How many letters does Amharic have?

The number usually quoted is 238, but that is not a count of letters in the Hebrew or Latin sense. The fidel is an abugida: 34 base consonants, each with seven forms according to the vowel — 34 × 7. You learn 34 consonants and seven modification patterns, not 238 separate characters.

What is the difference between Ge'ez and Amharic?

Ge'ez is an ancient Semitic language used in Aksum that became a sacred language — the Orit and the prayers of Beta Israel are written in it, and the Kessim train to read and pray in it. It is virtually no one's native tongue. Amharic is a living, spoken language. The two share the same script — the fidel — so someone who can read Amharic can also follow a Ge'ez reading, even without understanding every word.

I understand Amharic but do not speak it. Where do I start?

From a very good starting point. You already hold the sounds and the rhythm — the hardest parts to acquire later. Two practical steps: first the letters, because they unlock every written source and anchor vocabulary; second, short sentences you actually use at home, mistakes and all. Parents and grandparents almost always help correct once they see you are seriously trying.

Why do some phrases have two versions?

Because in Amharic the verb changes according to the gender of the person addressed — who you are speaking to, not who you are. “I love you” to a woman is əwäddəšallähu and to a man əwäddəhallähu. It is the most common beginner mistake, and the one a grandmother notices instantly. Both forms are given above wherever they differ.

Learning Amharic — the alphabet, family words, and where to study

The full fidel chart, words you can say to your parents and grandmother today, and a verified list of the places you can actually study. Plus the 5-unit bagrut — and how to sit it even if your school does not teach Amharic.

Last reviewed: August 31, 2026

In brief, in Amharic

አማርኛ መማር ወይም መልሶ ማግኘት ትፈልጋላችሁ? ይህ ገጽ ሦስት ነገሮችን ይሰጣል።

አንደኛ — ሙሉ የፊደል ሰንጠረዥ። 34 ተነባቢዎች በ7 ቅርጾች፤ በአጠቃላይ 238 ምልክቶች። እያንዳንዱን ምልክት ተጭነው አነባበቡን ማየት ትችላላችሁ።

ሁለተኛ — ለቤተሰብ የሚሆኑ መሠረታዊ ቃላትና ሰላምታዎች፣ በአማርኛ ፊደልና በላቲን ፊደል ተጽፈው።

ሦስተኛ — በእስራኤል አማርኛ የሚያስተምሩ የተረጋገጡ ቦታዎች ዝርዝር። አማርኛ በሁለተኛ ደረጃ ትምህርት ቤት የ5 ዩኒት የመመረቂያ ትምህርት ነው፤ ትምህርት ቤታችሁ ባያስተምረውም ፈተናውን መውሰድ ትችላላችሁ።

“Mum, don't speak Amharic to me” — and how you come back from it

Many children who grew up in Israel to Ethiopian-born parents asked, at some point, that their parents not speak Amharic to them in public. It was almost never about the language — it was about not standing out. The language paid the price. The result is familiar: a generation that understands far more than it speaks, and a generation of parents who find they cannot have a deep conversation with their own children in the language they are most precise in. With grandparents the gap is wider still — sometimes there is no shared language at all. The good news is that "passive comprehension" is an unusually good starting point. Anyone who grew up hearing Amharic at home already holds the sound system and the rhythm — the parts that are hardest to acquire later. What is usually missing is the letters and active vocabulary, and those can be learned. This page is built for three groups: people who want to start reading, people who want sentences to use at home this week, and people who want a structured course.

How the fidel works — and why it is easier than it looks

A table of 238 characters looks intimidating, but it is not 238 things to learn. The fidel is an abugida: each character is a syllable — a consonant and a vowel together — not a single letter. The structure is a grid. There are 34 base consonants, and each has seven forms according to the vowel attached to it. The base form is called gəʿəz (ግዕዝ) and is pronounced with the vowel "ä", followed by six more: u, i, a, e, ə, o. The change between forms is systematic — an added stroke, a loop, or a change in the direction of a leg. So: you learn 34 consonants and seven modification patterns, and you get 238 syllables. This is why children in Ethiopia read relatively early — once the system clicks, reading is almost one-to-one: what is written is what is said. The same script serves three languages: Ge'ez — the prayer language of Beta Israel, Amharic, and Tigrinya. Someone who learns to read Amharic can also follow the reading at Sigd.

