What 𞟷 means
It marks one syllable in modern Gurage writing.
The Ethiopic script writes many consonant-and-vowel units with a single character. This one belongs to the k-series, with the lips rounded for a w-like sound; “kwe” is its Unicode name. Modern Gurage orthography serves the Inor, Mesqan, Sebat Bet, and Soddo languages of Ethiopia’s Gurage Zone.
How did this Gurage spelling develop?
Its spelling developed through several Gurage orthographies. The older Ethiopic form ኵ corresponds to 𞟷 in modern Gurage spelling. Sahle Selassie Berhane Mariam began writing Chaha stories at linguist Wolf Leslau’s request in 1962 to record Gurage sounds; their Ethiopic text appeared in 1966. A separate local orthography was first published in 1977.
Later reform regularized letter shapes to improve reading and teaching. The Gurage Zone government endorsed a new orthography in 2013; the Zone Administration Council endorsed the modern orthography in 2019, and schools introduced it in September 2020. The broad label “Gurage” reflects a spelling system shared across several languages, rather than Sebat Bet alone.
Part of the collection
Who writes 𞟷
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Related characters
3
Questions people ask
1Why does 𞟷 show as a box?
The active font may not contain this character. A coverage list checked in September 2026 showed Abyssinica SIL covers Ethiopic Extended-B; Abba Garima lacks all 28 characters in that block.
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How to type or find 𞟷
- Search it as
- gurage keyboard · geez keyboard · ethiopic keyboard · gurage alphabet · gurage script · ethiopic font
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
𞟷\1E7F7kuiee; kuie produces the earlier ኵ form. Mapping checked in September 2026.Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.