Cherokee Small Letter Yu

ᏻ writes the Cherokee syllable yu. The Cherokee syllabary is a writing system whose characters represent syllables, so ᏻ usually sits inside a word rather than naming one by itself. In ᏥᏳ (“boat” or “airplane”), this syllable comes last in its cap-height form, Ᏻ.

Sequoyah developed the syllabary in 1815–1821; it was published in 1821 and formally adopted by the Cherokee Nation in 1825. It gave Cherokee speakers a way to write their language. After Cherokee people were forcibly removed from their homelands, communities carried the syllabary west.

Why is ᏻ smaller than Ᏻ?

ᏻ is the lowercase form of the same yu syllable. Older Cherokee writing used a single, cap-height set, so it did not mark upper and lower case. The smaller forms add that typographic distinction and sit more naturally beside lowercase Latin text; they do not change the syllable.

When Cherokee forms were adapted for metal printing type—the reusable pieces used to print pages—printers simplified some handwritten shapes. Some Cherokee characters may resemble Latin letters or numerals today, but each still has its Cherokee syllable value.

One reported connection links the Cherokee syllabary with James Evans’s later syllabic writing for Cree and Ojibwe around 1840; a possible link with Vai script is less certain.

How do I type ᏻ?

Use a Cherokee input layout and a font that contains the lowercase forms. The Cherokee Nation’s PC guide documents a one-key layout, with one keystroke per syllabary character, and a phonetic layout, where Latin-letter sound spellings produce Cherokee. Its examples output cap-height forms, so check which character and case your layout enters.