View source for Amharic

{{Short description|Ethio-Semitic language}}
{{Distinguish|Aramaic|Amorite language|Arabic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}

{{Infobox language
| name             = Amharic
| nativename       = {{lang|am|አማርኛ}} {{lang|am-latn|Amarəñña}}, {{lang|am| አማርኛ ቋንቋ}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|am|amarɨɲːa||Amarigna.ogg}}
| states           = [[Ethiopia]]
| ethnicity        = [[Amhara people|Amhara]], spoken by other peoples in [[Ethiopia]]
| speakers         = [[first language|L1]]: {{sigfig|34.883130|2}} million
| date             = 2020
| ref              = <ref>{{e28|amh}}</ref>
| speakers2        = [[second language|L2]]: {{sigfig|25.117900|2}} million (2019)<ref>{{e28|amh}}</ref> Total: 
{{sigfig|60.001530|2}} million (2019–2020)<ref>{{e28|amh}}</ref>
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| familycolor      = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2             = [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
| fam3             = [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]]
| fam4             = [[South Semitic languages|South Semitic]]
| fam5             = [[Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiopic]]
| fam6             = [[Ethiopian Semitic languages|South]]
| fam7             = [[Ethiopian Semitic languages|Transversal]]
| fam8             = [[Amharic language|Amharic–Argobba]]
| script           = [[Geʽez script]] (Amharic abugida)<br />[[Geʽez Braille]]
| nation           = Ethiopia<ref name="africanews.com">{{cite news |last1=Shaban |first1=Abdurahman |title=One to five: Ethiopia gets four new federal working languages |url=https://www.africanews.com/2020/03/04/one-to-five-ethiopia-gets-four-new-federal-working-languages// |agency=Africa News |access-date=22 January 2021 |archive-date=15 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215231030/https://www.africanews.com/2020/03/04/one-to-five-ethiopia-gets-four-new-federal-working-languages// |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| agency           = [[Imperial Academy (Ethiopia)|Imperial Academy]] (former)
| iso1             = am
| iso2             = amh
| iso3             = amh
| lingua           = 12-ACB-a
| image            = Amharic.svg
| imagescale       = 0.7
| notice           = IPA
| sign             = Signed Amharic<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Morgan|first=Mike|title=Complexities of Ethiopian Sign Language Contact Phenomena & Implications for AAU|url=https://www.academia.edu/1230482|date=9 April 2010|journal=L'Alliance française et le Centre Français des Études Éthiopiennes|access-date=3 June 2017}}</ref>
| glotto           = amha1245
| glottorefname    = Amharic
| imagecaption     = Amharic script, ''fidäl'', from [[Geʽez script]]
}}

'''Amharic'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|æ|m|ˈ|h|ær|ɪ|k}} {{respell|am|HARR|ik}}<ref>Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh; ''Collins English Dictionary'' (2003), ''Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary'' (2010)</ref><ref>{{OED|Amharic}}</ref><ref>{{MerriamWebsterDictionary|Amharic}}</ref> or {{IPAc-en|ɑː|m|ˈ|h|ɑr|ɪ|k}} {{respell|ahm|HAR|ik}};<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/amharic |title=Amharic |website=dictionary.com |access-date=10 August 2013}}</ref> {{langx|am|አማርኛ|label=[[endonym|native name]]|Amarəñña}}, {{IPA|am|amarɨɲːa|IPA|Amarigna.ogg}}}} is an [[Ethio-Semitic languages|Ethio-Semitic language]], which is a subgrouping within the [[Semitic languages|Semitic branch]] of the [[Afroasiatic languages]]. It is spoken as a [[first language]] by the [[Amhara people]], and also serves as a [[lingua franca]] for all other metropolitan populations in [[Ethiopia]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Meyer |first=Ronny |year=2011 |chapter=The Role of Amharic as a National Language and an African lingua franca |editor=Stefan Weninger |title=The Semitic Languages |place=Berlin |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |pages=1212–1220}}</ref>

The language serves as the official [[working language]] of the Ethiopian federal government, and is also the official or working language of several of [[Regions of Ethiopia|Ethiopia's federal regions]].<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Gebremichael |first=M. |year=2011 |title=Federalism and conflict management in Ethiopia: case study of Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State |type=PhD |location=United Kingdom |publisher=University of Bradford |hdl=10454/5388}}</ref> In 2020 in Ethiopia, it had over 33.7 million mother-tongue speakers of which 31 million are ethnically Amhara, and more than 25.1 million [[second language]] speakers in 2019, making the [[Languages by total speakers|total number of speakers]] over 58.8 million.<ref>{{e28|amh}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=2023 International Conference on Inventive Computation Technologies (ICICT)|author1=Shaik Johny Basha|author2=Duggineni Veeraiah|author3=Boddu Venkat Charan|author4=Wiltrud Sahithi Yeddu|author5=Devalla Ganesh Babu| chapter=Detection and Comparative Analysis of Handwritten Words of Amharic Language to English using CNN-Based Frameworks|year=2023|pages=422–427|doi=10.1109/ICICT57646.2023.10134103| isbn=979-8-3503-9849-6| s2cid=259028086}}</ref> Amharic is the largest, most widely spoken language in Ethiopia, and the most spoken mother-tongue in Ethiopia. Amharic is also the second most widely spoken Semitic language in the world (after [[Arabic]]).<ref name=e25>{{ethnologue25|amh}}</ref><ref name="The world factbook">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/ethiopia/| title=The world factbook |website=cia.gov| date=2 March 2022 }}</ref>

[[#Alphabet|Amharic is written]] left-to-right using a system that grew out of the [[Geʽez script]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Adugna|first=Gabe|title=Research: Language Learning – Amharic: Home|url=https://library.bu.edu/amharic/Home|access-date=2021-12-08|website=library.bu.edu|language=en}}</ref> The segmental [[Writing systems#Segmental writing system|writing system]] in which consonant-vowel sequences are written as units is called an ''[[abugida]]'' ({{lang|am|አቡጊዳ}}).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Amharic alphabet, pronunciation and language|url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/amharic.htm|access-date=26 July 2017|website=www.omniglot.com}}</ref> The graphemes are called {{Lang|am-latn|fidäl}} ({{lang|am|ፊደል}}), which means {{Gloss|script, alphabet, letter, character}}.

There is no universally agreed-upon [[Romanization]] of Amharic into [[Latin script]]. The Amharic examples in the sections below use one system that is common among linguists specializing in Ethiopian Semitic languages.

== Dialects ==
Not much has been published about Amharic dialect differences. All dialects are [[mutually intelligible]], but certain minor variations are noted.<ref>{{cite book |last=Tefera |first=Anbessa |title=The Beta Israel in Ethiopia and Israel, Studies on the Ethiopian Jews |publisher=Curzon Press |year=1999 |isbn=0-7007-1092-2 |editor-last=Parfitt |editor-first=T. |location=London |pages=257–263 |chapter=Differences Between the Amharic Dialects of Gondär and Addis Abäba |editor2-last=Semi |editor2-first=E. Trevisan}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aklilu |first1=Amsalu |last2=Marcos |first2=Habte Mariam |year=1973 |title=The dialect of Wällo |journal=Journal of Ethiopian Studies |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=124–29 |jstor=41988260}}</ref>

=== Jewish Amharic ===
The [[Beta Israel]] who today live mostly in Israel speak a dialect of Amharic called Jewish Amharic ({{Langx|he|אמהרית מעוברת|links=no|rtl=yes}}). It replaced many Christian phrases with Jewish ones. One example is the replacing the phrase "It is good that Mary had pardoned you" with "It is good that God has relieved you peacefully"; these phrases are used to congratulate a mother on successful childbirth. Another example is calling a type of grasshopper "Moses's horses" instead of "Mary's horses".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Jewish Ethiopian |url=https://www.jewishlanguages.org/jewish-ethiopian |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Jewish Languages |language=en}}</ref> This variety also contains influence from [[Modern Hebrew]] due to the large Beta Israel presence in Israel. Currently Jewish Amharic is declining as the Beta Israel gradually abandon Amharic in favor of Hebrew.<ref name=":1" />

==History==
Amharic has been the official working language of Ethiopia, language of the courts, the language of trade and everyday communications and of the military since the late 12th century. The Amhara nobles supported the [[Zagwe dynasty|Zagwe]] prince [[Gebre Meskel Lalibela|Lalibela]] in his power struggle against his brothers which led him to make Amharic ''Lisane Negus'' (tongue of the king) as well as fill the [[Amharas|Amhara]] nobles in the top positions of his kingdom.<ref>Mohammad Hassan, The Oromo of Ethiopia, pp.3</ref> The appellation of {{Gloss|language of the king}} ({{Langx|gez|ልሳነ ነጋሢ}}, {{Lang|gez-latn|Lǝssanä nägaśi}}; {{Langx|am|የነጋሢ ቋንቋ}}, {{Lang|am-latn|Yä-nägaśi qʷanqʷa}}) and its use in the royal court are otherwise traced to the [[Amharas|Amhara]] Emperor [[Yekuno Amlak]].<ref>The Southern Marches of Imperial Ethiopia: Essays in History and Social Anthropology, Donham Donald Donham, Lecturer in Social Anthropology Wendy James, Dr, PhD, Former Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Christopher Clapham, Patrick Manning CUP Archive, Sep 4, 1986, p. 11, https://books.google.com/books?id=dvk8AAAAIAAJ&q=Lisane+amharic</ref><ref>Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia, Paul B. Henze, November 18th 2008, p. 78, https://books.google.com/books?id=3VYBDgAAQBAJ&q=Lisane</ref> It is one of the [[official language]]s of [[Ethiopia]], together with other regions like [[Oromo language|Oromo]], [[Somali language|Somali]], [[Afar language|Afar]], and [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]]. Amharic is an Afro-Asiatic language of the Southwest Semitic group and is related to [[Geʽez]], or Ethiopic, the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox church; Amharic is written in a slightly modified form of the alphabet used for writing the Geʽez language. There are 34 basic characters, each of which has seven forms depending on which vowel is to be pronounced in the syllable. There are also 49 "wa" letters, which form compound sounds involving "w." All together, the alphabet has some 280 letters. Until 2020 Amharic was the sole official language of Ethiopia.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ethiopia to Add 4 More Official Languages to Foster Unity  |url=http://venturesafrica.com/ethiopia-to-add-4-more-official-languages-to-foster-unity/ |website=Ventures Africa |date=4 March 2020 |publisher=Ventures |access-date=2 February 2021 |last1=Emi |first1=Ishioma }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ethiopia is adding four more official languages to Amharic as political instability mounts |url=https://www.nazret.com/2020/03/07/ethiopia-is-adding-four-more-official-languages-to-amharic-as-political-instability-mounts/ |website=Nazret |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817225007/https://www.nazret.com/2020/03/07/ethiopia-is-adding-four-more-official-languages-to-amharic-as-political-instability-mounts/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="africanews.com" /><ref name="Meyer">{{Cite journal|last=Meyer|first=Ronny|year=2006|title=Amharic as lingua franca in Ethiopia|url=https://www.academia.edu/5514187|journal=Lissan: Journal of African Languages and Linguistics|language=en|volume=20|issue=1/2|pages=117–131|via=Academia.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter=Amharic: Political and social effects on English loan words |first=Anbessa |last=Teferra |year=2013 |title=Globally Speaking: Motives for Adopting English Vocabulary in Other Languages |editor1-first=Judith |editor1-last=Rosenhouse |editor2-first=Rotem |editor2-last=Kowner |publisher=Multilingual Matters |page=165}}</ref> The 2007 census reported that Amharic was spoken by 21.6 million native speakers in Ethiopia.<ref name="catalog.ihsn.org">Central Statistical Agency. 2010. "[http://catalog.ihsn.org/index.php/catalog/3583/download/50086 Population and Housing Census 2007 Report, National]". Accessed 13 December 2016].</ref> More recent sources state the number of first-language speakers in 2018 as nearly 32 million, with another 25 million second-language speakers in Ethiopia.<ref name="e25" /> Additionally, 3 million emigrants outside of Ethiopia speak the language.{{Citation needed|date=June 2017}} Most of the [[Ethiopian Jewish]] communities in Ethiopia and [[Israel]] speak Amharic.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/06/geez-language-only-left-in-lithurgy.html|title=Israel's Ethiopian Jews keep ancient language alive in prayer|date=29 June 2017|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=26 July 2017|language=en-us}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=June 2017}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ohr.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ohr/publication/attachments/LAAFactSheet-English.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919063500/http://ohr.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ohr/publication/attachments/LAAFactSheet-English.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-19 |url-status=live|title=Language Access Act Fact Sheet|date=5 October 2011|access-date=11 October 2016}}</ref> Furthermore, Amharic is considered a [[holy language]] by the [[Rastafari]] religion and is widely used among its followers worldwide.[[File:Ethiopian anthem (since 1992) in amharic.jpg|thumb|upright=1.36|The [[March Forward, Dear Mother Ethiopia|Ethiopian anthem]] (since 1992) in Amharic, done on manual typewriter.]]
=== Linguistic development theory ===

