Georgian Letter Man

მ represents the m sound in Georgian. The letter name mani names the character, not a word meaning “man.” When Georgian is written in Latin letters, მ becomes m.

If someone sends მ alone, start with its identity as a letter. The surrounding message determines whether it is an initial, a fragment, or a personal joke.

What are the older forms of მ?

Ⴋ and ⴋ are historical counterparts of the same letter. Georgian writing evolved from Asomtavruli, used in inscriptions, through the manuscript script Nuskhuri to Mkhedruli, the everyday script containing მ.

Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri together form Khutsuri, the Georgian church-writing tradition. Early inscriptions recorded church construction and donors; manuscripts carried religious literature. Georgian writing later also served philosophy, history, and secular works.

Early surviving Georgian inscriptions include Bir el Qutt in Palestine, dated 428–432, and Bolnisi Sioni in Georgia, dated 493/494 AD. These document the older writing tradition, not the first appearance of today's მ shape or the alphabet's invention.