Mandaic Letter Al

It writes the l sound; alone, it is not a word.

“Al” is the letter’s name, not a word to translate. Within Mandaic spelling, ࡋ contributes that consonant and the surrounding letters make the word.

The Mandaic script developed between the second and seventh centuries CE to write Classical Mandaic, an Eastern Aramaic language used in Mandaean liturgy. The oldest dateable Mandaean magical texts are on bowls and lead tablets from the third or fourth centuries CE; early ritual writings come from southern Mesopotamia and southwestern Iran. Later religious manuscripts preserve another use. The surviving evidence leaves the precise route into writing uncertain: it may have grown from cursive Aramaic, as Syriac did, or from Parthian chancery writing. Mandaeans regard the script as sacred.

Why does ࡋ display as a box or change shape?

A missing font or unsupported shaping can affect its display.

Mandaic runs right to left and joins many letters within words. ࡋ is dual-joining: the text renderer can connect it to neighbors on either side; on its own, its outline may look unchanged.

A Mandaic keyboard layout enters the character; a font alone does not. If it appears blank or as a square, use an app and font with Mandaic coverage.