Ge'ez script facts for kids

The Ge'ez script (Ge'ez: ግዕዝ, Gəʿəz), also known as Ethiopic, is a writing system native to Eastern Africa. It is the alphabet used in several languages of Eritrea and Ethiopia.

The script is used as an abugida (alphasyllabary) for languages such as Amharic and Tigrinya. It originally was an abjad, writing consonants only. In Amharic and Tigrinya, the script is often called fidäl (ፊደል), meaning "script" or "alphabet".

Distribution

Ge'ez script was first used to write the Ge'ez language. Ge'ez is now the liturgical language of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and Beta Israel, the Jewish community in Ethiopia.

Images for kids

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  A painting of St. Sisinnios on horseback spearing the demon Wǝrzalyā on a Geʻez prayer scroll meant to dispel evil spirits that were thought to cause various ailments, Wellcome Collection, London

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  Geʻez script used to advertise injera (እንጀራ) to the Eritrean and Ethiopian diaspora in the US

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  Sign in Amharic using the Geʻez script at the Ethiopian millennium celebration

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  Genesis 29.11–16 in Geʽez

See also

In Spanish: Escritura etíope para niños