Devanagari nukta

It modifies the consonant it follows. In Hindi, क + ़ forms क़, with a q-like sound, while ज + ़ forms ज़, with a z sound; the dot is part of the word's spelling.

The convention varies by language. Kashmiri uses nukta in some consonants; Santali orthography can place it after a vowel or vowel sign. Its use is not limited to Hindi loanwords.

Where did nukta come from?

It extends Devanagari to write consonant sounds its basic letters do not distinguish. One account dates its introduction to the 17th century, amid extensive Persian and Arabic use; that is a reported chronology, not a settled first appearance.

In the early 20th century, debates over Hindi, Urdu, and Hindustani included calls to drop nukta. One account says it then disappeared from newspapers and Hindi textbooks for decades.

Urdu is traditionally written in an Arabic-derived script; Urdu written in Devanagari is transliterated into another script. Dotted spellings can preserve distinctions from Urdu's usual orthography.

What does nukta mean when someone sends it?

By itself, it says nothing about mood; inside a word, it marks spelling.

A 2011 study of Urdu written in Devanagari describes writers using spelling choices, including nukta, to make the text subtly distinct from Hindi. That choice can carry literary or identity weight, but the dot alone does not reveal a sender's motive.

Hindi writers do not all preserve the distinction. Keep the source spelling in a name or quotation; for an ordinary Hindi word, follow the publication's house style.