What 𛰙 means
It is one part of a shorthand writing system. Émile Duployé developed Duployan as a way to write French quickly. This M is a component of that system, not a substitute for the Latin letter m in ordinary text.
The system was later adapted for other languages. Father Jean-Marie-Raphaël Le Jeune adapted it for Chinook Jargon, a shared contact language, and other languages used in interior British Columbia. His Kamloops Wawa newspaper printed this adaptation from 1891–1923, including news and religious writing. Other Duployan adaptations served English, German, Spanish, and Romanian.
To read this letter, you need to know which language-specific Duployan spelling system is being used.
Why does Duployan change shape?
Its neighbors can change how it is drawn. Duployan is cursive: letters may connect, combine into a ligature, or change shape depending on nearby letters. A font or app without suitable shaping support may show a different-looking form or fail to join the strokes.
If a word looks broken or unexpectedly shaped, check whether the font and app support Duployan shaping before assuming the text contains a different letter.
Technical and historical: it belongs in Duployan writing or study, rather than casual messages.
On its own, it may be unreadable without context about the Duployan spelling system.
Don't confuse it with
4Questions people ask
2Is this the Latin letter m?
No. This is a letter in the Duployan shorthand system; it is not interchangeable with the Latin letter m.
Can this letter always be read as the same sound?
Not without knowing the spelling system. Duployan was adapted for different languages, so the letter’s reading depends on the language-specific convention.
How to type 𛰙
𛰙\1BC19Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.