Cham letter Va

It is the Cham letter va, usually pronounced with a quick “w” glide into “ah.”

Use it inside Cham syllables and words. It can appear at either end of a syllable; in final position, it can also mark the boundary between syllables.

Cham also writes the same sound with Cham letter A followed by the Wa sign, ꨀꨶ. That is a different spelling from ꨥ, even when the sound is the same.

How did Cham writing develop?

Cham writing developed from scripts in the old Brahmi family of South Asian writing.

The earliest known Old Cham inscription, catalogued as C.174, was carved in stone around 500 CE. Early inscriptions recorded temple foundations, offerings, royal declarations, and funerary memorials.

Later, Middle Cham writing appeared in handwritten manuscripts and more flowing styles for religious, literary, historical, and administrative texts. From the 15th century, some Cham communities also used Jawi, an Arabic-derived script, for Islamic writing. Eastern and Western Cham communities developed different literacy paths.

Why does ꨥ show as a box or look different?

Font and shaping support determine whether it appears and how its strokes look.

In 2026, a browser or app without a Cham-capable font may show a missing-character box. When vowel or consonant signs are combined with it, the app also needs text shaping—the rules that position script marks correctly. Fonts can draw ꨥ differently without changing its identity.