Cherokee Small Letter Mi

It represents the Cherokee syllable “mi.” Cherokee uses a syllabary: each sign stands for a whole syllable, rather than a single consonant or vowel. This character contributes “mi” inside Cherokee words; its shape does not give it an English h sound.

The origin of the Cherokee syllabary lies in early nineteenth-century experiments associated with Sequoyah. Archaeological analysis of Cherokee inscriptions at Red Bird River Shelter, a rock shelter, has supported this account of his experiments. The writing system let Cherokee speakers record their language in syllable-sized units for messages and other community use.

Why does ꮋ resemble a Latin letter?

Printing and later casing shaped this outline. Cherokee writing began as handwriting. In print, missionary Samuel Worcester adapted some forms for metal type. Much Cherokee text kept a visually caseless look, with characters at cap height; later typesetting also established a systematic case distinction. ꮋ is a distinct lowercase character paired with Ꮋ, not a smaller rendering of it.

To enter Cherokee text, use a Cherokee keyboard layout or input method; a font only changes how an entered character is drawn.