Ꮩ Cherokee Letter Do

What Ꮩ means

It marks the syllable “do” in Cherokee words. “Do” is a Latin transliteration that labels the syllable; the surrounding Cherokee word supplies the meaning.

Sequoyah developed the Cherokee syllabary between 1815–1821 to write Cherokee speech. He first tried picture-like signs for whole words, then made signs for spoken syllables. The system helped Cherokee people record their language and sustain literacy and cultural identity amid U.S. expansion and forced removal. As of 2026, it is used on public signs and taught in Cherokee communities in Oklahoma and North Carolina.

Sequoyah’s work also influenced a separate Cree syllabary developed by Methodist missionary James Evans in the 1830s. Cree and Ojibwe speakers adopted Evans’s system; its characters belong to a different script from Cherokee.

Why does Ꮩ look like V or Λ?

It has appeared in both orientations. Cherokee print type was finalized in 1827. Sequoyah’s manuscripts and the Cherokee Phoenix through 1834 show the syllable pointing up like Greek Λ; the Cherokee Almanac printed the V-like form in 1836. The syllable value stayed the same.

In Cherokee text, Ꮩ marks one syllable. By itself, it cannot tell you a full word’s meaning.

“Do” is the Latin transliteration of the syllable, not its English translation.

Part of the collection

Ꭰ

Cherokee Syllabary

Who writes Ꮩ

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Don't confuse it with

3

Ꭺ

Cherokee Letter Go

A separate Cherokee syllable, labeled “go” in Latin transliteration; it is not the syllable labeled “do.”

V

Latin Capital Letter V

The Latin capital letter V resembles the printed shape, but it is a different character from Cherokee Ꮩ.

Λ

Greek Capital Letter Lamda

Greek capital lambda resembles the historical up-pointing form of Cherokee Ꮩ; it is not the Cherokee character.

Related characters

5

Ꮣ

Cherokee Letter Da

The Cherokee syllable labeled “da” in Latin transliteration; it belongs to the same consonant series as Ꮩ (“do”).

Ꮥ

Cherokee Letter De

The Cherokee syllable labeled “de” in Latin transliteration; it is another vowel form in the same consonant series as Ꮩ (“do”).

Ꮧ

Cherokee Letter Di

The Cherokee syllable labeled “di” in Latin transliteration; it belongs to the same consonant series as Ꮩ (“do”).

Ꮪ

Cherokee Letter Du

The Cherokee syllable labeled “du” in Latin transliteration; it is another vowel form in the same consonant series as Ꮩ (“do”).

Ꮫ

Cherokee Letter Dv

The Cherokee syllable labeled “dv” in Latin transliteration; it is part of the same consonant series as Ꮩ (“do”).

Questions people ask

1

Does a square box mean the text lost Ꮩ?

No. It usually means the font cannot display Cherokee; a compatible font can reveal the character already in the text.

More like this

9

ᏗCherokee Letter Di

ᏚCherokee Letter Du

ᏘCherokee Letter Ti

ꮩCherokee Small Letter Do

᐀Canadian Syllabics Hyphen

ᐁCanadian Syllabics E

ᐂCanadian Syllabics Aai

ᐃCanadian Syllabics I

ᐄCanadian Syllabics Ii

How to type or find Ꮩ

Search it as: Ꮩ meaning · Cherokee do · Cherokee do syllable · Cherokee syllabary · type Ꮩ · Cherokee keyboard · Cherokee do vs go · Cherokee do font
Shows up in: Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws

Windows (Word)

⎇Alt+XType 13D9, then AltX to get Ꮩ.

Windows

⊞Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win .).

macOS

⌃Control+⌘Command+␣SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “cherokee letter do”.

Linux

⎈Ctrl+⇧Shift+UType 13d9, then Enter or Space.

HTML

Ꮩ

CSS

\13D9

Cherokee keyboard

Select a Cherokee keyboard in your device’s language settings. Layouts vary: some use Latin transliterations, some use sound clues, and others arrange syllables for efficient typing.

Missing glyph

A square or question box means the chosen font lacks Cherokee characters. Choose a font or system with Cherokee support.

Families this belongs to

1

American scripts1,050 symbols

Ꭰ Ꭱ Ꭲ Ꭳ Ꭴ Ꭵ Ꭶ Ꭷ Ꭸ Ꭹ Ꭺ Ꭻ

Cherokee Letter Do