Early [[Afroasiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]] populations speaking proto-[[Semitic languages|Semitic]], proto-[[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]] and proto-[[Omotic languages|Omotic]] languages would have diverged by the fourth or fifth millennium BC. Shortly afterwards, the proto-Cushitic and proto-Omotic groups would have settled in the Ethiopian highlands, with the proto-Semitic speakers crossing the [[Sinai Peninsula]] into [[Asia]]. A later return movement of peoples from [[South Arabia]] would have introduced the Semitic languages to Ethiopia.<ref name="Levine2728" /> Based on archaeological evidence, the presence of Semitic speakers in the territory date to some time before 500 BC.<ref name="eoaamhara">{{cite book|last1=Appiah|first1=Anthony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0XNvklcqbwC&pg=PA96|title=Encyclopedia of Africa|author2=Henry Louis Gates|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-19-533770-9|page=96}}</ref> Linguistic analysis suggests the presence of Semitic languages in Ethiopia as early as 2000 BC. Levine indicates that by the end of that millennium, the core inhabitants of Greater Ethiopia would have consisted of dark-skinned agropastoralists speaking Afro-Asiatic languages of the Semitic, Cushitic and Omotic branches.<ref name="Levine2728">{{cite book|first=Donald N.|last=Levine|title=Greater Ethiopia: The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZHeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27|year=2014|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-22967-6|pages=27–28|quote=The analysis of linguistic distributions suggests that the proto-Ethiopians of the third millennium B.C. spoke languages derived from a single stock, that is known as Hamito-Semitic or Afro-Asiatic. This ancestral language probably originated in the eastern Sahara, before the desiccation of that region... the homeland of Afro-Asiatic may have been in southwest Ethiopia. Wherever the origins of Afro-Asiatic, it seems clear that peoples speaking proto-Cushitic and proto-Omotic separated as groups with distinct languages by the fifth or fourth millennium BC and began peopling the Ethiopian plateaus not long after. Proto-Semitic separated at about the same time or somewhat earlier and passed over into Asia Minor... it seems reasonable to follow I. M. Diakonoff in assuming that the Semitic-speakers moved from the Sahara across the Nile Delta over Sinai, so that the presence of Semitic-speaking populations in Ethiopia must be attributed to a return movement of Semitic-speakers into Africa from South Arabia... As a base line for reconstructing the history of Greater Ethiopia, then, we may consider it plausible that by the end of the third millenium<!--sic, according to Google Books snippet view--> B.C. its main inhabitants were dark-skinned Caucasoid or "Afro-Mediterranean" peoples practicing rudimentary forms of agriculture and animal husbandry and speaking three branches of Afro-Asiatic – Semitic, Cushitic and Omotic.}}</ref>

Other scholars such as Messay Kebede and Daniel E. Alemu argue that migration across the Red Sea was defined by reciprocal exchange, if it even occurred at all, and that Ethio-Semitic-speaking ethnic groups should not be characterized as foreign invaders.<ref name="Kebede 2003 1–19">{{Cite journal |last=Kebede |first=Messay |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27828817 |date=2003 |title=Eurocentrism and Ethiopian Historiography: Deconstructing Semitization |department=University of Dayton-Department of Philosophy |journal=International Journal of Ethiopian Studies |publisher=Tsehai Publishers |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=1–19 |jstor=27828817 }}</ref><ref name="Alemu 2007 56–64">{{Cite journal|last=Alemu|first=Daniel E.|date=2007|title=Re-imagining the Horn|journal=African Renaissance|volume=4|issue=1|pages=56–64|via=Ingenta}}</ref>

Amharic is a South Ethio-Semitic language, along with [[Gurage languages|Gurage]], [[Argobba language|Argobba]], [[Harari language|Harari]], and others.<ref name=":Meyer2011">{{cite book |last=Meyer |first=Ronny |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMzgBLT87MkC&dq=amharic+proto+ethio+semitic&pg=PA1178 |title=The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook |date=2011 |publisher=Walter De Gruyter |isbn=9783110251586 |editor-last=Weninger |editor-first=Stefan |location= |pages=1178–1212 |chapter=Amharic |author-link=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Edzard |first=Lutz |title=The Semitic Languages |publisher=Routledge |year=2019 |editor1=John Huehnergard |location=London |pages=202–226 |chapter=Amharic |editor2=Naʽama Pat-El}}</ref><ref name=":Hetzron72p36">{{Cite book |last=Hetzron |first=Robert |title=Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1972 |isbn=9780719011238 |pages=36 |language=English}}</ref> While [[Tigrinya language|Tigrinya]] is 68% similar to Geʽez, the lexical similarity of Amharic to the ancient language is lower at 62%.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bender |first1=M. L. |title=The Languages of Ethiopia: A New Lexicostatistic Classification and Some Problems of Diffusion |journal=Anthropological Linguistics |date=May 1971 |volume=13 |issue=5 |page=173 |jstor=30029540}}</ref> Due to the social stratification of the time, the Cushitic [[Agaw people|Agaw]] adopted the South Ethio-Semitic language and eventually absorbed the Semitic population.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hetzron |first=Robert |title=Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1972 |isbn=9780719011238 |pages=36, 87–88 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Appleyard |first=David |title=Amharic: History and dialectology of Amharic |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Aethopica |volume=1 |page=235}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Butts |first=Aaron Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lai8CgAAQBAJ&dq=amhara+old+agaw&pg=PA22 |title=Semitic languages in contact |date=2015 |publisher=Brill |isbn= 9789004300156|location=Leiden, Boston |pages=18–21 |language=English |oclc=1083204409 |author-link=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Amhara {{!}} Definition, History, & Culture |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Amhara |access-date=2022-04-17 |website=Britannica  |language=en}}</ref> Amharic thus developed a larger Cushitic [[Substrata (linguistics)|substratum]] than the more northwardly languages where it also exists such as the [[Modern South Arabian]] family, along with the Semitic [[superstratum]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hetzron |first=Robert |title=Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1972 |isbn=9780719011238 |pages=88 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Demeke |first=Girma |title=The Origin of Amharic |publisher=The Red Sea Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-56902-379-2 |pages=45–52 |language=English |oclc=824502290}}</ref> The northernmost South Ethio-Semitic speakers, or the proto-Amhara, remained in constant contact with their North Ethio-Semitic neighbors, evidenced by linguistic analysis and oral traditions.<ref>{{cite book|title=Understanding Contemporary Ethiopia: Monarchy, Revolution and the Legacy of Meles Zenawi|date=2015|publisher=C. Hurst & Co.|isbn=9781849042611|editor1-last=Prunier|editor1-first=Gérard|location=London|page=19 |editor2-last=Ficquet|editor2-first=Éloi}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hetzron |first=Robert |title=Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1972 |isbn=9780719011238 |pages=124 |language=English}}</ref> A 7th century southward shift of the center of gravity of the [[Kingdom of Aksum]] and the ensuing integration and Christianization of the proto-Amhara also resulted in a high prevalence of Geʽez sourced lexicon in Amharic.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Demeke |first=Girma |title=The Origin of Amharic |publisher=The Red Sea Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-56902-379-2 |pages=15, 133–138 |language=English |oclc=824502290}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Butts |first=Aaron Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lai8CgAAQBAJ&dq=amhara+old+agaw&pg=PA22 |title=Semitic languages in contact |date=2015 |publisher=Brill |isbn= 9789004300156|location=Leiden, Boston |page=22 |oclc=1083204409 |author-link=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tamrat |first=Taddesse |title=Church and state in Ethiopia, 1270-1527 |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1972 |isbn=978-1-59907-039-1 |pages=34–38 |language=English |oclc=783536291}}</ref> Some time after the 9th century AD, Amharic diverged from its closest relative, [[Argobba language|Argobba]], probably due to religious differences as the [[Argobba people|Argobba]] adopted Islam.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Demeke |first=Girma |title=The Origin of Amharic |publisher=The Red Sea Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-56902-379-2 |pages=33, 131–137 |language=English |oclc=824502290}}</ref>

In 1983, Lionel Bender proposed that Amharic may have been constructed as a [[pidgin]] as early as the 4th century AD to enable communication between Aksumite soldiers speaking Semitic, Cushitic, and Omotic languages, but this hypothesis has not garnered widespread acceptance. The preservation in Old Amharic of [[Verb–subject–object word order|VSO word order]] and [[guttural]]s typical of Semitic languages, Cushitic influences shared with other Ethio-Semitic languages (especially those of the Southern branch), and the number of geographically distinct Cushitic languages that have influenced Amharic at different points in time support a [[Language change|natural evolution]] of Amharic from a Proto-Ethio-Semitic language with considerable Cushitic influences (similar to Gurage, Tigrinya, etc.).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Demeke |first=Girma |title=The Origin of Amharic |publisher=The Red Sea Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-56902-379-2 |pages=8–54 |language=English |oclc=824502290}}</ref><ref name=":Meyer2011" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hetzron |first=Robert |title=Ethiopian Semitic: Studies in Classification |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=1972 |isbn=9780719011238 |pages=22, 67, 88 |language=English}}</ref>

Based off Amharic terms loaned into nearby languages, and the distinction between /ʔ/, /a/, /x/, /h/, and /ħ/ in the earliest known written form of the language, pre-17th century Amharic exhibited all the [[Guttural|phonemes]] typical of Semitic languages. Along with that, pre-[[Gondarine period]] Amharic was not a rigidly [[Subject–object–verb word order|SOV word order]] language as it is today and a VSO order like that of [[Geʽez]] and [[Classical Arabic]] was common. During the end of the [[Ethiopia in the Middle Ages|medieval period]] a transition from the more Semtic-featured earlier version of the language, along with other sound shifts, to the more innovative modern Amharic took place.<ref name="MajorLanguages">{{cite book |last=Hudson |first=Grover |chapter=Amharic |title=The World's Major Languages |date=2009 |editor-last=Comrie |editor-first=Bernard |location=Oxon and New York |publisher=Routledge |pages=594–617 |isbn=978-0-203-30152-4}}</ref><ref>The Origin of Amharic - Girma A. Demeke, Red Sea Press, 2014</ref>

== Phonology ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Consonants<ref name="IPAHandbook">{{cite book|last=Hayward|first=Katrina|title=Handbook of the IPA|author2=Hayward, Richard J.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1999|location=Cambridge|pages=44–51|chapter=Amharic}}</ref>
|-
! colspan="2" |
![[Labial consonant|Labial]]
![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Labialized velar consonant|Labio-<br />Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
|{{IPAlink|m}}
|{{IPAlink|n}}
|{{IPAlink|ɲ}}
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Plosive]]/<br>[[Affricate]]
!<small>voiceless</small>
|{{IPAlink|p}}
|{{IPAlink|t}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃ}}
|{{IPAlink|k}}
|{{IPAlink|kʷ}}
|{{IPAlink|ʔ}}
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
|{{IPAlink|b}}
|{{IPAlink|d}}
|{{IPAlink|d͡ʒ}}
|{{IPAlink|ɡ}}
|{{IPAlink|ɡʷ}}
|
|-
!<small>[[Ejective consonant|ejective]]</small>
|{{IPAlink|pʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|tʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|t͡ʃʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|kʼ}}
|{{IPAlink|kʷʼ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Fricative]]
!<small>voiceless</small>
|{{IPAlink|f}}
|{{IPAlink|s}}
|{{IPAlink|ʃ}}
|
|
|{{IPAlink|h}}
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
|
|{{IPAlink|z}}
|{{IPAlink|ʒ}}
|
|
|
|-
!<small>[[Ejective consonant|ejective]]</small>
|
|{{IPAlink|sʼ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Approximant]]
|({{IPAlink|β̞}})
|{{IPAlink|l}}
|{{IPAlink|j}}
|
|{{IPAlink|w}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
|{{IPAlink|ɾ}} ({{IPAlink|r}})
|
|
|
|
|}
The Amharic [[ejective consonants]] correspond to the [[Proto-Semitic language|Proto-Semitic]] "[[emphatic consonants]]." In the Ethiopianist tradition they are often transcribed with a [[dot (diacritic)|dot]] below the letter. [[File:Amharic vowel chart.svg|thumb|upright=1.36|The vowels of Amharic on a [[vowel chart]].<ref name="IPAHandbook" /> Vowels in parentheses are [[allophone]]s of {{IPAslink|ɨ}} and {{IPAslink|ə}}.]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Vowels<ref name="IPAHandbook" />
|-
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[High vowel|High]]
|{{IPAlink|i}}
|{{IPAlink|ɨ}} {{angbr|ə}}
|{{IPAlink|u}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPAlink|e}}
|{{IPAlink|ə}} {{angbr|ä}}
|{{IPAlink|o}}
|-
![[Low vowel|Low]]
|
|{{IPAlink|a}}
|
|}
The notation of central vowels in the Ethiopianist tradition is shown in angled brackets.

