Ethiopic syllable DDI

It combines the DDA-series consonant with the vowel i. An Ethiopic fidel is a character that joins a consonant and a vowel. ዺ is the i-vowel form in the DDA series, conventionally transliterated DDI; it belongs inside a word's spelling.

ዲ is the i-vowel form in the separate DA series. The difference is the consonant row, not just a change in Latin spelling. Use the form required by the word; language references list ዺ for Amharic, while each language uses only part of the wider Ethiopic inventory.

Where did the Ethiopic script come from?

It developed from an older consonant-writing tradition. One account places the earliest known Ethiopic-script inscriptions in the 8th century BCE; a clearly defined Ethiopic script is dated to the 2nd/3rd centuries CE. Its vowel-marked system had developed by the 4th century. The script is historically related to Ancient South Arabian writing, though the route is debated.

Ge'ez served as a shared language in the Aksumite kingdom and later as a language of Ethiopian and Eritrean church services. Around the 14th century, Amharic entered writing through this inherited script. Later adaptations served more languages, each using its own subset of the inventory.