Mandaic letter ar

It marks one consonant within a Mandaic word.

The Mandaic r is one alphabetic unit; “ra” is its name written with Latin letters. Use a Mandaic keyboard or Unicode input method to type it, and a font with Mandaic coverage to display it.

Scholars place the script's formation around the second century CE. Early surviving Mandaic writing includes magical and protective texts; the oldest dateable magical examples are placed in the third or fourth centuries CE. Clay bowls are commonly dated to the sixth to eighth centuries CE, while some lead rolls are earlier. The script also carried Mandaean liturgies, prayers, hymns, and ritual instructions, and serves Neo-Mandaic speech.

Why does the Mandaic letter ar change shape?

Joining changes its outline, not its identity.

Mandaic is written from right to left, and ࡓ is dual-joining: under the script's rules, it can connect to a letter on either side. Shaping software draws forms that fit its place in a word. They are still the same letter; a square usually means the selected font lacks Mandaic coverage.

Mandaic belongs to the eastern Aramaic writing tradition. Scholars compare its forms with administrative handwriting from the late Parthian period and with cursive Aramaic traditions associated with Syriac, Elymaean, and Characene; the exact derivation remains debated. If someone sends only ࡓ, it identifies the r consonant, but the surrounding letters are needed to read the word.