Is the audio recorded by native speakers?

Most words are spoken by a computer-generated Tigrinya voice, because no commercial text-to-speech exists for Tigrinya. Recordings by native speakers are being added and replace the generated audio word by word. Every clip is labelled so you always know which one your child is hearing.

How many words does the course teach?

9,995 words. 9,953 have audio today; 42 are being re-recorded after a wording correction. 844 of them carry a photograph; the rest show the Tigrinya script at full size, which is what a child is learning to read.

What does it cost and can I cancel?

Seven days free with no card required. After that it is a monthly subscription covering up to four children, and you can cancel at any time from your account.

Is it safe for children?

Children have no email address, no location is tracked, there are no adverts and no messaging with strangers. A parent holds the account and every child profile sits inside it.

←

The alphabet

Every letter is a syllable, not just a consonant. Take the shape for ለ (l) and change its tail seven ways — one for each vowel.

ግዕዝ

1 · “ä”

the plain sound

ካዕብ

2 · “u”

oo, like 'boot'

ሳልስ

3 · “i”

ee, like 'see'

ራብዕ

4 · “a”

ah, like 'car'

ሓምስ

5 · “e”

ay, like 'day'

ሳድስ

6 · “ə”

a tiny 'uh', or silent

ሳብዕ

7 · “o”

oh, like 'go'

ሀha soft breath — 'ha'

ለllike the l in 'lion'

ሐḥa deeper h, from the throat

መmhum it — 'mmm'

ረra little rolled r

ሰslike a snake, 'sss'

ሸšquiet please — 'shh'

ቀqa k made at the very back

ቐq̈a softer, breathier ቀ

በbpop your lips — 'buh'

ተttap your tongue — 'tuh'

ቸčlike ch in 'chair'

ነnthrough your nose — 'nnn'

ኘñlike the ny in 'canyon'

አʾjust the vowel, no consonant

ከklike k in 'kite'

ኸḵa breathy k, like clearing your throat

ወwround your lips — 'wuh'

ዐʿa squeeze deep in the throat

ዘzbuzz like a bee — 'zzz'

የylike y in 'yes'

ደdlike d in 'drum'

ጀjlike j in 'jump'

ገglike g in 'goat'

ጠṭa punchy t — say it hard

ጨč̣a punchy ch

ጰp̣a punchy p

ጸṣa punchy s — 'ts'

ፈfblow gently — 'fff'

ፐppop it — 'puh'

Row	ግዕዝ	ካዕብ	ሳልስ	ራብዕ	ሓምስ	ሳድስ	ሳብዕ
ሀ h
ለ l
ሐ ḥ
መ m
ረ r
ሰ s
ሸ š
ቀ q
ቐ q̈
በ b
ተ t
ቸ č
ነ n
ኘ ñ
አ ʾ
ከ k
ኸ ḵ
ወ w
ዐ ʿ
ዘ z
የ y
ደ d
ጀ j
ገ g
ጠ ṭ
ጨ č̣
ጰ p̣
ጸ ṣ
ፈ f
ፐ p

30 everyday families cover almost everything a child reads. 5 more appear mainly in older and religious texts, and the 30 “-wa” letters below sit outside the grid. 35 × 7 = 245, plus 30 = 275 letters in total.

The “-wa” letters

A handful of letters carry a built-in w. They sit outside the seven columns but turn up in very ordinary words.