=== Allophones ===
The [[voiced bilabial plosive]] /b/ is phonetically realized as a [[Voiced bilabial approximant|voiced labial approximant]] [β̞] medially between [[sonorant]]s in non-[[Gemination|geminated]] form. The fricative ejective /{{IPA link|sʼ}}/ is heard as a fricative ejective [{{IPA link|sʼ}}], but is mostly heard as the affricate sound [{{IPA link|t͡sʼ}}]. The [[rhotic consonant]] is realized as a [[Voiced alveolar trill|trill]] when geminated and a [[Voiced alveolar tap|tap]] otherwise. The [[Close central unrounded vowel|closed central unrounded vowel]] {{angle bracket|ə}} /ɨ/ and [[Mid central vowel|mid-central vowel]] {{angle bracket|ä}} /ə/ are generally fronted to [<nowiki/>[[Near-close near-front unrounded vowel|ɪ]]] and [<nowiki/>[[Open-mid front unrounded vowel|ɛ]]], respectively, following [[palatal consonant]]s, and generally retracted and rounded to [<nowiki/>[[Near-close near-back rounded vowel|ʊ]]] and [<nowiki/>[[Open-mid back rounded vowel|ɔ]]], respectively, following [[labialized velar consonant]]s.<ref name="IPAHandbook" />

==== Examples ====

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Geʽez !! Romanized !! IPA !! Gloss
|-
| {{lang|am|ከበሮ}} || {{lang|am-latn|käbäro}} || {{IPA|[kə'''β̞'''əɾo]|lang=am}}|| drum
|-
| {{lang|am|ብር}} || {{lang|am-latn|bərr}} || {{IPA|[bɨ'''r''']|lang=am}}|| [[Ethiopian birr]]
|-
| {{lang|am|ይህ}} || {{lang|am-latn|yəh}} || {{IPA|[j'''ɪ'''h]|lang=am}}|| this
|-
| {{lang|am|የማን}} || {{lang|am-latn|yäman}} || {{IPA|[j'''ɛ'''man]|lang=am}}|| whose
|-
| {{lang|am|ውስጥ}} || {{lang|am-latn|wəsṭ}} || {{IPA|[w'''ʊ'''stʼ]|lang=am}}|| in
|-
| {{lang|am|ወንድ}} || {{lang|am-latn|wänd}} || {{IPA|[w'''ɔ'''nd]|lang=am}}|| man
|}

==Writing system==
{{anchor|Alphabet}}
{{See also|Geʽez script|Amharic Braille}}
[[File:Ethiopian Air aircraft showing Ethiopic script.jpg|right|thumb|The Ethiopic (or Geʽez) writing system is visible on the side of this [[Ethiopian Airlines]] [[Fokker 50]]: it reads "Ethiopia's": {{lang|am|የኢትዮጵያ }} {{lang|am-latn|ye-ʾityop̣p̣ya}}.]]
The Amharic script is an [[abugida]], and the [[grapheme]]s of the Amharic writing system are called {{lang|am-latn|fidäl}}.<ref name="MajorLanguages">{{cite book |last=Hudson |first=Grover |chapter=Amharic |title=The World's Major Languages |date=2009 |editor-last=Comrie |editor-first=Bernard |location=Oxon and New York |publisher=Routledge |pages=594–617 |isbn=978-0-203-30152-4}}</ref> It is derived from a modification of the [[Geʽez script]].<ref name=":0" /> Each character represents a consonant+vowel sequence, but the basic shape of each character is determined by the consonant, which is modified for the vowel. Some consonant [[phoneme]]s are written by more than one series of characters: {{IPAslink|ʔ}}, {{IPAslink|s}}, {{IPAslink|tsʼ}}, and {{IPAslink|h}} (the last one has ''four'' distinct letter forms). This is because these {{Lang|am-latn|fidäl}} originally represented distinct sounds, but [[phonological change]]s merged them.<ref name="MajorLanguages" /> The citation form for each series is the consonant+''ä'' form, i.e. the first column of the {{Lang|am-latn|fidäl}}. The [[Ethiopic (Unicode block)|Amharic script]] is included in [[Unicode]], and glyphs are included in fonts available with major operating systems.

[[File:Amharic Coca Cola bottle.jpg|thumb|A modern usage of Amharic: the label of a [[Coca-Cola]] bottle. The script reads {{lang|am|ኮካ-ኮላ}} ({{lang|am-latn|koka-kola}}).]]

===Alphasyllabary===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Chart of Amharic {{Lang|am-latn|fidäl}}''s''<ref>
{{cite book
|chapter=Ethiopic Writing
|title=The World's Writing Systems
|year=1996
|last1=Haile
|first1=Getatchew
|author-link1=Getatchew Haile
|editor1-last=Daniels
|editor1-first=Peter T.
|editor2-last=Bright
|editor2-first=William
|publisher=Oxford University Press, Inc
|isbn=978-0-19-507993-7
|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195079937/page/573 573]
|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195079937/page/573
}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
! colspan="2" | &nbsp;!!{{transliteration|sem|ä/e}}<br>{{IPA|[ə]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|u}}<br>{{IPA|[u]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|i}}<br>{{IPA|[i]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|a}}<br>{{IPA|[a]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|e/ē}}<br>{{IPA|[e:]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|ə/û}}<br>{{IPA|[ɨ]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|o}}<br>{{IPA|[o]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|wä/we}}<br>{{IPA|[ʷə]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|wi}}<br>{{IPA|[ʷi]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|wa}}<br>{{IPA|[ʷa]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|we/wē}}<br>{{IPA|[ʷe:]}}!!{{transliteration|sem|wə/wû}}<br>{{IPA|[ʷɨ]}}
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|h}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[h] ~ [ɦ]}}
|{{lang|am|ሀ}}||{{lang|am|ሁ}}||{{lang|am|ሂ}}||{{lang|am|ሃ}}||{{lang|am|ሄ}}||{{lang|am|ህ}}||{{lang|am|ሆ}}|| colspan="5" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|l}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[l]}}
|{{lang|am|ለ}}||{{lang|am|ሉ}}||{{lang|am|ሊ}}||{{lang|am|ላ}}||{{lang|am|ሌ}}||{{lang|am|ል}}||{{lang|am|ሎ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሏ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|ḥ}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[ħ]}}
|{{lang|am|ሐ}}||{{lang|am|ሑ}}||{{lang|am|ሒ}}||{{lang|am|ሓ}}||{{lang|am|ሔ}}||{{lang|am|ሕ}}||{{lang|am|ሖ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሗ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|m}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[m]}}
|{{lang|am|መ}}||{{lang|am|ሙ}}||{{lang|am|ሚ}}||{{lang|am|ማ}}||{{lang|am|ሜ}}||{{lang|am|ም}}||{{lang|am|ሞ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሟ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|ś}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[ɬ]}}
|{{lang|am|ሠ}}||{{lang|am|ሡ}}||{{lang|am|ሢ}}||{{lang|am|ሣ}}||{{lang|am|ሤ}}||{{lang|am|ሥ}}||{{lang|am|ሦ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሧ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|r}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[r]}}
|{{lang|am|ረ}}||{{lang|am|ሩ}}||{{lang|am|ሪ}}||{{lang|am|ራ}}||{{lang|am|ሬ}}||{{lang|am|ር}}||{{lang|am|ሮ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሯ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|s}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[s]}}
|{{lang|am|ሰ}}||{{lang|am|ሱ}}||{{lang|am|ሲ}}||{{lang|am|ሳ}}||{{lang|am|ሴ}}||{{lang|am|ስ}}||{{lang|am|ሶ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሷ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|š}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[ʃ]}}
|{{lang|am|ሸ}}||{{lang|am|ሹ}}||{{lang|am|ሺ}}||{{lang|am|ሻ}}||{{lang|am|ሼ}}||{{lang|am|ሽ}}||{{lang|am|ሾ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ሿ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|q}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[kʼ]}}
|{{lang|am|ቀ}}||{{lang|am|ቁ}}||{{lang|am|ቂ}}||{{lang|am|ቃ}}||{{lang|am|ቄ}}||{{lang|am|ቅ}}||{{lang|am|ቆ}}||{{lang|am|ቈ}}||{{lang|am|ቊ}}||{{lang|am|ቋ}}||{{lang|am|ቌ}}||{{lang|am|ቍ}}
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|b}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[b]}}
|{{lang|am|በ}}||{{lang|am|ቡ}}||{{lang|am|ቢ}}||{{lang|am|ባ}}||{{lang|am|ቤ}}||{{lang|am|ብ}}||{{lang|am|ቦ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ቧ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|v}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[v] ~ [β]}}
|{{lang|am|ቨ}}||{{lang|am|ቩ}}||{{lang|am|ቪ}}||{{lang|am|ቫ}}||{{lang|am|ቬ}}||{{lang|am|ቭ}}||{{lang|am|ቮ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ቯ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|t}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[t]}}
|{{lang|am|ተ}}||{{lang|am|ቱ}}||{{lang|am|ቲ}}||{{lang|am|ታ}}||{{lang|am|ቴ}}||{{lang|am|ት}}||{{lang|am|ቶ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ቷ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|č}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[t͡ʃ]}}
|{{lang|am|ቸ}}||{{lang|am|ቹ}}||{{lang|am|ቺ}}||{{lang|am|ቻ}}||{{lang|am|ቼ}}||{{lang|am|ች}}||{{lang|am|ቾ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ቿ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|ḫ}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[χ]}}
|{{lang|am|ኀ}}||{{lang|am|ኁ}}||{{lang|am|ኂ}}||{{lang|am|ኃ}}||{{lang|am|ኄ}}||{{lang|am|ኅ}}||{{lang|am|ኆ}}||{{lang|am|ኈ}}||{{lang|am|ኊ}}||{{lang|am|ኋ}}||{{lang|am|ኌ}}||{{lang|am|ኍ}}
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|n}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[n]}}
|{{lang|am|ነ}}||{{lang|am|ኑ}}||{{lang|am|ኒ}}||{{lang|am|ና}}||{{lang|am|ኔ}}||{{lang|am|ን}}||{{lang|am|ኖ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ኗ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|ñ}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[ɲ]}}
|{{lang|am|ኘ}}||{{lang|am|ኙ}}||{{lang|am|ኚ}}||{{lang|am|ኛ}}||{{lang|am|ኜ}}||{{lang|am|ኝ}}||{{lang|am|ኞ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ኟ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |'''ʼ'''
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[ʔ]}}
|{{lang|am|አ}}||{{lang|am|ኡ}}||{{lang|am|ኢ}}||{{lang|am|ኣ}}||{{lang|am|ኤ}}||{{lang|am|እ}}||{{lang|am|ኦ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ኧ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|k}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[k]}}
|{{lang|am|ከ}}||{{lang|am|ኩ}}||{{lang|am|ኪ}}||{{lang|am|ካ}}||{{lang|am|ኬ}}||{{lang|am|ክ}}||{{lang|am|ኮ}}||{{lang|am|ኰ}}||{{lang|am|ኲ}}||{{lang|am|ኳ}}||{{lang|am|ኴ}}||{{lang|am|ኵ}}
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|x}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[x]}}
|{{lang|am|ኸ}}||{{lang|am|ኹ}}||{{lang|am|ኺ}}||{{lang|am|ኻ}}||{{lang|am|ኼ}}||{{lang|am|ኽ}}||{{lang|am|ኾ}}|||{{lang|am|ዀ}}||{{lang|am|ዂ}}||{{lang|am|ዃ}}||{{lang|am|ዄ}}||{{lang|am|ዅ}}
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|w}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[w]}}
|{{lang|am|ወ}}||{{lang|am|ዉ}}||{{lang|am|ዊ}}||{{lang|am|ዋ}}||{{lang|am|ዌ}}||{{lang|am|ው}}||{{lang|am|ዎ}}|| colspan="5" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |'''ʽ'''
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[ʕ]}}
|{{lang|am|ዐ}}||{{lang|am|ዑ}}||{{lang|am|ዒ}}||{{lang|am|ዓ}}||{{lang|am|ዔ}}||{{lang|am|ዕ}}||{{lang|am|ዖ}}|| colspan="5" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|z}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[z]}}
|{{lang|am|ዘ}}||{{lang|am|ዙ}}||{{lang|am|ዚ}}||{{lang|am|ዛ}}||{{lang|am|ዜ}}||{{lang|am|ዝ}}||{{lang|am|ዞ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ዟ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|ž}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[ʒ]}}
|{{lang|am|ዠ}}||{{lang|am|ዡ}}||{{lang|am|ዢ}}||{{lang|am|ዣ}}||{{lang|am|ዤ}}||{{lang|am|ዥ}}||{{lang|am|ዦ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ዧ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|y}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[j]}}
|{{lang|am|የ}}||{{lang|am|ዩ}}||{{lang|am|ዪ}}||{{lang|am|ያ}}||{{lang|am|ዬ}}||{{lang|am|ይ}}||{{lang|am|ዮ}}|| colspan="5" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|d}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[d]}}
|{{lang|am|ደ}}||{{lang|am|ዱ}}||{{lang|am|ዲ}}||{{lang|am|ዳ}}||{{lang|am|ዴ}}||{{lang|am|ድ}}||{{lang|am|ዶ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ዷ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|ǧ}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[d͡ʒ]}}
|{{lang|am|ጀ}}||{{lang|am|ጁ}}||{{lang|am|ጂ}}||{{lang|am|ጃ}}||{{lang|am|ጄ}}||{{lang|am|ጅ}}||{{lang|am|ጆ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ጇ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|g}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[ɡ]}}
|{{lang|am|ገ}}||{{lang|am|ጉ}}||{{lang|am|ጊ}}||{{lang|am|ጋ}}||{{lang|am|ጌ}}||{{lang|am|ግ}}||{{lang|am|ጎ}}||{{lang|am|ጐ}}||{{lang|am|ጒ}}||{{lang|am|ጓ}}||{{lang|am|ጔ}}||{{lang|am|ጕ}}
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|ṭ}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[tʼ]}}
|{{lang|am|ጠ}}||{{lang|am|ጡ}}||{{lang|am|ጢ}}||{{lang|am|ጣ}}||{{lang|am|ጤ}}||{{lang|am|ጥ}}||{{lang|am|ጦ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ጧ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|č̣}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[t͡ʃʼ]}}
|{{lang|am|ጨ}}||{{lang|am|ጩ}}||{{lang|am|ጪ}}||{{lang|am|ጫ}}||{{lang|am|ጬ}}||{{lang|am|ጭ}}||{{lang|am|ጮ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ጯ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|p̣}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[pʼ]}}
|{{lang|am|ጰ}}||{{lang|am|ጱ}}||{{lang|am|ጲ}}||{{lang|am|ጳ}}||{{lang|am|ጴ}}||{{lang|am|ጵ}}||{{lang|am|ጶ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ጷ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|ṣ}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[sʼ] ~ [t͡sʼ]}}
|{{lang|am|ጸ}}||{{lang|am|ጹ}}||{{lang|am|ጺ}}||{{lang|am|ጻ}}||{{lang|am|ጼ}}||{{lang|am|ጽ}}||{{lang|am|ጾ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ጿ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|ṣ́}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[ɬʼ] ~ [t͡ɬʼ]}}
|{{lang|am|ፀ}}||{{lang|am|ፁ}}||{{lang|am|ፂ}}||{{lang|am|ፃ}}||{{lang|am|ፄ}}||{{lang|am|ፅ}}||{{lang|am|ፆ}}|| colspan="5" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|f}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[f] ~ [ɸ]}}
|{{lang|am|ፈ}}||{{lang|am|ፉ}}||{{lang|am|ፊ}}||{{lang|am|ፋ}}||{{lang|am|ፌ}}||{{lang|am|ፍ}}||{{lang|am|ፎ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ፏ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|- style="font-size:2em"
! style="font-size:0.5em" |{{transliteration|sem|p}}
| style="font-size:0.5em" |{{IPA|[p]}}
|{{lang|am|ፐ}}||{{lang|am|ፑ}}||{{lang|am|ፒ}}||{{lang|am|ፓ}}||{{lang|am|ፔ}}||{{lang|am|ፕ}}||{{lang|am|ፖ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;||{{lang|am|ፗ}}|| colspan="2" style="background:#ccc;" |&nbsp;
|-
! colspan="2" | &nbsp;!!{{IPA|[ə]}}<br>{{transliteration|sem|ä/e}}!!{{IPA|[u]}}<br>{{transliteration|sem|u}}!!{{IPA|[i]}}<br>{{transliteration|sem|i}}!!{{IPA|[a]}}<br>{{transliteration|sem|a}}!!{{IPA|[e:]}}<br>{{transliteration|sem|e/ē}}!!{{IPA|[ɨ]}}<br>{{transliteration|sem|ə/û}}!!{{IPA|[o]}}<br>{{transliteration|sem|o}}!!{{IPA|[ʷə]}}<br>{{transliteration|sem|wä/we}}!!{{IPA|[ʷi]}}<br>{{transliteration|sem|wi}}!!{{IPA|[ʷa]}}<br>{{transliteration|sem|wa}}!!{{IPA|[ʷe:]}}<br>{{transliteration|sem|we/wē}}!!{{IPA|[ʷɨ]}}<br>{{transliteration|sem|wə/wû}}
|}

