Ethiopic Syllable Thu

It writes the u-vowel syllable in Ethiopic’s ejective t row.

In Tigrinya romanization, ጡ is written ṭu: the mark under t signals an ejective sound, made by briefly closing the throat and releasing the consonant sharply. The u marks the vowel. In the same series, ጠ pairs that consonant with a.

The Unicode name “thu” is a label, not an instruction for pronouncing the syllable in every language.

How did ጡ become part of Ethiopic writing?

The Ethiopic script developed from South Arabian consonant writing.

South Arabian consonant-script inscriptions from the 8th/7th centuries BCE are the earliest writing attested in Ethiopia and Eritrea. A clearly defined Ethiopic script appears in inscriptions in the second or third centuries CE. By the fourth century, it had become an abugida: a writing system whose basic signs pair consonants with vowels.

This was a gradual adaptation for Ge’ez. Royal inscriptions show the language both in South Arabian script and in an unvocalized, consonant-only Ethiopic form. Amharic adopted the inherited script from Ge’ez in the 13th or 14th century and was written only sporadically until the early 20th century. Ge’ez kept a liturgical role, and Ethiopic writing also serves modern languages such as Amharic and Tigrinya.

How do I type ጡ?

On the GFF Amharic 3.3 keyboard, press Shift+T, then U.

That sequence belongs to the GFF Amharic 3.3 keyboard, not to Unicode. Unicode does not define a universal keyboard shortcut; other Ethiopic keyboards use different key sequences or let you choose the consonant series and vowel separately.

On the GFF Amharic 3.3 mobile keyboard, tap the consonant key and choose its u modifier; hinted forms may also be reached by a quick flick or long-press. Other layouts differ.