Lepcha Letter A

It carries a vowel at the start of a syllable.

Lepcha uses ᰣ as a vowel carrier for standalone vowels: the following Lepcha vowel sign sets which one. For example, ᰣᰦ writes the standalone vowel a. Without a sign, ᰣ carries the script’s inherent vowel.

Where did the Lepcha script come from?

It grew from Tibetan writing and was reshaped for Lepcha.

The script’s Tibetan origin is visible in its letterforms: they were adapted from Tibetan writing and turned a quarter-turn to change vertical columns into horizontal lines. It is thought to have taken shape around 1720. Lepcha tradition credits Thikúng Mensalóng, a Tibetan account credits Lhatsun Chenpo, and scholarship also associates its shaping with Sikkim’s king Chakdor Namgyal. The earliest identified handwritten Lepcha materials date to the second half of the nineteenth century.

Early writers adapted Tibetan Buddhist works for Lepcha readers; later writing also recorded Lepcha beliefs, folktales, and poetry. A 2005 Unicode proposal documented Lepcha in Sikkim schools and a government newspaper, alongside books, magazines, and evening classes in West Bengal. Unicode also notes a structural parallel with the Limbu script: both mark syllable-final consonants with separate signs.

How do I type ᰣ?

Use a Unicode Lepcha keyboard and a font with shaping support.

Vowel signs follow the base in stored order, but some render to its left or below. As of 2026, Noto Sans Lepcha and Mingzat list Lepcha font support; a missing or misplaced sign can point to insufficient font or shaping support.