===Gemination===
As in most other [[Ethiopian Semitic languages]], [[gemination]] is [[phoneme|contrastive]] in Amharic. That is, consonant length can distinguish words from one another; for example, {{lang|am-latn|alä}} 'he said', {{lang|am-latn|allä}} 'there is'; {{lang|am-latn|yǝmätall}} 'he hits', {{lang|am-latn|yǝmmättall}} 'he will be hit'. Gemination is not indicated in Amharic orthography, but Amharic readers typically do not find this to be a problem. This property of the writing system is analogous to the vowels of [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] or the [[tone (linguistics)|tones]] of many [[Bantu languages]], which are not normally indicated in writing. Ethiopian novelist [[Haddis Alemayehu]], who was an advocate of Amharic [[orthography reform]], indicated gemination in his novel ''[[Love to the Grave]]'' by placing a dot above the characters whose consonants were geminated, but this practice is rare.

=== Punctuation ===
Punctuation includes the following:

:{{lang|am|[[፠]]}} section mark
:{{lang|am|[[፡]]}} [[word separator]]
:{{lang|am|[[።]]}} full stop (period)
:{{lang|am|[[፣]]}} comma
:{{lang|am|[[፤]]}} semicolon
:{{lang|am|[[፥]]}} colon
:{{lang|am|[[፦]]}} preface colon (introduces speech from a descriptive prefix)
:{{lang|am|[[፧]]}} question mark
:{{lang|am|[[፨]]}} paragraph separator

==Grammar==

;Simple Amharic sentences

One may construct simple Amharic sentences by using a [[Subject (grammar)|subject]] and a [[Predicate (grammar)|predicate]]. Here are a few simple sentences:<ref>{{cite web|author=habesha |url=http://bigaddis.com/2010/09/simple-amharic-sentences/ |title=Simple Amharic Sentences |publisher=Bigaddis |date=28 September 2010 |access-date=18 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403130954/http://www.bigaddis.com/language/simple-amharic-sentences/ |archive-date=3 April 2012}}</ref>

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|ኢትዮጵያ አፍሪካ ውስጥ ናት
|ʾItyop̣p̣ya ʾAfrika wǝsṭ nat
|{Ethiopia} {Africa} {in} {is}
|'Ethiopia is in Africa.'}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|ልጁ ተኝቷል
|Lǝǧ-u täññǝtʷall.
|{the boy} {asleep is}
|'The boy is asleep.' (''-u'' is a definite article. ''{{lang|am-latn|Lǝǧ}}'' is 'boy'. ''{{lang|am-latn|Lǝǧu}}'' is 'the boy')}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|አየሩ ደስ ይላል
|Ayyäru däss yǝlall.
|{the weather} pleasant feels
|'The weather feels pleasant.'}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|እሱ ወደ ከተማ መጣ
|ʾƏssu wädä kätäma mäṭṭa|he to city {came}
|'He came to the city.'}}

===Pronouns===

==== Personal pronouns ====
Amharic grammar distinguishes [[grammatical person|person]], [[grammatical number|number]], and often [[grammatical gender|gender]]. This includes [[personal pronoun]]s such as English ''I'', Amharic {{lang|am|እኔ}} {{lang|am-latn|ǝne}}; English ''she'', Amharic {{lang|am|እሷ}} {{lang|am-latn|ǝsswa}}. As in other Semitic languages, the same distinctions appear in three other places in their grammar.

; Subject–verb agreement
All Amharic verbs [[agreement (linguistics)|agree]] with their [[subject (grammar)|subjects]]; that is, the person, number, and (in the second- and third-person singular) gender of the subject of the verb are marked by [[affix|suffixes or prefixes]] on the verb. Because the affixes that signal subject agreement vary greatly with the particular verb [[grammatical tense|tense]]/[[grammatical aspect|aspect]]/[[grammatical mood|mood]], they are normally not considered to be pronouns and are discussed elsewhere in this article under verb [[#Conjugation|conjugation]].
; Object pronoun suffixes
Amharic verbs often have additional morphology that indicates the person, number, and (second- and third-person singular) gender of the object of the verb.
{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|አልማዝን  አየኋት
|almazǝn  ayyähʷ-'''at'''
|Almaz-ACC  {I saw '''her'''}
|'I saw Almaz.'}}

While morphemes such as {{Lang|am-latn|-at}} in this example are sometimes described as signaling [[object (grammar)|object]] agreement, analogous to subject agreement, they are more often thought of as object pronoun [[affix|suffixes]]{{fact|date=November 2024}}<!--I don't see the contradiction. A suffix can express pronominal agreement.--> because, unlike the markers of subject agreement, they do not vary significantly with the tense/aspect/mood of the verb. For [[verb argument|arguments]] of the verb other than the subject or the object, there are two separate sets of related suffixes, one with a [[benefactive]] meaning (''to'', ''for''), the other with an adversative or locative meaning (''against'', ''to the detriment of'', ''on'', ''at'').
{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|ለአልማዝ  በሩን  ከፈትኩላት
|läʾalmaz  bärrun  käffätku-'''llat'''
|for-Almaz  door-DEF-ACC  {I opened '''for her'''}
|'I opened the door for Almaz.'}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am| transl = EAE
|በአልማዝ  በሩን  ዘጋሁባት
|bäʾalmaz  bärrun  zäggahu-'''bbat'''
|on-Almaz  door-DEF-ACC  {I closed '''on her'''}
|'I closed the door on Almaz (to her detriment).'}}

Morphemes such as {{Lang|am-latn|-llat}} and {{Lang|am-latn|-bbat}} in these examples will be referred to in this article as '''prepositional object pronoun suffixes''' because they correspond to prepositional phrases such as ''for her'' and ''on her'', to distinguish them from the '''direct object pronoun suffixes''' such as {{Lang|am-latn|-at}} 'her'.
;Possessive suffixes
Amharic has a further set of morphemes that are suffixed to nouns, signaling [[possession (linguistics)|possession]]: {{lang|am|ቤት}} {{Lang|am-latn|bet}} {{Gloss|house}}, {{lang|am|ቤቴ}} {{Lang|am-latn|bete}}, {{Gloss|my house}}, {{lang|am|ቤቷ}}; {{Lang|am-latn|betwa}}, {{Gloss|her house}}.

In each of these four aspects of the grammar, independent pronouns, subject–verb agreement, object pronoun suffixes, and possessive suffixes, Amharic distinguishes eight combinations of person, number, and gender. For first person, there is a two-way distinction between singular (''I'') and plural (''we''), whereas for second and third persons, there is a distinction between singular and plural and within the singular a further distinction between masculine and feminine (''you m. sg.'', ''you f. sg.'', ''you pl.'', ''he'', ''she'', ''they'').

Amharic is a [[pro-drop language]]: neutral sentences in which no element is emphasized normally omit independent pronouns: {{lang|am|ኢትዮጵያዊ ነው}} {{lang|am-latn|ʾityop̣p̣yawi näw}} 'he's Ethiopian', {{lang|am|ጋበዝኳት}} {{lang|am-latn|gabbäzkwat}} 'I invited her'. The Amharic words that translate ''he'', ''I'', and ''her'' do not appear in these sentences as independent words. However, in such cases, the person, number, and (second- or third-person singular) gender of the subject and object are marked on the verb. When the subject or object in such sentences is emphasized, an independent pronoun is used: {{lang|am|እሱ ኢትዮጵያዊ ነው}} {{lang|am-latn|'''ǝssu''' ʾityop̣p̣yawi näw}} ''''he''''s Ethiopian', {{lang|am|እኔ ጋበዝኳት}} {{lang|am-latn|'''ǝne''' gabbäzkwat}} ''''I''' invited her', {{lang|am|እሷን ጋበዝኳት}} {{lang|am-latn|'''ǝsswan''' gabbäzkwat}} 'I invited '''her''''.

The table below shows alternatives for many of the forms. The choice depends on what precedes the form in question, usually whether this is a vowel or a consonant, for example, for the first-person singular possessive suffix, {{lang|am|ሀገሬ}} {{lang|am-latn|hagär-e}} 'my country', {{lang|am|ገላዬ}} {{lang|am-latn|gäla-ye}} 'my body'.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+Amharic personal pronouns
! rowspan="3" | English
! rowspan="3" | Independent
! colspan="3" | Object pronoun suffixes
! rowspan="3" | Possessive suffixes
|-
! rowspan="2" | Direct
! colspan="2" | Prepositional
|-
! Benefactive
! Locative/<br />adversative
|-
| I
| {{lang|am|እኔ}}<br />{{Lang|am-latn|ǝne}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ä/ǝ)ñ}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)llǝñ}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)bbǝñ}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(y)e}}
|-
| you (m. sg.)
| {{lang|am|አንተ}}<br />{{Lang|am-latn|antä}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)h}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)llǝh}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)bbǝh}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)h}}
|-
| you (f. sg.)
| {{lang|am|አንቺ}}<br />{{Lang|am-latn|anči}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)š}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)llǝš}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)bbǝš}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)š}}
|-
| you (polite)
| {{lang|am|እርስዎ}}<br />{{Lang|am-latn|ərswo}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)wo(t)}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)llǝwo(t)}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)bbǝwo(t)}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-wo}}
|-
| he
| {{lang|am|እሱ}}<br />{{Lang|am-latn|ǝssu}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ä)w}}, {{Lang|am-latn|-t}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)llät}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)bbät}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(w)u}}
|-
| she
| {{lang|am|እሷ}}<br />{{Lang|am-latn|ǝsswa}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-at}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)llat}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)bbat}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-wa}}
|-
| s/he (polite)
| {{lang|am|እሳቸው}}<br />{{Lang|am-latn|ǝssaččäw}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-aččäw}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)llaččäw}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)bbaččäw}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-aččäw}}
|-
| we
| {{lang|am|እኛ}}<br />{{Lang|am-latn|ǝñña}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ä/ǝ)n}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)llǝn}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)bbǝn}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-aččǝn}}
|-
| you (pl.)
| {{lang|am|እናንተ}}<br />{{Lang|am-latn|ǝnnantä}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-aččǝhu}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)llaččǝhu}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)bbaččǝhu}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-aččǝhu}}
|-
| they
| {{lang|am|እነሱ}}<br />{{Lang|am-latn|ǝnnässu}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-aččäw}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)llaččäw}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-(ǝ)bbaččäw}}
| {{Lang|am-latn|-aččäw}}
|}

Within second- and third-person singular, there are two additional polite independent pronouns, for reference to people to whom the speaker wishes to show respect. This usage is an example of the so-called [[T–V distinction]] that is made in many languages. The polite pronouns in Amharic are {{lang|am|እርስዎ}} {{Lang|am-latn|ǝrswo}} 'you (sg. polite)'. and {{lang|am|እሳቸው}} {{Lang|am-latn|ǝssaččäw}} 's/he (polite)'. Although these forms are singular semantically—they refer to one person—they correspond to third-person plural elsewhere in the grammar, as is common in other T–V systems. For the possessive pronouns, however, the polite 2nd person has the special suffix {{Lang|am-latn|-wo}} 'your sg. pol.'

