Geʽez script facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Geʽez
The basic consonants of Geʽez
Type	Abugida
Spoken languages	Afro-Asiatic languages and Nilo-Saharan languages. Generally Ethio/Eritrean Semitic languages (e.g. Geʽez, Tigrinya, Amharic, Tigre, Guragigna, Harari, etc.), but also some Cushitic languages and Nilotic languages. Bilen, Meʼen, as one of two scripts in Anuak, are examples, and unofficially used in other languages of Ethiopia and languages of Eritrea. Native to: the Horn of Africa - Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Time period	c. 1st century CE to present (abjad until c. 4th century CE)
Parent systems	Egyptian hieroglyphs Proto-Sinaitic script Ancient South Arabian script Geʽez
Child systems	Amharic various other alphabets of Ethiopia and Eritrea
Unicode range	U+1200–U+137F Ethiopic U+1380–U+139F Ethiopic Supplement U+2D80–U+2DDF Ethiopic Extended U+AB00–U+AB2F Ethiopic Extended-A U+1E7E0–U+1E7FF Ethiopic Extended-B
ISO 15924	Ethi
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

The Geʽez script (pronounced GEE-ez) is a special writing system used for many languages in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It started as an abjad, which is a type of alphabet where only consonants are written down. Later, it changed into an abugida (also called an alphasyllabary), where each letter represents a consonant and a vowel sound combined.

Geʽez was first used to write the Geʽez language. This language is now mainly used for religious services by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and other Christian and Jewish groups in the region. In languages like Amharic and Tigrinya, people often call the script fidäl, which means "script" or "letter".

The Geʽez script has been changed and used for many other languages, especially those spoken in Ethiopia and Eritrea. These include Amharic, Tigrinya, Tigre, and Bilen. It has also been used for some Nilotic languages and in the past for some Omotic languages.

History and Origins of Geʽez

A painting of St. Sisinnios on horseback spearing the demon Wǝrzalyā on a Geʻez prayer scroll used to get rid of evil spirits.

The Geʽez script comes from the Ancient South Arabian script. This older script was used in the area that is now Yemen. The very first writings in Semitic languages found in Eritrea and Ethiopia are from about 900 BCE. These early writings used a script called Epigraphic South Arabian (ESA), which was an abjad (consonant-only alphabet).

Over time, from the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, the South Arabian script started to change. It slowly became the Geʽez abugida we know today. You can see these changes in old writings found on rocks and in caves in northern Ethiopia and parts of Eritrea. The oldest known example of the Geʽez script is on the Hawulti obelisk in Matara, Eritrea.

By the first centuries CE, an early form of Geʽez, called "Old Ethiopic," appeared. This was still an abjad and was written from right to left. Its letters looked very similar to the consonant parts of the modern Geʽez script.

How Geʽez Got its Vowels

The big change for Geʽez happened around the 4th century CE. This is when vowels were added to the script. Before this, you only wrote the consonants. After this change, each letter showed both a consonant and a vowel sound. The first fully vocalized texts (with vowels) were found in inscriptions by King Ezana.

Some people think that vowels were added to Geʽez to help remember how to say the words correctly. This might have happened because the Geʽez language was already becoming less common. The common people were starting to speak other languages in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Some scholars also think that the idea of adding vowels might have come from Brahmic scripts in India. This is because the Kingdom of Aksum, where Geʽez was used, was a major trade center connected to India.

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

According to the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the original consonant-only Geʽez script was given to a biblical figure named Enos. They believe the system for adding vowels was created by a group of scholars led by Frumentius. He was a missionary who helped convert King Ezana to Christianity in the 4th century.

Geʽez Letters and Their Origins

Geʽez has 26 letters for consonants. It shares many letters with the South Arabian writing system. Some letters were changed or new ones were created for Geʽez. For example, the letter for "P̣" (ጰ) is a Geʽez invention, and the letter for "P" (ፐ) is based on the letter for "T" (ተ).

Here are some of the Geʽez letters and their South Arabian relatives:

A sign in Amharic using the Geʻez script at the Ethiopian millennium celebration.

