Bamum Letter Ndiq (Phase E)

Use a Unicode hex input tool. Enter U+1698E or 1698E, depending on the tool’s format. A four-digit-only input field cannot accept this supplementary-plane character.

The character may need a font that covers historical Bamum. If it appears as a box, the selected font lacks its glyph; the character itself has not changed. Different fonts can also draw its outline differently.

What does 𖦎 mean in Bamum writing?

It is a historical Bamum writing sign read as ndiʔ. The small mark ʔ represents a glottal stop, the brief catch in the middle of “uh-oh.” The Unicode English name writes that sound with q, giving Ndiq; it is a reading label, not an English translation.

The Bamum script was created for writing the Bamum language. It began with many picture-like word signs used as memory aids, then changed through revisions for records, letters, teaching, law, maps, and religious writing. Phase E was used for a Bible translation, and early signs drew on Bamum visual culture, including textile patterns and occupational imagery.

The earliest surviving manuscript evidence cited for the script is a Phase-A manuscript dated 1897. Phase E, called Rii Nyi Mfw' Men, developed around 1907–1908. By 1910, the later A-ka-u-ku stage had shifted toward a compact syllabary, a system in which signs represent syllables.

Why is 𖦎 called Phase-E?

The label marks the last phase where this form is recorded. The character appears in the record for phases A, B, C, D, and E. Its name connects it to that longer sequence of Bamum revisions; it does not say that the shape originated in Phase E. The later Phase-G repertoire is a distinct stage of the script.