Limbu Letter Bha

It begins a Limbu syllable with the consonant transliterated bh.

A bare consonant carries a short open o sound, not a long English oh; a vowel sign changes it. So ᤓ starts a syllable rather than standing alone as a word.

The script has more than one revival

A Sikkim tradition credits Srijunga Hang with devising the Srijanga script in the 9th century. A later figure, Tyeongshi Srijunga Singthebe (1704–1742), is credited with reviving it in Sikkim; Sikkim accounts say he was killed in 1742 while promoting it. The oldest known Limbu writings were collected in Darjeeling in the 1850s. Their script is an ancestor of today’s form: it lacked this voiced series and used inherent a, not open o.

The modern script began developing in Kalimpong in 1925, changing some letter forms and functions. It added a voiced series that includes ᤓ; possible motives include loanwords, writing neighboring languages, or closer resemblance to Devanagari. None is given as a settled reason.

Public schools introduced Limbu instruction in Sikkim in 1968. After 1990, Mundhum oral narratives and ritual teachings appeared in the script; later works include poetry, novels, histories, and teaching materials. Sikkim University began Limbu classes in 2008, and master's-level teaching recognition came in 2016. Some publications show Limbu in both Limbu and Devanagari scripts.

How do you type ᤓ?

Use a Limbu input method or a Unicode character picker.

Latin bh is a transliteration, not a keyboard shortcut. Devanagari भ is a separate character, despite the similar label.