For possessive pronouns ('mine', 'yours', etc.), Amharic adds the independent pronouns to the preposition {{lang|am-latn|yä-}} 'of': {{lang|am|የኔ}} {{lang|am-latn|yäne}} 'mine', {{lang|am|ያንተ}} {{lang|am-latn|yantä}} 'yours m. sg.', {{lang|am|ያንቺ}} {{lang|am-latn|yanči}} 'yours f. sg.', {{lang|am|የሷ}} {{lang|am-latn|yässwa}} 'hers', etc.

====Reflexive pronouns====
For [[reflexive pronoun]]s ('myself', 'yourself', etc.), Amharic adds the possessive suffixes to the noun {{lang|am|ራስ}} {{Lang|am-latn|ras}} 'head': {{lang|am|ራሴ}} {{Lang|am-latn|rase}} 'myself', {{lang|am|ራሷ}} {{Lang|am-latn|raswa}} 'herself', etc.

====Demonstrative pronouns====
Like English, Amharic makes a two-way distinction between near ('this, these') and far ('that, those') [[demonstrative]] expressions (pronouns, adjectives, adverbs). Besides number, Amharic – unlike English – also distinguishes between the masculine and the feminine genders in the singular.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-right: 20px;"
|+Amharic demonstrative pronouns
! colspan="2" |Number, Gender
! Near
! Far
|-
! rowspan="2" |Singular
! Masculine
|{{lang|am|ይህ}} {{Lang|am-latn|yǝh(ǝ)}}
|{{lang|am|ያ}} {{Lang|am-latn|ya}}
|-
! Feminine
|{{lang|am|ይቺ}} {{Lang|am-latn|yǝčči}}, {{lang|am|ይህች}} {{Lang|am-latn|yǝhǝčč}}
|{{lang|am|ያቺ}} <br />{{Lang|am-latn|yačči}}
|-
! colspan="2" |Plural
|{{lang|am|እነዚህ}} {{Lang|am-latn|ǝnnäzzih}}
|{{lang|am|እነዚያ}} {{Lang|am-latn|ǝnnäzziya}}
|}
There are also separate demonstratives for formal reference, comparable to the formal personal pronouns: {{lang|am|እኚህ}} {{Lang|am-latn|ǝññih}} 'this, these (formal)' and {{lang|am|እኒያ}} {{Lang|am-latn|ǝnniya}} 'that, those (formal)'.

The singular pronouns have combining forms beginning with ''zz'' instead of ''y'' when they follow a preposition: {{lang|am|ስለዚህ}} {{Lang|am-latn|sǝläzzih}} 'because of this; therefore', {{lang|am|እንደዚያ}} {{Lang|am-latn|ǝndäzziya}} 'like that'. The plural demonstratives, like the second and third person plural personal pronouns, are formed by adding the plural prefix {{lang|am|እነ}} {{Lang|am-latn|ǝnnä-}} to the singular masculine forms.

===Nouns===
Amharic [[noun]]s can be primary or derived. A noun like {{lang|am-latn|ǝgǝr}} 'foot, leg' is primary, and a noun like {{lang|am-latn|ǝgr-äñña}} 'pedestrian' is a derived noun.

====Gender====
Amharic nouns can have a masculine or feminine [[grammatical gender|gender]]. There are several ways to express gender. An example is the old suffix ''-t'' for femininity. This suffix is no longer productive and is limited to certain patterns and some isolated nouns. Nouns and adjectives ending in {{Lang|am-latn|-awi}} usually take the suffix ''-t'' to form the feminine form, e.g. {{Lang|am-latn|ityop̣p̣ya-(a)wi}} 'Ethiopian (m.)' vs. {{Lang|am-latn|ityop̣p̣ya-wi-t}} 'Ethiopian (f.)'; {{Lang|am-latn|sämay-awi}} 'heavenly (m.)' vs. {{Lang|am-latn|sämay-awi-t}} 'heavenly (f.)'. This suffix also occurs in nouns and adjective based on the pattern {{lang|am-latn|qǝt(t)ul}}, e.g. {{lang|am-latn|nǝgus}} 'king' vs. {{lang|am-latn|nǝgǝs-t}} 'queen' and {{lang|am-latn|qǝddus}} 'holy (m.)' vs. {{lang|am-latn|qǝddǝs-t}} 'holy (f.)'.

Some nouns and adjectives take a feminine marker {{Lang|am-latn|-it}}: {{lang|am-latn|lǝǧ}} 'child, boy' vs. {{lang|am-latn|lǝǧ-it}} 'girl'; {{Lang|am-latn|bäg}} 'sheep, ram' vs. {{Lang|am-latn|bäg-it}} 'ewe'; {{lang|am-latn|šǝmagǝlle}} 'senior, elder (m.)' vs. {{lang|am-latn|šǝmagǝll-it}} 'old woman'; {{Lang|am-latn|ṭoṭa}} 'monkey' vs. {{Lang|am-latn|ṭoṭ-it}} 'monkey (f.)'. Some nouns have this feminine marker without having a masculine opposite, e.g. {{lang|am-latn|šärär-it}} 'spider', {{Lang|am-latn|azur-it}} 'whirlpool, eddy'. There are, however, also nouns with the {{Lang|am-latn|-it}} suffix that are treated as masculine: {{Lang|am-latn|säraw-it}} 'army', {{Lang|am-latn|nägar-it}} 'big drum'.

The feminine gender is not only used to indicate biological gender, but may also be used to express smallness, e.g. {{Lang|am-latn|bet-it-u}} 'the little house' (lit. house-<small>FEM</small>-<small>DEF</small>). The feminine marker can also serve to express tenderness or sympathy.

====Specifiers====
Amharic has special words that can be used to indicate the gender of people and animals. For people, {{Lang|am-latn|wänd}} is used for masculinity and {{Lang|am-latn|set}} for femininity, e.g. {{Lang|am-latn|wänd lǝǧ}} 'boy', {{Lang|am-latn|set lǝǧ}} 'girl'; {{Lang|am-latn|wänd hakim}} 'physician, doctor (m.)', {{Lang|am-latn|set hakim}} 'physician, doctor (f.)'.

For animals, the words {{Lang|am-latn|täbat}}, {{Lang|am-latn|awra}}, or {{Lang|am-latn|wänd}} (less usual) can be used to indicate masculine gender, and {{lang|am-latn|anəst}} or {{Lang|am-latn|set}} to indicate feminine gender. Examples: {{Lang|am-latn|täbat ṭǝǧǧa}} 'calf (m.)'; {{Lang|am-latn|awra doro}} 'cock (rooster)'; {{Lang|am-latn|set doro}} 'hen'.

====Plural====
The plural suffix {{lang|am-latn|-očč}} is used to express plurality of nouns. Some [[Morphophonology|morphophonological]] alternations occur depending on the final consonant or vowel. For nouns ending in a consonant, plain {{lang|am-latn|-očč}} is used: {{lang|am-latn|bet}} 'house' becomes {{lang|am-latn|bet-očč}} 'houses'. For nouns ending in a [[back vowel]] (-a, -o, -u), the suffix takes the form {{lang|am-latn|-ʷočč}}, e.g. {{lang|am-latn|wǝšša}} 'dog', {{lang|am-latn|wǝšša-ʷočč}} 'dogs'; {{Lang|am-latn|käbäro}} 'drum', {{lang|am-latn|käbäro-ʷočč}} 'drums'. Nouns that end in a [[front vowel]] pluralize using {{lang|am-latn|-ʷočč}} or {{lang|am-latn|-<sup>y</sup>očč}}, e.g. {{lang|am-latn|ṣähafi}} 'scholar', {{lang|am-latn|ṣähafi-ʷočč}} or {{lang|am-latn|ṣähafi-<sup>y</sup>očč}} 'scholars'. Another possibility for nouns ending in a vowel is to delete the vowel and use plain {{lang|am-latn|očč}}, as in {{lang|am-latn|wǝšš-očč}} 'dogs'.

Besides using the normal external plural ({{lang|am-latn|-očč}}), nouns and adjectives can be pluralized by way of [[reduplication|reduplicating]] one of the ''radicals''. For example, {{Lang|am-latn|wäyzäro}} 'lady' can take the normal plural, yielding {{lang|am-latn|wäyzär-očč}}, but {{lang|am-latn|wäyzazər}} 'ladies' is also found.<ref name="Leslau">{{Cite book |last=Leslau |first=Wolf |url=https://archive.org/details/referencegrammar0000lesl/ |title=Reference Grammar of Amharic |date=1995 |publisher=Harrassowitz |isbn=978-3-447-03372-5 |location=Wiesbaden |pages= |url-access=registration |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>{{Rp|page=173}}

Some [[kinship]]-terms have two plural forms with a slightly different meaning. For example, {{lang|am-latn|wändǝmm}} 'brother' can be pluralized as {{lang|am-latn|wändǝmm-očč}} 'brothers' but also as {{lang|am-latn|wändǝmmam-ač}} 'brothers of each other'. Likewise, {{lang|am-latn|ǝhǝt}} 'sister' can be pluralized as {{lang|am-latn|ǝhǝt-očč}} ('sisters'), but also as {{lang|am-latn|ǝtǝmm-am-ač}} 'sisters of each other'.

In [[compound (linguistics)|compound words]], the plural marker is suffixed to the second noun: {{lang|am-latn|betä krǝstiyan}} 'church' (lit. house of Christian) becomes {{lang|am-latn|betä krǝstiyan-očč}} 'churches'.

====Archaic forms====
[[Amsalu Aklilu]] has pointed out that Amharic has inherited a large number of old plural forms directly from Classical Ethiopic (Geʽez) (Amharic: {{Langx|am-latn|gǝ'ǝz|label=none}}).<ref name="Leslau" />{{Rp|page=172}} There are basically two archaic pluralising strategies, called external and [[Broken plural|internal plural]]. The external plural consists of adding the suffix ''-an'' (usually masculine) or {{lang|am-latn|-at}} (usually feminine) to the singular form. The internal plural employs vowel quality or [[apophony]] to pluralize words, similar to English ''man'' vs. ''men'' and ''goose'' vs. ''geese''. Sometimes combinations of the two systems are found. The archaic plural forms are sometimes used to form new plurals, but this is only considered grammatical in more established cases.
* Examples of the external plural: {{lang|am|ምምህር}} {{lang|am-latn|mämhǝr}} 'teacher', {{lang|am|ምምህራን}} {{lang|am-latn|mämhǝr-an}}; {{lang|am-latn|ṭäbib}} {{lang|am|ጠቢብ}} 'wise person', {{lang|am|ተቢባን}} {{lang|am-latn|ṭäbib-an}}; {{lang|am|ካህን}} {{lang|am-latn|kahǝn}} 'priest', {{lang|am|ካህናት}} {{lang|am-latn|kahǝn-at}}; {{lang|am|ቃል}} {{Lang|am-latn|qal}} 'word', {{lang|am|ካላት}} {{lang|am-latn|qal-at}}.
* Examples of the internal plural: {{lang|am|ድንግል}} {{lang|am-latn|dǝngǝl}} 'virgin', {{lang|am|ድናግል}} {{lang|am-latn|dänagǝl}}; {{lang|am|ሃገር}} {{Lang|am-latn|hagär}} 'land', {{lang|am|ኣህጉር}} {{lang|am-latn|ahǝgur}}.
* Examples of combined systems: {{lang|am|ንጉስ}} {{lang|am-latn|nǝgus}} 'king', {{lang|am|ነገስት}} {{lang|am-latn|nägäs-t}}; {{lang|am|ኮክብ}} {{lang|am-latn|kokäb}} 'star', {{lang|am|ክዋክብት}} {{lang|am-latn|käwakǝb-t}}; {{lang|am|ምጽሓፍ}} {{lang|am-latn|mäṣǝhaf}} 'book', {{lang|am|መጻህፍት}} {{lang|am-latn|mäṣahǝf-t}}.

