Chakma Letter Thaa

It marks Chakma thaa, a consonant inside a word.

Chakma writing normally gives each consonant an unwritten vowel; vowel signs can change it, and the sign 𑄴 can cancel it. Thaa is pronounced with a t sound and a clear puff of air. Alone, 𑄗 identifies a letter, not a word.

Where did the Chakma script come from?

Chakma writing grew from Brahmi and served several traditions.

Brahmi is an ancient writing system from which Chakma and Bengali developed; Myanmar scripts also descend from it. Regional descriptions compare Chakma's curled forms with Mon, Burmese, Khmer, and Lanna letterforms, but resemblance alone does not establish direct descent. Chakma writing was adapted for neighboring Tanchangya and used for religious texts in Pali, a language of Buddhist scripture.

The script's older name, Ojhopath, means “the ojhas' reading”; ojhas were village healers who kept handwritten lists of medicinal plants, herbs, and roots. A Chakma council in Mizoram describes this role and the script's use in schools and community publishing in India's Mizoram and Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts as of 2026. A Banglapedia account edited in 2021 reports Chakma usually written in Bengali letters; a 2026 linguistic study describes deliberate Chakma-script use for language maintenance amid Bengali-dominant public life. Choosing it can signal that commitment; one letter alone cannot establish a writer's intent.