Bengali letter ja

জ is the Bengali ja letter, with the j sound in English “job.” In Bangla, its built-in vowel can be changed with vowel signs. The same glyph is called bargiya za in Assamese.

Text symbol

What জ means

It marks the j sound, as in English “job.”

On its own, জ carries Bangla’s built-in vowel; vowel signs change it, as in জা, জি, and জো. Bengali য can sound similar, but the two letters have distinct spellings.

Where did Bengali ja come from?

It developed through older Indian scripts.

The Brahmi ancestor appears in inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE. The Bengali form developed through early Bengali writing and is documented in a 10th century Bāngarh inscription.

Part of the collection

অ

Bangla Alphabet & Letters

Who writes জ

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Don't confuse it with

য

Bengali Letter Ya

জ vs য: Bengali pronunciation can overlap, but spelling distinguishes them. Use the letter established for each word.

Alphabet

Bangla alphabet48 letters

অআইঈউঊঋৠঌৡএঐওঔকখগঘঙচছজঝঞটঠডঢণতৎথদধনপফবভমযরলশষসহঽ

Questions people ask

Why does জ show as a box on some devices?

Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.