Ethiopic Syllable Cu

It joins the ch sound (as in “church”) with u. Ethiopic fidel signs pair a consonant and vowel, so ቹ contributes a syllable inside a word. Latin transliteration varies: cu and chu are both used. The Ethiopic script grew from ancient South Arabian writing; inscriptions show it by the second or third century, with vowel distinctions by the fourth century. It first wrote Ge’ez, then was adapted for Amharic, Tigrinya and other languages. Scholars link the seven-vowel system to Christian scripture; possible influence from the Indian scripts Brahmi or Kharosthi remains uncertain.