Cherokee Letter O

It represents the o syllable in Cherokee.

It is one sound-bearing unit used to write Cherokee words, not a complete word or message by itself. In ᎣᏏᏲ (osiyo), a Cherokee greeting meaning “hello” or “good to see you,” Ꭳ supplies the opening o; the whole sequence makes the greeting.

If someone sends Ꭳ alone, read it as a syllable, not as the full greeting. A Cherokee keyboard enters the character; a font controls whether it displays.

Where did Ꭳ come from?

It was made as part of a writing system for Cherokee.

Sequoyah developed the Cherokee syllabary in the early nineteenth century to write spoken Cherokee. The earliest proposed evidence is disputed: a 2020 reanalysis rejected the claim that Kentucky’s Red Bird River Shelter preserves an early example.

Sequoyah introduced the completed system in 1821, and the Cherokee Nation adopted it by 1825. It was used in laws and constitutional material, as well as in the bilingual Cherokee Phoenix newspaper. A Manitou Cave inscription dated April 30, 1828 records a stickball team’s secluded ceremony. Accounts connect Cherokee influence with Cree syllabics in the 1840s. As of 2026, Cherokee Nation resources support teaching the syllabary and using it in digital text.