Arabic Ligature Beh with Heh Initial Form

It represents the Arabic letters ب + ه together.

This beh–heh presentation form stores their joined shape at the start of a joining run. “Initial” names that position, not a new sound or meaning.

Arabic text uses context-shaped letters, and fonts can form ligatures. Older software and data sometimes stored selected shapes directly; Unicode kept a set of these forms for compatibility. Ordinary letters are the preferred representation for text.

Should I type ﲠ or ب + ه?

Use ب + ه for new Arabic text.

Enter the two ordinary letters in that order, without a space, and let the text system shape them. Keep ﲠ when preserving older data that already contains this presentation character.

A font may draw a similar ligature from the ordinary letters. It can look the same while the stored text remains two characters.

Why does ﲠ show as a box?

The active font may lack this compatibility glyph.

Fonts and shaping systems do not all support every encoded presentation form. A box means the character is not displayed by the active font; it does not change the stored text.

Try a font with Arabic presentation-form coverage. Changing fonts can change the outline without changing the character.