Ethiopic syllable Qo

Read it as part of an Ethiopic-language word. “Qo” is a Latin-letter transliteration, a way of writing the syllable in another script, not a fixed English pronunciation. The Ethiopic script, also called fidel, serves languages including Amharic, Geʽez, Tigrinya, and Tigre; the language and word determine the reading. If someone sends ቆ alone, ask what word or sentence it came from before guessing at its tone.

An early trace of Ethiopic writing comes from Dakhanamo; clearly formed inscriptions date to the second or third centuries CE. By the fourth century, vowel marks had reshaped a consonant alphabet linked to Epigraphic South Arabian, an older alphabet known from South Arabian inscriptions, into syllable-based writing for Geʽez. By the thirteenth century, Geʽez was chiefly used in worship, while the script also served Amharic, Tigrinya, and Tigre.

How is ቆ related to ቀ?

ቆ is the o-form in the Ethiopic q-series. Syllables in a series share a consonant and change the vowel: ቀ and ቅ share the q base, while ቆ is its o form. ቈ begins a related labialized branch, meaning the consonant is formed with extra lip-rounding.