Ethiopic Syllable Mo

ሞ represents the “mo” syllable in Ethiopic writing. It appears inside Amharic, Tigrinya, and Ge’ez words; the full word supplies the meaning.

Text symbol

What ሞ means

It marks one consonant plus an o vowel. On its own, it has no fixed word translation; inside a word, it contributes that sound.

Pseudo-Sabaean inscriptions in Ethiopia and Eritrea date to the 8th/7th centuries BCE. Proto-Ge’ez writing at the archaeological sites of Yeha and Matara dates to the fourth to fifth century BCE. Ethiopic writing is linked to Ancient South Arabian writing, though the route is debated.

These scripts recorded language in monumental inscriptions and private writing. Around 350 CE, Ge’ez developed systematic vowel forms, turning consonant signs into syllable families. Amharic adopted the script in the 13th or 14th century, and Tigrinya also uses it. As of 2026, Ge’ez is mainly liturgical.

Part of the collection

ሀ

Amharic Alphabet & Letters

Who writes ሞ

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Don't confuse it with

ም

Ethiopic Syllable Me

ሞ vs ም: ም is the consonant-only m form; ሞ adds the o vowel.

Questions people ask

Why does ሞ show as a box on some devices?

Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.