What ꬭ means
ꬭ is a syllable sign used in Gumuz writing.
It belongs to Ethiopic Extended-A, a set of additions to the Ethiopic script for several languages. Unicode groups it with six other Gumuz syllable characters in the B series.
“Bbe” is a Unicode name, not a pronunciation spelling: Ethiopic names may double Latin letters to distinguish entries, without specifying how a language says them.
When did ꬭ first appear?
The record explains an encoding decision, not a first-use date.
In its 2009 proposal, Unicode recorded that language groups were choosing Latin while churches still published books in Ethiopic. Adding the extra characters let digital editions reproduce those texts; the proposal does not date ꬭ’s first use.
The Ethiopic syllabary developed for Geʽez and was later extended for languages including Gumuz.
Why does ꬭ look like a box?
The font may not include Ethiopic Extended-A.
Different fonts can draw a character with different letterforms or show a missing-glyph box. As of 2026, SIL’s Abyssinica font lists coverage for this range and includes ꬭ in its Gumuz sample.
Neutral in Gumuz writing; outside that context, it is a specialized syllable sign.
Don't confuse it with
4Questions people ask
2Why does ꬭ show as a box?
Your font may lack this character. Choose one with Ethiopic Extended-A coverage; changing the font changes the display, not the character in the text.
Does Bbe tell me how to pronounce ꬭ?
No. Ethiopic character names may double Latin letters simply to distinguish entries; “Bbe” does not establish a Gumuz pronunciation.
How to type ꬭ
ꬭ\AB2DCodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.