====Definiteness====
If a noun is definite or ''specified'', this is expressed by a suffix, the ''article'', which is -''u'' or -''w'' for masculine singular nouns and {{Lang|am-latn|-wa}}, {{Lang|am-latn|-itwa}} or {{Lang|am-latn|-ätwa}} for feminine singular nouns. For example:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! masculine sg
! masculine sg definite
! feminine sg
! feminine sg definite
|-
|{{fs interlinear|ቤት|bet|house}}
|{{fs interlinear|ቤቱ|bet'''-u'''|'''the''' house}}
|{{fs interlinear|ሠራተኛ|särratäñña|maid}}
|{{fs interlinear|ሠራተኛዋ|särratäñña'''-wa'''|'''the''' maid}}
|}

In singular forms, this article distinguishes between the male and female gender; in plural forms this distinction is absent, and all definites are marked with -''u'', e.g. {{Lang|am-latn|bet-očč-u}} 'the houses', {{Lang|am-latn|gäräd-očč-u}} 'the maids'. As in the plural, [[Morphophonology|morphophonological]] alternations occur depending on the final consonant or vowel.
<!--table to be inserted-->

====Accusative====
Amharic has an accusative marker, -''(ə)n''. Its use is related to the definiteness of the object, thus Amharic shows [[differential object marking]]. In general, if the object is definite, possessed, or a proper noun, the accusative must be used, but if the direct object is not determined, the accusative marker is generally not used.<ref name="Leslau" />{{Rp|pages=181–182 ff.}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am
|ልጁ ውሻውን አባረረ
|lǝǧ-u wǝšša-w-ǝn abbarrär-ä.
|child-M.DEF dog-DEF-ACC drove.away-3MS.SUBJ
|'The boy drove the dog away.'}}

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am
|ውሻዋ በግ ነከሰች
|wǝšša-wa bäg näkkäs-äčč.
|dog-F.DEF sheep bit-3FS.SUBJ
|'The dog (F) bit a sheep.'}}

The accusative suffix is usually placed after the first word of the noun phrase:

{{fs interlinear|indent=2|lang = am
|ይህን ሰዓት ገዛ
|Yǝh-ǝn sä'at gäzz-a.
|this-ACC watch bought-3MS.SUBJ
|'He bought this watch.'}}

====Nominalization====
Amharic has various ways to derive nouns from other words or other nouns. One way of nominalizing consists of a form of ''vowel agreement'' (similar vowels on similar places) inside the three-radical structures typical of [[Semitic languages]]. For example:
* CəCäC: – {{lang|am-latn|ṭǝbäb}} 'wisdom'; {{lang|am-latn|hǝmäm}} 'sickness'
* CəCCaC-e: – {{lang|am-latn|wǝffar-e}} 'obesity'; {{lang|am-latn|č'ǝkkan-e}} 'cruelty'
* CəCC-ät: – {{lang|am-latn|rǝṭb-ät}} 'moistness'; {{lang|am-latn|'ǝwq-ät}} 'knowledge'; {{lang|am-latn|wəfr-ät}} 'fatness'.
There are also several nominalising suffixes.
* {{lang|am-latn|-ǝnna}}: – 'relation'; {{lang|am-latn|krǝst-ənna}} 'Christianity'; {{lang|am-latn|sənf-ənna}} 'laziness'; {{lang|am-latn|qes-ǝnna}} 'priesthood'.
* ''-e'', suffixed to place name X, yields 'a person from X': {{lang|am-latn|goǧǧam-e}} 'someone from [[Gojjam]]'.
* {{lang|am-latn|-äñña}} and {{lang|am-latn|-täñña}} serve to express profession, or some relationship with the base noun: {{lang|am-latn|ǝgr-äñña}} 'pedestrian' (from {{lang|am-latn|ǝgǝr}} 'foot'); {{lang|am-latn|bärr-äñña}} 'gate-keeper' (from {{lang|am-latn|bärr}} 'gate').
* {{lang|am-latn|-ǝnnät}} and {{lang|am-latn|-nnät}} – '-ness'; {{lang|am-latn|ityop̣p̣yawi-nnät}} '[[Ethiopian nationalism|Ethiopianness]]'; {{lang|am-latn|qǝrb-ənnät}} 'nearness' (from {{lang|am-latn|qǝrb}} 'near').

===Copula===
The [[copula (linguistics)|copula]] is expressed by the particle {{Lang|am-latn|n}}.<ref name="Leslau" />{{Rp|pages=271-278}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-right: 20px;"
|+Affirmative copula conjugation
! Pronoun
! Form
|-
| I
| {{lang|am|ነኝ}} {{lang|am-Latn|näññ}}
|-
| you (m. sg.)
| {{lang|am|ነህ}} {{lang|am-Latn|näh}}
|-
| you (f. sg.)
| {{lang|am|ነሽ}} {{lang|am-Latn|näš}}
|-
| you (polite)
| {{lang|am|ነዎ/ነዎት}} {{lang|am-Latn|näwo/näwot}}
|-
| he
| {{lang|am|ነው}} {{lang|am-Latn|näw}}
|-
| she
| {{lang|am|ናት/ነች}} {{lang|am-Latn|nat/näčč}}
|-
| (s)he (polite)
| {{lang|am|ናቸው}} {{lang|am-Latn|naččäw}}
|-
| we
| {{lang|am|ነን}} {{lang|am-Latn|nän}}
|-
| you (pl.)
| {{lang|am|ናችሁ}} {{lang|am-Latn|naččəhu}}
|-
| they
| {{lang|am|ናቸው}} {{lang|am-Latn|naččäw}}
|}

=====Negative Copula=====
The negative copula is formed with {{lang|am|አይደለም}} {{lang|am-Latn|aydällämm}}.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-right: 20px;"
|+Negative copula conjugation
! Pronoun
! Form
|-
| I
| {{lang|am|አይደለሁም}} {{lang|am-Latn|aydällähumm}}
|-
| you (m. sg.)
| {{lang|am|አይደለህመ}} {{lang|am-Latn|aydällähəmm}}
|-
| you (f. sg.)
| {{lang|am|አይደለሽም}} {{lang|am-Latn|aydälläšəmm}}
|-
| you (polite)
| {{lang|am|አይደሉም}} {{lang|am-Latn|aydällumm}}
|-
| he
| {{lang|am|አይደለም}} {{lang|am-Latn|aydällämm}}
|-
| she
| {{lang|am|አይደለችም}} {{lang|am-Latn|aydälläččəmm}}
|-
| (s)he (polite)
| {{lang|am|አይደሉም}} {{lang|am-Latn|aydällumm}}
|-
| we
| {{lang|am|አይደለንም}} {{lang|am-Latn|aydällänəmm}}
|-
| you (pl.)
| {{lang|am|አይደላችሁም}} {{lang|am-Latn|aydällaččəhumm}}
|-
| they
| {{lang|am|አይደሉም}} {{lang|am-Latn|aydällumm}}
|}

=====Past Copula=====

The past copula is expressed by {{lang|am|አልነበረ}} {{lang|am-Latn|näbbärä}} whose negative is {{lang|am|አለነበረም}} {{lang|am-Latn|alnäbbärämm}}.

=====Future Copula=====

The future expressed by the imperfect of {{lang|am|ሆነ}} {{lang|am-Latn|honä}}, {{lang|am|የሆናል}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəhonall}}.

=====Subordinate Copula=====

The subordinate copula is expressed conjugating {{lang|am|ሆነ}} {{lang|am-Latn|honä}} for the present and future, and {{lang|am|አልነበረ}} {{lang|am-Latn|näbbärä}} for the past.

===Possession===
Amharic lacks a specific verb ‘to have’. Instead, it uses verbs of existence combined with an object suffix pronoun. For the present, the verb {{lang|am|አለ}} {{lang|am-Latn|allä}} ‘there is’ is used. For the past, {{lang|am|ነበረ}} {{lang|am-Latn|näbbärä}} ‘there was’ is used, and for the future, the imperfect of {{lang|am|ኖረ}} {{lang|am-Latn|norä}}, {{lang|am|ይኖራል}} {{lang|am-Latn|yənorall}} is used. Thus, a sentence like {{lang|am|አራት፡መጽሐፍ፡አለኝ}} {{lang|am-Latn|aratt mäṣhaf alläññ}} ‘I have four books’ literally translates to ‘four books is-to-me’. Furthermore, since the possessee is the subject, the verb agrees with the possessee rather than the possessor.<ref name="Leslau" />{{Rp|pages=439}}

===Verbs===

====Verb Stems====
The basic meaning of Amharic verbs are given by its consonants known as '[[Semitic root|radicals]]' with vowels used to express shades of meaning. They can be divided into the following classes: triradicals, biradicals, quadriradicals, and pluriradicals or verbs with more than four radicals.<ref name="Leslau" />{{Rp|pages=280-282}}

=====Triradicals=====
* Type A: {{lang|am|ሰበረ}} {{lang|am-Latn|säbbärä}}, characterized by lack of gemination of the 2nd radical in non-perfect forms.
* Type B: {{lang|am|ፈለገ}} {{lang|am-Latn|fällägä}}, characterized by gemination of the 2nd radical in all verb forms.
* Type C: {{lang|am|ማረከ}} {{lang|am-Latn|marräkä}}, characterized by the vowel {{lang|am-Latn|a}} after the 1st radical.

=====Biradicals=====
In biradicals the 2nd consonant is geminated in the perfect if it is the 2nd radical of the root. The only classes to have three types are: {{lang|am|ሰማ}} {{lang|am-Latn|sämma}} and {{lang|am|ቀረ}} {{lang|am-Latn|qärrä}}. Other biradicals only have one type.

* Type {{lang|am|ሰማ}} {{lang|am-Latn|sämma}}:
** Type A: {{lang|am|ሰማ}} {{lang|am-Latn|sämma}} 'to hear'
** Type B: {{lang|am|ጠጣ}} {{lang|am-Latn|ṭäṭṭa}} 'to drink'
** Type C: {{lang|am|ቃጣ}} {{lang|am-Latn|qaṭṭa}} 'to attempt'
* Type {{lang|am|ቀረ}} {{lang|am-Latn|qärrä}}:
** Type A: {{lang|am|ቀረ}} {{lang|am-Latn|qärrä}} 'to remain behind'
** Type B: {{lang|am|ለየ}} {{lang|am-Latn|läyyä}} 'to distinguish, separate'
** Type C: {{lang|am|ላጨ}} {{lang|am-Latn|lač̣č̣ä}} 'to shave'

=====Quadriradicals=====
In quadriradicals, the 3rd radical is geminated in the perfect and has two types:
* Type 1: {{lang|am|መሰከረ}} {{lang|am-Latn|mäsäkkärä}} 'to testify'
* Type 2: {{lang|am|ቀላቀለ}} {{lang|am-Latn|qälaqqälä}} 'to mix', characterized by the vowel {{lang|am-Latn|a}} after the 2nd radical.

=====Derived stems=====
Derived stems are formed by either reduplication of the 2nd radical in triadicals, and of the 3rd radical in quadriradicals, or by prefixing morphemes.

====Conjugation====

As in other [[Semitic languages]], Amharic verbs use a combination of prefixes and suffixes to indicate the subject, distinguishing three persons, two numbers, and (in the second and third persons singular) two genders.

=====Perfect=====

The perfect is typically used to express the past and formed using suffixes.<ref name="Leslau" />{{Rp|pages=287-292}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-right: 20px;"
|+Perfect conjugation
! Pronoun
! Suffix
! Example verb {{lang|am|ሰበረ}} {{lang|am-Latn|säbbärä}} “to break”
|-
| I
| -hu, ku
| {{lang|am|ሰበርሁ/ሰበርኩ}} {{lang|am-Latn|säbbarhu/säbbärku}}
|-
| you (m. sg.)
| -h, -k
| {{lang|am|ሰበርህ/ሰበክ}} {{lang|am-Latn|säbbarh/säbbärk}}
|-
| you (f. sg.)
| -š
| {{lang|am|ሰበርሽ}} {{lang|am-Latn|säbbärš}}
|-
| he
| -ä
| {{lang|am|ሰበረ}} {{lang|am-Latn|säbbärä}}
|-
| she
| -äčč
| {{lang|am|ሰበረች}} {{lang|am-Latn|säbbäräčč}}
|-
| we
| -(ə)n
| {{lang|am|ሰበርን}} {{lang|am-Latn|säbbärn}}
|-
| you (pl.)
| -aččəhu
| {{lang|am|ሰበራችሁ}} {{lang|am-Latn|säbbäraččəhu}}
|-
| they, (s)he (polite), you (polite)
| -
| {{lang|am|ሰበሩ}} {{lang|am-Latn|säbbäru}}
|}

The negative perfect is formed by adding the prefix {{lang|am|አል-}} {{lang|am-Latn|al-}} and the suffix {{lang|am|-ም}} {{lang|am-Latn|-(ə)mm}} to the affirmative perfect, though the suffix {{lang|am|-ም}} {{lang|am-Latn|-əm}} may be omitted in subordinate clauses introduced by a conjunction or relative marker.

