How a word comes together

Almost every Amharic letter is a combination of a consonant sound and a vowel sound. Spell each letter, join those spellings with hyphens, and the word reads itself:

ሰላም

SUH-LAHM , “peace / hello”

ሰ = SUH · ላ = LAH · ም = MIH. No lookup tables, no guessing, the spelling is the pronunciation.

SUH - LAH - MIH

Note that real speech blends sounds (see below).

SUH - LAH - MIH  →  SUH-LAHM

Why uppercase?

The uppercase style signals “this is a sound-spelling, not an English word”, so learners never confuse SUH with an English syllable, and the system stays instantly recognizable across the poster, the app, and everything we make next.

Real speech blends sounds

In general, reading letter by letter is acceptable. It may not always sound exactly like a native speaker, but you will be understood. In everyday speech, however, the sounds blend together. For example, the final IH is often reduced or omitted, causing the ending consonant to blend with the sound of the preceding letter, forming a single syllable:

ሰላም = SUH-LAH-MIH → SUH-LAHM (peace)
ድመት = DIH-MUH-TIH → DIH-MUHT (cat)
ፈረስ = FUH-RUH-SIH → FUH-RUHS (horse)
ወፍ = WUH-FIH → WUHF (bird)
ልጅ = LIH-JIH → LIHJ (child)

This can also happen at other positions in the word and with other sounds.

An honest note on the system

The TEDYAPPS™ system is a close approximation: not perfect, but the closest sound possible. The app's native voice is the true reference.