Ethiopic Syllable Gge

It writes an Awngi syllable with the nasal “ng” sound.

This is the nasal made at the back of the mouth, like the sound at the end of English “sing.” Pronunciation references transcribe its vowel differently: ŋə or ŋɨ. Those are sound notations, not different Ethiopic characters.

Where does ጝ fit in Ethiopic history?

Ethiopic writing grew from South Arabian consonant writing.

Early inscriptions in Ethiopia and Eritrea, called pseudo-Sabaean because their writing resembles ancient South Arabian script, date to the 8th/7th centuries BCE. A distinct local Ethiopic consonant script appears in the 1st–3rd centuries CE. By the 4th century it had developed into an abugida: each basic sign has forms that show different vowels.

The system was developed for Ge'ez and later adapted to write Amharic, Tigrinya, Tigre and other languages. This GGE form is assigned to Awngi and Hamt'agna, not to every language written with Ethiopic characters.

How can I type ጝ?

Choose an Awngi or Xamtanga Ethiopic keyboard layout.

The GFF Awngi & Xamtanga Keyman manual lists an extended GGE row. As of 2026, it also lists fonts that support Agew letters, including Abyssinica SIL and Noto Ethiopic. Key positions depend on the layout.

If ጝ appears as a box or blank, the font may lack its drawing. A font with Ethiopic extension coverage can display the same stored character.