Bagrut in Amharic — 5 units, even if your school does not teach it

This is the least-known entitlement on this page: Amharic is a recognised elective bagrut subject at the 5-unit level in upper-secondary school (grades 10–12). What matters most: the director-general's circular instructs principals on how to let even a single student sit the exam when the subject is not taught at the school. In that case the exam mark becomes the final grade in the subject. In other words — the absence of an Amharic teacher at your school is not the end of the road. Also from the circular: • The subject is studied in upper-secondary as an expanded subject, at a recommended scope of roughly 15 weekly hours spread over three years. • Assessment splits into externally assessed core knowledge and school-assessed enrichment content. • Only teachers holding an academic degree and a teaching certificate in Amharic, recognised by the Amharic-teaching inspectorate, may teach it. The practical step: go to the school counsellor or exams coordinator, show them the circular, and ask them to look into entering you for the exam. If you are refused, this is exactly the situation where you attach the circular itself to a written request.

The full fidel chart

34 consonants, seven vowels, 238 syllables. Tap a character to see it large, with its romanisation and the name of its order.

Pick a character from the chart

The full fidel chart
Base consonant	ግዕዝ-ä	ካዕብ-u	ሣልስ-i	ራብዕ-a	ኃምስ-e	ሳድስ-ə	ሳብዕ-o
h
l
ḥ
m
ś
r
s
š
q
b
v
t
č
ḫ
n
ñ
ʾ
k
x
w
ʿ
z
ž
y
d
j
g
ṭ
č̣
p̣
ṣ
ḍ
f
p

Words and sentences for the family

The Latin transliteration is a scholarly romanisation, not a pronunciation guide — ə is a short central vowel, and ṭ, ṣ, q are ejective consonants with no Hebrew equivalent. The best way to learn the pronunciation is to ask a speaker to read them to you.

The family

ቤተሰብbetäsäbfamily
እናትənnatmother (the noun)To address her directly you say əmmayé (እማዬ) — “my mum”.
አባትabbatfather (the noun)To address him directly: abbayé (አባዬ).
ሴት አያትset ayatgrandmotherayat alone = grandparent; set = female, wänd = male.
ወንድ አያትwänd ayatgrandfather
ወንድምwändəmmbrother
እህትəhətsister
ልጅləjchild

Greetings and courtesy

ሰላምsälamhello / peaceWorks at any hour with anyone — the safest opener.
ጤና ይስጥልኝṭena yəsṭəlləña respectful formal greeting (“may he grant you health”)The greeting to use with a Kes, community elders and older guests.
እንደምን አደርሽəndämən addäršgood morning — to a woman
እንደምን አደርክəndämən addärkgood morning — to a man
አመሰግናለሁamäsäggənallähuthank you
እንኳን ደህና መጣሽənkʷan dähna mäṭṭašwelcome — to a woman
እንኳን ደህና መጣህənkʷan dähna mäṭṭahwelcome — to a man
አዎawoyes
የለምyällämno / there isn't

Sentences to say at home

እወድሻለሁəwäddəšallähuI love you — to a womanThe sentence most worth practising. To a mother, a grandmother, a sister.
እወድሃለሁəwäddəhallähuI love you — to a man
ደህና ነሽdähna näšhow are you? — to a woman
ደህና ነህdähna nähhow are you? — to a man
አማርኛ እየተማርኩ ነውamarəñña əyyätämarku näwI am learning AmharicThe sentence that opens the conversation — and explains in advance why the pronunciation is not there yet.
ቀስ ብለሽ ንገሪኝqäss bläš nägäriñtell me slowly — to a womanTo a man: qäss bläh nägäräñ (ቀስ ብለህ ንገረኝ).
ደህና ሁኚdähna huñigoodbye — to a womanTo a man: dähna hun (ደህና ሁን).

Where to study — a verified list

Every entry here was checked and read on the publication date. We state only what the provider's own site says.

