Lycian Letter R

𐊕 represents the r sound inside Lycian words. Lycian writing survives on tombs, monuments, pottery, rock and metal. The alphabet drew on Greek, which later replaced Lycian in public administration.

Text symbol

What 𐊕 means

It represents the r sound inside Lycian words. Lycian was an ancient language of southwestern Anatolia. Its earliest reported graffiti date to the 7th and 6th centuries BCE; most surviving examples date to the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. Inscriptions appear on tombs and other objects.

How did Greek shape Lycian writing?

The Lycian alphabet was adapted from Greek, perhaps through Rhodes. Some letters changed and new signs were added for Lycian sounds. In some bilingual tomb inscriptions by local elites, Lycian comes first and Greek may loosely interpret it. By the first century BCE, Greek had replaced Lycian as the sole public and administrative language. The displayed outline of 𐊕 depends on the font.

Part of the collection

𔐀

Anatolian Scripts (Luwian Hieroglyphs, Lycian, Lydian, Carian)

Who writes 𐊕

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Don't confuse it with

Latin Capital Letter P

The Lycian R glyph is P-shaped, so it can pass for a Latin P in text; the two are different scripts.

Greek Capital Letter Rho

Greek capital rho (U+03A1), identical to Latin P in most fonts. Same bowl shape as Lycian R, a homograph trap in copied text.

Cyrillic Capital Letter Er

Cyrillic capital Er (U+0420), the Cyrillic look-alike of Latin P. Common trap in spoofed addresses and passwords.

Ｐ

Fullwidth Latin Capital Letter P

Fullwidth Latin capital P (U+FF30), a wide copy of P. Renders larger than Lycian R, and is often pasted in by mistake.

ℙ

Double-Struck Capital P

Double-struck capital P (U+2119), a letter-like math symbol. Looks like P in many fonts, so it can be mistaken for Lycian R.

Questions people ask

Why does 𐊕 show as a box on some devices?

Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.