Grafle

Script guide › Independent Scripts

Amharic (Ethiopic) vs Armenian

Amharic (Ethiopic) and Armenian sit in the same corner of the writing-system map — Grafle's Independent Scripts group — and players mix them up constantly. Here's the fastest way to tell them apart.

The tell

Amharic glyphs are leggy syllable-symbols; Armenian is an alphabet of rounded u/n shapes with tails.

Side by side

Amharic (Ethiopic)

የሰው ልጅ ሁሉ ነጻና በክብር እኩል ሆኖ ይወለዳል።

ሰላም፣ እንደምን አለህ?

አማርኛ ውብ ቋንቋ ነው።

Amharic (Ethiopic)'s own tells

  • Symbols look like little chairs and people with legs — each one is a consonant+vowel syllable.

On signs in:

  • Ethiopia

Full guide to recognizing Amharic (Ethiopic) →

Armenian

Բոլոր մարդիկ ծնվում են ազատ և հավասար իրենց արժանապատվությամբ։

Բարև, ինչպե՞ս ես այսօր։

Հայերենը գեղեցիկ լեզու է։

Armenian's own tells

  • Rounded u- and n-shapes with long tails (ա, մ, ն, ո) — like Latin letters melted into new forms.

On signs in:

  • Armenia

Full guide to recognizing Armenian →

More lookalike pairs