Arabic Letter Hamza Isolated Form

It represents hamza, the Arabic sign for a glottal stop.

A glottal stop is a brief closure in the throat, like the catch between the two parts of “uh-oh.” In Arabic writing, hamza marks this consonant, distinct from alif when alif represents the long vowel ā. The spelling convention developed over time; seventh-century Qur'anic manuscripts show sparse, variable vowel and other small marks.

This exact glyph is the fixed isolated display form. In ordinary Arabic text, the base hamza is used and the text shaper chooses its displayed form from context.

Should I use ﺀ in regular Arabic text?

Usually no; use base hamza ء and let text shaping choose its form.

Unicode presentation forms such as this one exist for compatibility with older character sets. They are not recommended for regular Arabic text. A fixed isolated form can look right by itself but may not behave like a base character when a word is edited, searched, or shaped beside other letters.

For hamza carried by another letter, use the spelling that fits the word, such as أ, إ, ؤ, or ئ. The exact code point U+FE80 is useful when preserving data that specifically requires this legacy presentation form.

Does hamza work the same way in Persian and Urdu?

No; each language has its own spelling conventions.

Arabic uses hamza for a consonantal glottal stop. In Persian, initial hamza is written with alif, while final hamza after a vowel is usually not written. Persian and Urdu also use some hamza-above spellings for ezafe, the linking vowel between a noun and its modifier.

In Arabic spelling, أ and إ place hamza on alif, ؤ places it on waw, and ئ places it on yeh. These are related carrier spellings: the carrier and its position reflect the written form, while the sign remains hamza.