3: Recognize Cognates!

Ge'ez is classified as a south Semitic language. It has its idiosyncrasies but its overall syntax and morphology should be quite intuitive to anyone familiar with Arabic or Hebrew. Many Ge'ez roots have easily recognizable cognates in other Semitic languages. You'll start recognizing more and more cognates as you start to figure out the phonetic peculiarities. Consider the opening verse of the Book of Enoch (~200 C.E) - an ancient Jewish apocryphal text - that is part of the Ethiopian Canon. Out of the seven words in this line, five have easily recognizable Hebrew/Arabic cognates (underlined.) 

ቃለ፡ በረከት፡ ዘሄኖክ፡ ዘከመ፡ ባረከ፡ ኅሩያነ፡ ወጻድቃነ፡

// qale bereket ze-hénok - zekeme barreke xiruyane weṣadeqane //
“A word of blessing of Enoch – wherewith he blessed the chosen and the righteous.”


Here is a list of some Ge'ez nouns that have Hebrew and Arabic cognates:

ካህን	kahən	كاهن	כהן	Priest
ከውከብ	kewkeb	كوكب	כוכב	Star
ለውህ	lewh	لوح	לוח	Tablet
ልሳን	ləsan	لسان	לשון	Language
ምአት	məat	مئة	מאה	Hundred
ማይ	may	ماء	מים	Water
መሰኪን	mesekin	مسكين	מסכן	Poor
ፈረስ	feres	فرس	פרש	Horse
ቤት	bét	بيت	בית	House
ክታብ	kətab	كتاب	כתיבה	Writing
ለብ	leb	لبّ	לב	Heart
ንጉሥ	nəguš	النجاشي	נגוס	King
አሐዱ	eḥedu	أحد	אחד	One
ዘይት	zeyt	زيت	זית	Olive