What ̽ means
Append it after the vowel it modifies.
In Unicode text, the vowel comes first and the over-cross second: e ̽ forms e̽. Read the result as one vowel with a pronunciation detail; the combining mark does not create another syllable.
Why does x above sit over i?
It follows i in the text but is drawn above it.
The dot on i gives fonts a choice: some let the over-cross replace the dot, while others place it above the dot. The shape can vary without changing the transcribed vowel.
If the mark appears alone, its vowel may be missing or the app may not know how to position it. Check the vowel-plus-mark sequence in a font that supports IPA.
Specialist phonetics: in an IPA transcription, this mark adds a precise detail about vowel quality.
Read it with the vowel before it; alone, it has nothing to modify.
Part of the collection
Don't confuse it with
2 X above vs diaeresis: ◌̈ is two dots and marks a centralized vowel; ◌̽ marks a mid-centralized one, closer to but not fully at the center.
Combining X Above vs Combining Latin Small Letter X: ◌ͯ adds a small letter x over its base; ◌̽ marks a vowel’s mid-centralization in IPA.
Questions people ask
1Why does ̽ show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
More like this
11
Collections with ̽
1
How to type or find ̽
- Also called
- over-cross · mid-centralized diacritic
- Search it as
- IPA · overcross · mid-centralized · midcentralized · x diacritic · phonetic mark · vowel mark · Praat
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
̽\033De ̽ forms e̽.e\x^ produces e̽; the manual recommends Charis or Doulos SIL for phonetic marks.Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.