Kannada Letter Pha

Enter ಫ first, then add a vowel sign or virama.

ಫ is the Kannada consonant pha, with an inherent a when no other vowel sign is attached. A vowel sign changes that syllable; the virama, a mark that removes the inherent vowel, lets another consonant join it.

Kannada syllables are stored in phonetic order: consonant first, dependent vowel sign second. In a cluster, shaping software may place the next consonant below or to the lower right, and fonts can draw the same encoded sequence differently.

What sound does ಫ make?

It marks a p sound released with a puff of breath.

The Kannada labial consonant series includes ಪ pa, ಫ pha, ಬ ba, ಭ bha, and ಮ ma. In the pa–pha pair, ಪ is unaspirated and ಫ is aspirated: the latter releases a noticeable puff of air.

Read the vowel sign and neighboring letters to work out the whole syllable.

Where does this letter come from?

It developed along with the Kannada script over time.

The Kannada script grew out of Brahmi, an older South Asian writing system, through stages including Kadamba and later regional forms. The Halmidi record is the oldest available evidence of Kannada written in an early, pre-Old Kannada form of the script; it dates from the fifth century CE.

That inscription dates the script tradition, not this exact modern letterform. Kannada writing is also used for languages such as Tulu, and the Kannada and Telugu scripts are closely related.