Combining Hook Above

Type the vowel first, then add its tone shortcut. Telex uses r, VNI uses 3, and VIQR uses ? after the vowel.

In a raw Unicode sequence, put the combining mark after its base vowel. The mark has no spacing position of its own, so it can look stranded until attached.

Why does the hook move over a circumflex?

It shares the vowel with its other shape mark. A Vietnamese vowel can carry a roof-shaped circumflex, a small curved breve, or a horn-shaped mark; the hook sits above that shape.

Text stores the base letter first and combining marks after it. A font may stack or shift the marks to keep them readable, so their displayed spacing can vary without changing the spelling.

Where did this mark come from?

It took shape in early Vietnamese spelling written with Latin letters.

By 1623, Jesuit Francisco de Pina had described Vietnamese spelling and tones in Portuguese characters so fellow Jesuits could learn them. In 1651, Alexandre de Rhodes’s grammar drew on that work and related Jesuit dictionaries. This was collaborative missionary work: recording speech, teaching pronunciation, and supporting preaching and conversion. The spelling system drew on Latin, Portuguese, and Greek accent conventions; its hook-shaped sign marked a vowel’s tone, not a sentence question.