Armenian Exclamation Mark

Switch to an Armenian layout and type ՜ after the vowel.

Key positions vary by Armenian layout. On systems that offer Unicode entry, use the character picker for U+055C. A supporting font places ՜ above and slightly to the right of the vowel it follows.

Why is ՜ above the vowel?

It marks the word that carries the expressive intonation.

In Modern Eastern Armenian, ՜ marks a rise-and-fall voice on short exclamations and sound-imitating words. It can highlight another word too. In an emotional command, it can replace the stress mark to convey surprise or a wish. The mark follows the relevant vowel in the written sequence, then appears above it, so it singles out a word instead of closing the sentence.

Until the 10th century, Armenian manuscripts are reported to have used only a comma-like punctuation mark. In the 12th and 13th centuries, grammar commentaries (texts explaining language rules) and Armenian neume notation (marks guiding sung phrases) helped establish conventional punctuation. The system gave writing ways to mark speech melody. Related Armenian intonation signs have also been linked to Greek accents, though this does not establish a direct Greek ancestor for ՜.