Learning Amharic with Joy (ትዕግሥት / Tegest)
Visit site ↗
An educational initiative teaching Amharic to Hebrew-speaking children. The site offers learning kits for letter recognition and vocabulary, school workshops and activities, a digital course with games, and free downloads — colouring pages, family activities and materials for educators. Its “Amharic, Tell Me Culture” programme is aimed at elementary schools and combines language with Ethiopian culture. Founded by Tegest Felkea, who holds a master's in education and has over 17 years in the Israeli school system.
Who it is for:
Hebrew-speaking children, families and elementary schools
Cost:
Some materials are free to download; kits, workshops and the digital course are paid — the price is not published on the site, so ask directly.
Contact:
learningt100@gmail.com
MuluApp — online Amharic courses
Visit site ↗
An online platform for the Amharic language and Ethiopian-Jewish culture. It offers a free “Introduction to Amharic” course and a paid “Fundamentals of Amharic — Part 1” focused on reading and writing. Lessons include exercises and quizzes, vocabulary building and cultural content, studied online at your own pace.
Who it is for:
Beginners and up, self-paced independent study
Cost:
The introductory course is free; the advanced course is paid.
Contact:
053-9739184
Amharic as a bagrut subject — Ministry of Education
Visit site ↗
Amharic is a recognised elective bagrut subject at the 5-unit level in upper-secondary school. The director-general's circular states that a school may enter a student for the exam even if the subject is not taught there, and an individual student may sit it — in which case the exam mark is the final grade. The pedagogical portal collects the curriculum, teaching materials and subject pedagogy.
Who it is for:
Upper-secondary students (grades 10–12) — including those whose school does not teach Amharic
Cost:
No cost — within the public education system.
Amharic for Beginners — Tel Aviv University
Visit site ↗
The Department of Hebrew Language and Semitic Linguistics offers Ethiopian-language studies — Ge'ez and Amharic. The course “Amharic for Beginners” (0624-3003-01) covers phonology, morphology and syntax, with text reading and recordings of the spoken language. Attendance is mandatory.
Who it is for:
Students — academic study of the language
Cost:
Within academic tuition. Course offerings change year to year — check the current-year course catalogue.

What we did not find

We searched for Amharic courses run by municipalities and community centres in the cities with the largest Ethiopian-Israeli populations, and found no live, dated course page we could point to with confidence. Such courses may well run without being published online. If you know of one — or run one — tell us and we will add it after verifying. We would rather publish a short accurate list than a long one where half the links go nowhere.

Frequently asked questions

How many letters does Amharic have?
The number usually quoted is 238, but that is not a count of letters in the Hebrew or Latin sense. The fidel is an abugida: 34 base consonants, each with seven forms according to the vowel — 34 × 7. You learn 34 consonants and seven modification patterns, not 238 separate characters.
What is the difference between Ge'ez and Amharic?
Ge'ez is an ancient Semitic language used in Aksum that became a sacred language — the Orit and the prayers of Beta Israel are written in it, and the Kessim train to read and pray in it. It is virtually no one's native tongue. Amharic is a living, spoken language. The two share the same script — the fidel — so someone who can read Amharic can also follow a Ge'ez reading, even without understanding every word.
My school does not teach Amharic — can I still sit the bagrut?
Yes. The Ministry of Education's director-general circular instructs principals on how to let even a single student sit an exam in a subject not taught at the school. In that case the exam mark is the final grade in the subject, with no school-assessed component. Go to your counsellor or exams coordinator and show them the circular.
I understand Amharic but do not speak it. Where do I start?
From a very good starting point. You already hold the sounds and the rhythm — the hardest parts to acquire later. Two practical steps: first the letters, because they unlock every written source and anchor vocabulary; second, short sentences you actually use at home, mistakes and all. Parents and grandparents almost always help correct once they see you are seriously trying.
Why do some phrases have two versions?
Because in Amharic the verb changes according to the gender of the person addressed — who you are speaking to, not who you are. “I love you” to a woman is əwäddəšallähu and to a man əwäddəhallähu. It is the most common beginner mistake, and the one a grandmother notices instantly. Both forms are given above wherever they differ.