Marchen Vowel Sign U

It changes a Marchen consonant’s built-in a vowel to u. In Marchen, a consonant is read with an a unless a vowel sign changes it. 𑲲 supplies u on the consonant or on a vertical stack of consonants; on its own, it does not make a full syllable.

Marchen developed from Tibetan writing around the 7th century and was used until about the 10th century to write Zhang-Zhung, an extinct language of western Tibet. In that Bön writing tradition, the sign marked the u vowel.

Where was Marchen used?

In Zhang-Zhung writing and later Bön practice. A bronze seal at Menri Monastery is cited as one of the earliest known Marchen examples. Few historical examples are known, and much of the script is seen in calligraphy manuals. Modern Bön practice includes Marchen literature and architectural inscriptions.

Marchen developed from Tibetan and uses a Tibetan-style way of stacking consonants. Marchung, Pungchen, Pungchung, and Drusha are related Bön script traditions, not names for this sign. The encoding proposal describes Drusha’s u sign as similar to Marchen’s, but not identical.

Keep 𑲲 after its host

Use a Unicode-aware input method, then enter 𑲲 immediately after the base consonant or vertical stack it modifies. It is a mark within a syllable, so a standalone 𑲲 has no host to change.