Orthodox texts and prayers traditionally open with the invocation of the Holy Trinity. Here it is — your first complete sentence in Ge'ez.
Notice the small word ወ (wä, "and") attached to the front of "Son" and "Spirit" — a single connecting letter doing the work of an English word.
VI.A few words to treasure
| Ge'ez | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| እግዚአብሔር | ʾəgziʾabəḥer | God, the Lord |
| ኢየሱስ | ʾiyäsus | Jesus |
| ክርስቶስ | krəstos | Christ |
| ሰላም | sälam | peace |
| ጸሎት | ṣälot | prayer |
| መጽሐፍ | mäṣḥaf | book, scripture |
| ብርሃን | bərhan | light |
| አሜን | amen | amen |
Study Guide & Self-Check
Work through these from memory first, then open each answer to check yourself.
- Name the seven orders in sequence, and the vowel each one carries.
- Sound out this word, letter by letter: ሰላም
- Sound out: አሜን
- What do the marks ፡ and ። tell a reader?
- Write out the consonant መ (m) across all seven orders.
Answer 1 — The seven orders
1st ግዕዝ = ä · 2nd ካዕብ = u · 3rd ሣልስ = i · 4th ራብዕ = a · 5th ኃምስ = e · 6th ሳድስ = ə (short / no vowel) · 7th ሳብዕ = o.
Answer 2 — ሰላም
ሰ (sä) + ላ (la) + ም (m) = sälam — meaning peace.
Answer 3 — አሜን
አ (ʾä) + ሜ (me) + ን (n) = amen — amen.
Answer 4 — The two marks
፡ separates one word from the next; ። ends a sentence (like a period).
Answer 5 — መ in seven orders
መ ሙ ሚ ማ ሜ ም ሞ = mä, mu, mi, ma, me, mə, mo.
How to practice this week
Spend ten minutes a day writing the ሀ series by hand until the seven shapes feel natural; then try a second consonant. Read the Trinitarian invocation aloud each morning. By the end of the week you will recognize the vowel orders on sight — the single most important skill in reading Ge'ez.
Next lesson: the full consonant chart, and reading the opening of the Lord's Prayer in Ge'ez.
"Reading Ge'ez — Lesson One" © Abyssinian Orthodox University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You are free to copy, share, translate, and adapt this lesson for any purpose, including commercially, provided you credit Abyssinian Orthodox University and indicate any changes.