Gujarati Letter Sha

For quick typing, choose Gujarati phonetic input.

InScript is a fixed keyboard layout with Gujarati letters assigned to keys; phonetic input converts Latin letters to Gujarati, while ITRANS has its own case rules. In ITRANS, lowercase sh gives શ; capital Sh gives ષ.

What does શ mean?

It usually writes the “sh” sound, as in English “ship.”

A Gujarati consonant written by itself carries a built-in vowel; vowel marks change it, and the virama (્) removes it. In a joined consonant cluster, શ may take a reduced shape. Some Gujarati varieties pronounce it closer to “s”; in others, sibilants can shift toward “h.”

Gujarati શ is historically related to Devanagari श; both writing systems descend from Brahmi, an ancient Indian script. Gujarati writing dropped the horizontal headline used in Devanagari. The earliest known Gujarati-script document is a manuscript from 1592; the script appeared in print in a 1797 advertisement. Its practical use for business and correspondence widened into literary use by the 19th century, across Hindu, Parsi, and Muslim Gujarati communities.