How the Geʽez Writing System Works

The Geʽez language used two main writing systems over time: first an abjad, and then an abugida.

Geʽez as an Abjad

The abjad form of Geʽez was used until Christianity arrived around 350 CE. It had 26 consonant letters. In this system, vowels were not written. You had to know the word to guess the vowel sounds. It was written from right to left.

Geʽez as an Abugida

A passage from the Genesis in Geʽez, from the 15th century.

Today, Geʽez is written from left to right.

When Christianity became important, the Geʽez script changed into an abugida. This meant that small marks were added to the consonant letters to show which vowel sound came after them. These marks are added in a way that makes each letter represent a syllable (a consonant and a vowel together).

The basic form of a consonant is used when the vowel sound is "ä" (like the 'u' in 'but'). This is called the "inherent vowel." For most consonants, there are seven main forms for different vowels. Some letters also have extra forms for sounds like "-wa" or "-jä".

If a consonant doesn't have a vowel after it (for example, at the end of a syllable or in a group of consonants), the "ə" form (the sixth column in the table below) is used.

Special Consonants: Labiovelar Variants

Some consonants in Geʽez are called "labiovelar" because they are pronounced with rounded lips. These letters are slightly different versions of the regular velar consonants.

These special labiovelar letters can only be combined with five different vowel sounds, not the usual seven.

Geʽez for Other Languages

The Geʽez abugida has been changed to fit many modern languages spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Often, new letters were created to represent sounds that weren't in the original Geʽez language. This was usually done by adding a horizontal line to the top of a similar-sounding consonant.

Here are some examples of these added letters:

These new letters also have different forms for vowels, just like the original Geʽez letters.

How Geʽez Letters are Ordered

For Geʽez, Amharic, Tigrinya, and Tigre, the letters are usually sorted in an order called halähamä (h–l–ħ–m). If there are labiovelar variants (like those with rounded lips), they come right after their basic consonant. For example, in Tigrinya, the letters based on ከ are ordered like this: ከ, ኰ, ኸ, ዀ.

This letter order is similar to what is found in other ancient scripts from the South Semitic region.

Geʽez Numerals

A coin from Emperor Menelik II with the date ፲፰፻፹፱ (1889) in Geʽez numerals.

Geʽez uses its own system for writing numbers, similar to how ancient Greek or Hebrew used letters for numbers. However, Geʽez doesn't have separate symbols for multiples of 100. So, to write 475, you would write "4-100-70-5" (፬፻፸፭). For 83,692, it's "8-10,000-30-6-100-90-2" (፰፼፴፮፻፺፪).

When numbers are written, they usually have a line above and below them. These lines are meant to join together to form a single bar.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
× 1	፩	፪	፫	፬	፭	፮	፯	፰	፱
× 10	፲	፳	፴	፵	፶	፷	፸	፹	፺
× 100	፻
× 10,000	፼

The Ethiopian numerals were borrowed from the Greek numerals, possibly through Coptic letters.

Punctuation in Geʽez

Geʽez uses its own set of punctuation marks. Many of these are quite modern.

• ፠ section mark
• ፡ word separator
• ። full stop (like a period)
• ፣ comma
• ፥ colon
• ፤ semicolon
• ፦ preface colon (used before lists or quotes)
• ፧ question mark
• ፨ paragraph separator

Geʽez in Computers (Unicode)

The Geʽez script has special codes in Unicode. This allows computers and phones to display Geʽez text correctly. The main codes for Geʽez, Amharic, and Tigrinya letters, along with punctuation and numbers, are found between U+1200 and U+137F. There are also other Unicode ranges for letters used in other languages like Sebat Bet, Meʼen, Bilen, and Gurage languages.

Geʽez in Western Culture

• The Geʽez script is considered sacred in the Rastafari movement. You might see it used in Roots reggae music album covers.
• Two Western documentaries, 500 Years Later (፭፻-ዓመታት በኋላ) and Motherland (እናት ሀገር), were among the first to use Geʽez characters in their titles. The script also appears in their trailers and ads.

See also

• Ancient South Arabian script
• History of the alphabet