======Simple Imperfect======

The simple imperfect form is used for the present and future in the main negative clause, and both affirmative and negative in subordinate clauses, including the relative clause. It is formed used using a combination of prefixes and suffixes.<ref name="Leslau" />{{Rp|pages=301-303}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-right: 20px;"
|+Simple Imperfect conjugation
! Pronoun
! Prefix and suffix
! Type A Example {{lang|am-Latn|säb(ə)r}}
! Type B Example {{lang|am-Latn|fälləg}}
! Type C Example {{lang|am-Latn|marrək}}
|-
| I
| ə-
| {{lang|am|እሰብር}} {{lang|am-Latn|əsäbr}}
| {{lang|am|እፈልግ}} {{lang|am-Latn|əfälləg}}
| {{lang|am|እማርክ}} {{lang|am-Latn|əmarrək}}
|-
| you (m. sg.)
| tə-
| {{lang|am|ትሰብር}} {{lang|am-Latn|təsäbr}}
| {{lang|am|ትፈልግ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təfälləg}}
| {{lang|am|ትማርክ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təmarrək}}
|-
| you (f. sg.)
| tə- -i
| {{lang|am|ትሰብሪ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təsäbri}}
| {{lang|am|ትፈልጊ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təfälləgi}}
| {{lang|am|ትማርኪ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təmarrəki}}
|-
| he
| yə-
| {{lang|am|ይሰብር}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəsäbr}}
| {{lang|am|ይፈልግ}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəfälləg}}
| {{lang|am|ይማርክ}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəmarrək}}
|-
| she
| tə-
| {{lang|am|ትሰብር}} {{lang|am-Latn|təsäbr}}
| {{lang|am|ትፈልግ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təfälləg}}
| {{lang|am|ትማርክ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təmarrək}}
|-
| we
| ənnə-/ən-
| {{lang|am|እንሰብር}} {{lang|am-Latn|ənnəsäbr/ənsäbr}}
| {{lang|am|እንፈልግ}} {{lang|am-Latn|ənnəfälləg/ənfälləg}}
| {{lang|am|እንማርክ}} {{lang|am-Latn|ənnəmarrək/ənmarrək}}
|-
| you (pl.)
| tə- -u
| {{lang|am|ትሰብሩ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təsäbru}}
| {{lang|am|ትፈልጉ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təfälləgu}}
| {{lang|am|ትማርኩ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təmarrəku}}
|-
| they, (s)he (polite), you (polite)
| yə- -u
| {{lang|am|ይሰብሩ}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəsäbru}}
| {{lang|am|ይፈልጉ}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəfälləgu}}
| {{lang|am|ይማርኩ}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəmarrəku}}
|}
The negative imperfect is formed by adding the prefix {{lang|am|አ-}} {{lang|am-Latn|a-}} and the suffix {{lang|am|-ም}} {{lang|am-Latn|-(ə)mm}}.

=====Compound Imperfect=====

The compound imperfect is used to express the present or future in the main clause and is formed by combining with simple imperfect with the verb {{lang|am|አለ}} {{lang|am-Latn|allä}}.<ref name="Leslau" />{{Rp|pages=341-344}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-right: 20px;"
|+Compound Imperfect conjugation
! Pronoun
! Prefix and suffix
! Example {{lang|am-Latn|säb(ə)r}}
|-
| I
| ə- -allähu
| {{lang|am|እሰብራለሁ}} {{lang|am-Latn|əsäbrallähu}}
|-
| you (m. sg.)
| tə- -alläh
| {{lang|am|ትሰብራለህ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təsäbralläh}}
|-
| you (f. sg.)
| tə- -iyalläš/-əyalläš
| {{lang|am|ትሰብሪያለሽ/ትሰብርያለሽ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təsäbriyalläš/təsäbrəyalläš}}
|-
| he
| yə- -all
| {{lang|am|ይሰብራል}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəsäbrall}}
|-
| she
| tə- -alläčč
| {{lang|am|ትሰብራለች}} {{lang|am-Latn|təsäbralläčč}}
|-
| we
| ənnə-/ən- -allähu
| {{lang|am|እንሰብራለን}} {{lang|am-Latn|ənnəsäbrallän/ənsäbrallän}}
|-
| you (pl.)
| tə- -allaččəhu
| {{lang|am|ትሰብራለችሁ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təsäbralläččəhu}}
|-
| they, (s)he (polite), you (polite)
| yə- -allu
| {{lang|am|ይሰብራሉ}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəsäbrallu}}
|}

=====Jussive=====
The [[jussive mood|jussive]] is formed using the same prefixes and suffixes as the imperfect except for the 1st person singular, which uses {{lang|am|ል}} {{lang|am-Latn|lə-}}. The 2nd person is only used in the negative jussive which formed using the prefix {{lang|am|አ}} {{lang|am-Latn|a-}}.<ref name="Leslau" />{{Rp|pages=347-348}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-right: 20px;"
|+Jussive conjugation
! Pronoun
! Prefix and suffix
! Type A Example {{lang|am-Latn|sbär}}
! Type B Example {{lang|am-Latn|fälləg}}
! Type C Example {{lang|am-Latn|mar(ə)k}}
|-
| I
| lə-
| {{lang|am|ልስበር}} {{lang|am-Latn|ləsbär}}
| {{lang|am|ልፈልግ}} {{lang|am-Latn|ləfälləg}}
| {{lang|am|ለማርክ}} {{lang|am-Latn|ləmark}}
|-
| he
| yə-
| {{lang|am|ይስበር}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəsbär}}
| {{lang|am|ይፈልግ}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəfälləg}}
| {{lang|am|ይማርክ}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəmark}}
|-
| she
| tə-
| {{lang|am|ትስበር}} {{lang|am-Latn|təsbär}}
| {{lang|am|ተፈልግ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təfälləg}}
| {{lang|am|ተማርክ}} {{lang|am-Latn|təmark}}
|-
| we
| ənnə-/ən-
| {{lang|am|እንስበር}} {{lang|am-Latn|ənnəsbär}}
| {{lang|am|እንፈልግ}} {{lang|am-Latn|ənnəfälləg}}
| {{lang|am|እንማርክ}} {{lang|am-Latn|ənnəmark}}
|-
| they, (s)he (polite)
| yə- -u
| {{lang|am|ይበሩ}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəsbäru}}
| {{lang|am|ይፈልጉ}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəfälləgu}}
| {{lang|am|ይማርኩ}} {{lang|am-Latn|yəmarku}}
|}

=====Imperative=====
The [[imperative mood|imperative]] is used for orders and commands, and only has forms for the second person singular and plural. Negative imperatives are expressed using the negative jussive.<ref name="Leslau" />{{Rp|pages=353}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-right: 20px;"
|+Imperative conjugation
! Pronoun
! Suffix
! Type A Example {{lang|am-Latn|səbär}}
! Type B Example {{lang|am-Latn|fälləg}}
! Type C Example {{lang|am-Latn|mar(ə)k}}
|-
| you (m. sg.)
| -
| {{lang|am|ስበር}} {{lang|am-Latn|səbär}}
| {{lang|am|ፈልግ}} {{lang|am-Latn|fälləg}}
| {{lang|am|ማርክ}} {{lang|am-Latn|mark}}
|-
| you (f. sg.)
| -i
| {{lang|am|ስበሪ}} {{lang|am-Latn|səbär}}
| {{lang|am|ፈልጊ}} {{lang|am-Latn|fälləgi}}
| {{lang|am|ማርኪ}} {{lang|am-Latn|marki}}
|-
| you (pl.)
| -u
| {{lang|am|ስበሩ}} {{lang|am-Latn|səbäru}}
| {{lang|am|ፈልጉ}} {{lang|am-Latn|fälləgu}}
| {{lang|am|ማርኩ}} {{lang|am-Latn|marku}}
|}

====Participles====
Participles are derived from basic and derived stems. The participle forms of triradicals for type A is {{lang|am|ሰባሪ}} {{lang|am-Latn|säbari}}, for type B {{lang|am|ፈላጊ}} {{lang|am-Latn|fällagi}}, and for type C {{lang|am|ማራኪ}} {{lang|am-Latn|maraki}} .<ref name="Leslau" />{{Rp|pages=390}}

====Verbal Nouns====
The verbal noun of a regular triradical is formed by prefixing {{lang|am|መ}} {{lang|am-Latn|mä-}} to the form {{lang|am|-ስበር}} {{lang|am-Latn|-sbär}} for type A, {{lang|am|-ፈለገ}} {{lang|am-Latn|-fällägä}} for type B, and {{lang|am|-ማረከ}} {{lang|am-Latn|-marräkä}} for type C.<ref name="Leslau" />{{Rp|pages=393}}

====Gerund====
Along with the infinitive and the present participle, the gerund is one of three [[non-finite verb]] forms. The infinitive is a nominalized verb, the present participle expresses incomplete action, and the gerund expresses completed action, e.g. {{lang|am-latn|ali məsa}} '''{{Lang|am-latn|bälto}}''' {{Lang|am-latn|wädä gäbäya hedä}} 'Ali, having eaten lunch, went to the market'. There are several usages of the gerund depending on its morpho-syntactic features.

=====Verbal use=====
The gerund functions as the head of a subordinate clause (see the example above). There may be more than one gerund in one sentence. The gerund is used to form the following tense forms:
* present perfect '''{{lang|am-latn|nägro}}''' {{lang|am-latn|-all/näbbär}} 'He has said'.
* past perfect '''{{lang|am-latn|nägro}}''' {{lang|am-latn|näbbär}} 'He had said'.
* possible perfect '''{{lang|am-latn|nägro}}''' {{lang|am-latn|yǝhonall}} 'He (probably) has said'.

=====Adverbial use=====
The gerund can be used as an adverb: '''{{Lang|am-latn|alfo alfo}}''' {{lang|am-latn|yǝsǝqall}} 'Sometimes he laughs'. (From {{Lang|am|ማለፍ}} 'to pass')

===Adjectives===
[[Adjective]]s are words or constructions used to qualify nouns. Adjectives in Amharic can be formed in several ways: they can be based on nominal patterns, or derived from nouns, verbs and other parts of speech. Adjectives can be nominalized by way of suffixing the nominal article (see [[Amharic language#Nouns|Nouns]] above). Amharic has few primary adjectives. Some examples are {{lang|am-latn|dägg}} 'kind, generous', {{lang|am-latn|dǝda}} 'mute, dumb, silent', {{lang|am-latn|bič̣a}} 'yellow'.

====Nominal patterns====
:CäCCaC – {{lang|am-latn|käbbad}} 'heavy'; {{lang|am-latn|läggas}} 'generous'
:CäC(C)iC – {{lang|am-latn|räqiq}} 'fine, subtle'; {{lang|am-latn|addis}} 'new'
:CäC(C)aCa – {{lang|am-latn|säbara}} 'broken'; {{lang|am-latn|ṭämama}} 'bent, wrinkled'
:CəC(C)əC – {{lang|am-latn|bǝlǝh}} 'intelligent, smart'; {{lang|am-latn|dǝbbǝq}} 'hidden'
:CəC(C)uC – {{lang|am-latn|kǝbur}} 'worthy, dignified'; {{lang|am-latn|ṭǝqur}} 'black'; {{lang|am-latn|qəddus}} 'holy'

====Denominalizing suffixes====
:{{lang|am-latn|-äñña}} – {{lang|am-latn|hayl-äñña}} 'powerful' (from {{Lang|am-latn|hayl}} 'power'); {{lang|am-latn|ǝwnät-äñña}} 'true' (from {{lang|am-latn|ǝwnät}} 'truth')
:{{lang|am-latn|-täñña}} – {{lang|am-latn|aläm-täñña}} 'secular' (from {{Lang|am-latn|aläm}} 'world')
:{{lang|am-latn|-awi}} – {{lang|am-latn|lǝbb-awi}} 'intelligent' (from {{lang|am-latn|lǝbb}} 'heart'); {{lang|am-latn|mǝdr-awi}} 'earthly' (from {{lang|am-latn|mǝdr}} 'earth'); {{Lang|am-latn|haymanot-awi}} 'religious' (from {{Lang|am-latn|haymanot}} 'religion')

====Prefix {{Lang|am-latn|yä}}====
:{{Lang|am-latn|yä-kätäma}} 'urban' ({{lit|from the city}}); {{lang|am-latn|yä-krǝstǝnna}} 'Christian' ({{lit|of Christianity}}); {{lang|am-latn|yä-wǝšät}} 'wrong' ({{lit|of falsehood}}).

====Adjective noun complex====
The adjective and the noun together are called the 'adjective noun complex'. In Amharic, the adjective precedes the noun, with the verb last; e.g. {{lang|am-latn|kǝfu geta}} 'a bad master'; {{IPA|təlləq bet särra}} (lit. big house he-built) 'he built a big house'.

If the adjective noun complex is [[definiteness|definite]], the definite article is suffixed to the adjective and not to the noun, e.g. {{lang|am-latn|tǝllǝq-u bet}} (lit. big-<small>def</small> house) 'the big house'. In a possessive construction, the adjective takes the definite article, and the noun takes the pronominal possessive suffix, e.g. {{lang|am-latn|tǝllǝq-u bet-e}} (lit. big-<small>def</small> house-my) {{Gloss|my big house}}.

When enumerating adjectives using {{lang|am-latn|-nna}} 'and', both adjectives take the definite article: {{lang|am-latn|qonǧo-wa-nna astäway-wa lǝǧ mäṭṭačč}} (lit. pretty-<small>def</small>-and intelligent-<small>def</small> girl came) {{gloss|the pretty and intelligent girl came}}. In the case of an indefinite plural adjective noun complex, the noun is plural and the adjective may be used in singular or in plural form. Thus, 'diligent students' can be rendered {{lang|am-latn|tǝgu tämariʷočč}} (lit. diligent student-<small>PLUR</small>) or {{lang|am-latn|təguʷočč tämariʷočč}} (lit. diligent-<small>PLUR</small> student-<small>PLUR</small>).

