What 𐦮 means
It marks one consonant in Meroitic writing.
“Hha” is the Latin-letter label used to identify this consonant. An isolated 𐦮 is a letter specimen, not a complete Meroitic word.
The earliest datable Meroitic cursive text is from about 200 BCE and mentions King Arnekhamani. Less-developed inscriptions suggest the script was emerging in the 3rd century BCE, so the surviving evidence points to gradual development rather than a one-time invention.
What was Meroitic cursive used for?
It served everyday records and a range of inscriptions in Kush.
As Egyptian language and script receded in Kush, Meroitic cursive replaced them in documents, funerary inscriptions, royal stelae—upright inscribed stones—and shorter records. It drew partly on Egyptian Demotic, a cursive form of Egyptian writing.
Its monumental counterpart, Meroitic hieroglyphs, drew partly on Egyptian hieroglyphs and appeared on temples and royal monuments. A Coptic-based alphabet used for Nubian also adapted three Meroitic cursive signs.
Why does 𐦮 show as a box?
The font may not contain this character.
As of 2026, a font without Meroitic coverage can show a box or replacement mark; fonts with coverage may draw a different outline.
Meroitic cursive runs right to left, but letters do not generally join. The letter i is the exception: it often connects to the consonant before it.
Use it in a Meroitic text sample or a clearly labeled letter specimen; alone, it does not mark a conversational tone.
A lone 𐦮 is only one letter; label it as a specimen when readers need to know what it represents.
Who writes 𐦮
Loading…
Questions people ask
1Why does 𐦮 show as a box on some devices?
Not every system ships a font for the Meroitic Cursive block. Where none is installed, the character shows as an empty box; adding a font such as Noto fixes it. The character itself is still correct and copies correctly.
More like this
11
How to type or find 𐦮
- Search it as
- hha · Meroitic · Meroitic cursive · Meroitic alphabet · Kushite script · Meroe · Kush · ancient Sudan
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
𐦮\109AEhha enters those letters, not this character.Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.