Gujarati letter U

Use u on a phonetic Gujarati keyboard.

That is a phonetic mapping, not one universal physical key: InScript and custom layouts assign the vowel elsewhere. After a consonant, enter ુ; it is stored after the base but drawn below it.

What does Gujarati ઉ mean?

It is the independent Gujarati vowel u.

Its sound is close to the “oo” in English “food.” Gujarati also has the traditional long-vowel spelling ઊ; ordinary speech generally does not contrast the pair by length, though verse meter preserves the older distinction.

Where did Gujarati ઉ come from?

Gujarati writing grew from a cursive form of Nagari, itself descended from the old South Asian Brahmi script. Gujarati’s flowing letters do not share a continuous top line; this style served practical writing such as letters and accounts.

The earliest cited Gujarati-language inscriptions—texts carved or written on lasting surfaces—in this lineage use Nagari in the 15th century. A separate Gujarati script became widespread in the middle of the 19th century.