==Literature==
{{See also|Amharas#Culture|List of Amharic writers}}
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 300
| caption_align     = center
| align             = right
| image1            = Baalu Girma writing.png
| caption1          = {{font|size=100%|text=[[Baalu Girma]] (1939–1984), regarded as one of the greatest novelists, journalists and critiques in Ethiopia, with which one of his six works such as ''[[Oromay|The End]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Teweldebirhan|first=Seble
|url=https://www.ezega.com/News/NewsDetails/3442/Remembering-Baalu-Girma|title=Remembering Baalu Girma
 |work=Ezega|date=21 April 2013 |access-date=29 September 2024}}</ref>}}
| image2            = Haddis Alemayehu.png
| caption2          = {{font|size=100%|text=[[Haddis Alemayehu]] (1910–2003), foreign minister and novelist, author of ''[[Love to the Grave]]'', considered the greatest novel in contemporary Ethiopian literature.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ayele|first=Tesfaye
|title=Haddis Alemayehu's Vision of the Old World: Literary Realism and the Tragedy of History in the Amharic Novel Fikir iske Mekabir|journal=[[Cambridge University]]|date=1 September 2023|volume=10
|issue=3
|pages=353–376
|doi=10.1017/pli.2023.26
|doi-access=free}}</ref>}}
}}

[[Haddis Alemayehu]] (1910–2003), foreign minister and novelist, including author of ''[[Love to the Grave]]'', considered the greatest novel in Ethiopian literature. The oldest surviving examples of written Amharic date back to the reigns of the 14th century [[Emperor of Ethiopia]] [[Amda Seyon I]] and his successors, who commissioned a number of poems known as "{{Lang|am|የወታደሮች መዝሙር}}" ([[Soldier songs]]) glorifying them and their troops. There is a growing body of literature in Amharic in many genres. This literature includes government proclamations and records, educational books, religious material, novels, poetry, [[Paremiography|proverb collections]], dictionaries (monolingual and bilingual), technical manuals, medical topics, etc. The Bible was first translated into Amharic by [[Abu Rumi]] in the early 19th century, but other [[Bible translations into Amharic|translations of the Bible into Amharic]] have been done since. The most famous Amharic novel is ''[[Love to the Grave (novel)|Fiqir Iske Meqabir]]'' (transliterated various ways) by [[Haddis Alemayehu]] (1909–2003), translated into English by Sisay Ayenew with the title ''Love unto Crypt'', published in 2005 ({{ISBN|978-1-4184-9182-6}}). Others include [[Baalu Girma]], [[Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin]], [[Kebede Michael]].

==Rastafari movement==
The word ''[[Rastafari]]'' comes from {{Lang|am-latn|Ras Täfäri}}, the [[regnal name|pre-regnal]] title of [[Haile Selassie]], composed of the Amharic words {{Lang|am-latn|Ras}} (literally {{Gloss|Head}}, an Ethiopian title equivalent to [[duke]]) and Haile Selassie's pre-regnal name, Tafari.<ref name="ChangChen1998">{{cite book|author1=Kevin O'Brien Chang|author2=Wayne Chen|title=Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music|url=https://archive.org/details/reggaeroutesstor00chan|url-access=registration|access-date=2 May 2013|year=1998|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=978-1-56639-629-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/reggaeroutesstor00chan/page/n253 242]–}}</ref>

Many Rastafarians learn Amharic as a second language, as they consider it to be sacred. After Haile Selassie's 1966 visit to Jamaica, study circles in Amharic were organized in Jamaica as part of the ongoing exploration of Pan-African identity and culture.<ref>[http://www.reggae.be/en/magazine/interviews/The_Abyssinians_Bernard_Collins_Abyssinians_music_is_creeping_music_and_we_were_a_creeping_band_ Bernard Collins (The Abyssinians) Interview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201121031/http://www.reggae.be/en/magazine/interviews/The_Abyssinians_Bernard_Collins_Abyssinians_music_is_creeping_music_and_we_were_a_creeping_band_ |date=1 February 2014 }}. Published 4 November 2011 by Jah Rebel. Retrieved 4 May 2013.</ref> Various [[roots reggae|reggae]] artists in the 1970s, including [[Ras Michael]], [[Lincoln Thompson]] and [[Misty in Roots]], have sung in Amharic, thus bringing the language to a wider audience. [[The Abyssinians]], a reggae group, have also used Amharic, most notably in the song "[[Satta Massagana]]". The title was believed to mean {{Gloss|give thanks}}; however, this phrase means {{Gloss|he thanked}} or {{Gloss|he praised}}, as {{lang|am-latn|säṭṭä}} means {{Gloss|he gave}}, and {{lang|am-latn|amässägänä}} {{Gloss|thanks, praise}}. The correct way to say {{Gloss|give thanks}} in Amharic is one word, {{Lang|am-latn|misgana}}. The word {{Lang|am-latn|satta}} has become a common expression in the Rastafari dialect of English, [[Iyaric]], meaning {{Gloss|to sit down and partake}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snwmf.com/abyssinians.html |title=SNWMF 2005 – Performers |publisher=Snwmf.com |access-date=4 March 2012}}</ref>

==Software==
Amharic is supported on most major [[Linux]] distributions, including Fedora and Ubuntu. Amharic script is included in [[Unicode]], in the [[Ethiopic (Unicode block)|Ethiopic block]] (U+1200 – U+137F). Nyala font is included on Windows 7 (see [[YouTube]] video)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBvP_oarrbk | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/bBvP_oarrbk| archive-date=2021-10-30|title=Amharic Keyboard for Windows Vista |publisher=YouTube |date=1 February 2009 |access-date=10 August 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and Vista (Amharic [[Language Interface Pack]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0e21eb7b-e01a-4fcc-b7f1-30e419da7f5b&displaylang=am# |title=የዳውንሎድ ዝርዝር፡- Windows Vista LIP |publisher=Microsoft.com |date=29 January 2010 |access-date=10 August 2013}}</ref> to display and edit using the Amharic Script. In February 2010, Microsoft released its [[Windows Vista]] operating system in Amharic, enabling Amharic speakers to use its operating system in their language.

[[Google]] added Amharic to its [[Google Translate|Language Tools]],{{when|date=February 2024}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Google |url=https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=am  }}</ref> which allows typing Amharic script online without an Amharic keyboard. Since 2004 Wikipedia has had an Amharic-language Wiki that uses Ethiopic script. There has been some work on building tools for information retrieval in Amharic with some success even before the recent advances in neural processing.<ref>Atelach Alemu Argaw, Lars Asker, Rickard Cöster, and Jussi Karlgren. 2004. "Dictionary-based Amharic–English information retrieval". Cross-Language Evaluation Forum (CLEF 2004). Bath.</ref><ref>AA Argaw, L Asker, R Cöster, J Karlgren, M Sahlgren. 2005. "Dictionary-based Amharic-French information retrieval." Cross-Language Evaluation Forum (CLEF 2005). Vienna.</ref><ref>Yeshambel, Tilahun, Josiane Mothe, and Yaregal Assabie. "Amharic document representation for adhoc retrieval." In KDIR 2020. 2020.</ref><ref>Yeshambel, Tilahun, Josiane Mothe, and Yaregal Assabie. "Amharic adhoc information retrieval system based on morphological features." Applied Sciences 12, no. 3 (2022): 1294.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Help:IPA/Amharic]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

===Grammar===
* [[Hiob Ludolf|Ludolf, Hiob]] (1698). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8BMAAAAcAAJ Grammatica Linguæ Amharicæ.]'' Frankfort.
* {{cite book
 |last = Abraham
 |first = Roy Clive
 |year = 1968
 |title = The Principles of Amharic
 |publisher = Occasional Publication / Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan
 }} [''rewritten version of 'A modern grammar of spoken Amharic', 1941'']
* {{cite book|last1=Afevork|first1=Ghevre Jesus|author-link1=Afevork Ghevre Jesus|title=Grammatica della lingua amarica: metodo pratico per l'insegnamento|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LNbfAAAAMAAJ|year=1905|publisher=R. Accademia dei Lincei}}
* Afevork Ghevre Jesus (1911). ''Il verbo amarico''. Roma.
* Amsalu Aklilu & Demissie Manahlot (1990). ''T'iru ye'Amarinnya Dirset 'Indet Yale New!'' (An Amharic grammar, in Amharic)
* Anbessa Teferra and [[Grover Hudson]] (2007). ''Essentials of Amharic.'' Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
* Appleyard, David (1994). ''Colloquial Amharic''. Routledge {{ISBN|0-415-10003-8}}
* {{cite book|first1=Armbruster|last1=Carl Hubert|title=Initia amharica: an Introduction to Spoken Amharic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8h0YAAAAYAAJ|year=1908|publisher=The University Press}}
* Baye Yimam (2007). ''Amharic Grammar''. Second Edition. Addis Ababa University. Ethiopia.
* [[Lionel Bender (linguist)|Bender, M. Lionel]]. (1974) "Phoneme frequencies in Amharic". ''Journal of Ethiopian Studies'' 12.1:19–24
* Bender, M. Lionel and Hailu Fulass (1978). ''Amharic verb morphology.'' (Committee on Ethiopian Studies, monograph 7.) East Lansing: African Studies Center, Michigan State University.
* Bennet, M. E. (1978). ''Stratificational Approaches to Amharic Phonology.'' PhD thesis, Ann Arbor: Michigan State University.
* [[Marcel Cohen|Cohen, Marcel]] (1936). ''Traité de langue amharique.'' Paris: Institut d'Ethnographie.
* Cohen, Marcel (1939). ''Nouvelles études d'éthiopien merdional.'' Paris: Champion.
* Dawkins, C. H. (¹1960, ²1969). ''The Fundamentals of Amharic.'' Addis Ababa.
* [[Olga Kapeliuk|Kapeliuk, Olga]] (1988). ''Nominalization in Amharic.'' Stuttgart: F. Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden. {{ISBN|3-515-04512-0}}
* Kapeliuk, Olga (1994). ''Syntax of the noun in Amharic.'' Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. {{ISBN|3-447-03406-8}}.
* Łykowska, Laura (1998). ''Gramatyka jezyka amharskiego'' Wydawnictwo Akademickie Dialog. {{ISBN|83-86483-60-1}}
* [[Wolf Leslau|Leslau, Wolf]] (1995). ''Reference Grammar of Amharic.'' Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden. {{ISBN|3-447-03372-X}}
* Praetorius, Franz (1879). ''Die amharische Sprache.'' Halle: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses.

===Dictionaries===
* [[Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie|Abbadie, Antoine d']] (1881). ''Dictionnaire de la langue amariñña.'' Actes de la Société philologique, t. 10. Paris.
* Amsalu Aklilu (1973). ''English-Amharic dictionary.'' Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-572264-7}}
* [[Joseph-Émile Baeteman|Baeteman, J.-É.]] (1929). ''Dictionnaire amarigna-français.'' Diré-Daoua
* Gankin, É. B. (1969). ''Amxarsko-russkij slovar'. Pod redaktsiej Kassa Gäbrä Heywät.'' Moskva: Izdatel'stvo 'Sovetskaja Éntsiklopedija'.
* [[Ignazio Guidi|Guidi, I.]] (1901). ''Vocabolario amarico-italiano.'' Roma.
* {{cite book|last1=Isenberg|first1=Karl Wilhelm|author-link=Karl Wilhelm Isenberg|title=Dictionary of the Amharic language: Amharic and English: Englisch and Amharic|publisher=Church Missionary Society|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryamhari00isen|access-date=25 August 2012|year=1841}}
* Guidi, I. (1940). ''Supplemento al Vocabolario amarico-italiano.'' (compilato con il concorso di Francesco Gallina ed [[Enrico Cerulli]]) Roma.
* Kane, Thomas L. (1990). ''Amharic–English Dictionary.'' (2 vols.) Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz. {{ISBN|3-447-02871-8}}
* Leslau, Wolf (1976). ''Concise Amharic Dictionary.'' (Reissue edition: 1996) Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-20501-4}}
* Täsämma Habtä Mikael Gəṣṣəw (1953 [[Ethiopian calendar]]). ''Käsate Bərhan Täsämma. Yä-Amarəñña mäzgäbä qalat.'' Addis Ababa: Artistic.

==External links==
{{InterWiki|Amharic language|code=am}}
{{Wikivoyage|Amharic phrasebook|Amharic|a phrasebook}}
{{wiktionarycat}}
{{commons category|Amharic language}}
{{wikibooks|Amharic}} 
* '''Amharic Keyboard online''' (''and offline too''): [https://www.branah.com/amharic  ''type 1''] and [https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/amharic.htm ''type 2'']
* '''Fonts for Geʽez script''':
** ''[https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Sans+Ethiopic Noto Sans Ethiopic]'' (multiple weights and widths)
** [https://fonts.google.com/noto/specimen/Noto+Serif+Ethiopic?query=MCKL%2F ''Noto Serif Ethiopic''] (multiple weights and widths)
** [https://software.sil.org/abyssinica/download/ ''Abyssinica SIL''] ([https://software.sil.org/abyssinica/charset/ Character set support])
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060804183542/http://www.msu.edu/~hudson/Amhbiblio.htm Selected Annotated Bibliography on Amharic] by [https://web.archive.org/web/20110607201605/http://www.msu.edu/%7Ehudson/index.htm Grover Hudson at the Michigan State University] website.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160414000422/https://fsi-languages.yojik.eu/languages/amharic.html US State Dept. FSI Amharic course]

{{Languages of Ethiopia}}
{{Semitic languages |expanded=Western South}}
{{Portal bar|Ethiopia|Language|Society}}{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Amharic language| ]]<!--please leave the empty space as standard-->
[[Category:Fusional languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Ethiopia]]
[[Category:South Semitic languages]]
[[Category:Transverse Ethiopian Semitic languages]]
[[Category:Languages written in Geʽez script]]