Arabic Letter Gaf Final Form

It is the final presentation of gaf, the /g/ letter. In Persian or Urdu text, read it as the same letter as گ, shown in its final shape.

Persian needed a written /g/ that Arabic did not provide, so its Arabic-derived script adapted a kāf-based letter. The broader move to Arabic script in Persian is also linked to conversion to Islam and the script of the Qur’an.

How did Persian gaf develop?

It developed as Persian writing adapted Arabic script. The earliest surviving Persian manuscript in Arabic script dates to the beginning of the 4th/10th century. Early Persian writing could use kāf for gāf; that practice continued well into the 6th/12th century and beyond.

The later gaf grew from a kāf form: a bar was added and became part of the letter. Persian and Urdu use gaf for /g/; standard Arabic does not ordinarily use it for that sound. Jawi Malay has a related one-dot kāf-based /g/ letter, while Moroccan Arabic and Amazigh writing use a three-dot form. These are related adaptations, not interchangeable spellings.

Should I use ﮓ or گ?

Use گ in ordinary text; ﮓ fixes one presentation. Text engines normally choose a connected Arabic-script letter’s shape from its position and surrounding letters. This character stores the final-looking form instead of leaving that choice to shaping.

Compatibility normalization maps ﮓ to گ. Use the base letter in a word; the fixed form is for legacy data or work that specifically requires this encoded presentation.