ቆ (qo)

The Ge'ez letter ቀ is called ቃፍ (qāf). It represents an “ejective velar”, which sounds like a forceful in English. The sound is rare but it appears in languages like Georgian, e.g. კი (k’i) “yes”, and and Navajo, e.g. “k’é” (friendship).

Its shape ቀ is derived from the epigraphic character: 𐩤. It correlates to the Arabic letter ق, the Syriac letter ܩ, and the Hebrew letter ק.

Ge’ez words starting with ቀ include ቅዱስ (qəddus) “saint”, ቃል (qāl) “word”, and ቍርባን (qwərbān) “offering”.