Devanagari Vowel Sign E

It changes a consonant's built-in vowel from a to e. In Hindi, it is called e matra or e ki matra: a matra is a vowel mark attached to a consonant. Devanagari also writes Sanskrit, Marathi, Nepali, and Bihari languages.

This writing system evolved rather than being invented at once. Its ancestor Brahmi appears in Emperor Ashoka's third-century BCE edicts—public orders carved in stone. Northern scripts developed through Gupta and Nagari into Devanagari, established by the eleventh century. That history dates the script family, not this exact stroke.

Type after the consonant; the font positions it

Enter the consonant first, then े; the font places the mark above it. An isolated preview may display a dotted circle to show the missing consonant base. That circle is a display aid, not part of the vowel sign.