Cuneiform Sign NUN

NUN names the sign; the surrounding text chooses the reading.

NUN is the scholarly transliteration used to identify this sign. A Sumerian sign list gives word readings such as “prince,” “noble,” and “master”; these are possibilities, not one fixed English caption.

In NUN.KI, the sign KI follows NUN to write Eridu, an ancient Mesopotamian city associated with the god Enki. On its own, 𒉣 identifies the sign; surrounding text is needed to choose a translation.

How did cuneiform NUN develop?

NUN belongs to a writing system that changed over time.

Cuneiform grew from picture-like marks used to keep records of goods, people, and institutions. Over time, scribes simplified the signs and used them for sounds as well as words.

A Sumerian word-list tablet from Shuruppak, now Fara, dated ca. 2600–2500 BCE, already lists NUN entries. The star name Nunki followed a mistaken reading of NUN.KI in the nineteenth century; it is not a translation of 𒉣 by itself.

Why does 𒉣 look different in fonts?

The encoded sign stays the same; its drawing can change.

Unicode identifies a sign, not one exact drawing from a clay tablet. Glyph shape varies by font, period, region, and scribal style; the Unicode code chart uses a representative form, while a scholarly font may show a form from a particular era, such as Old Babylonian or Neo-Assyrian writing.

Different outlines can still represent the same sign. When the distinction matters, compare the sign value and the source tablet’s period and region.