Modi Letter UU

𑘅 is the independent Modi vowel letter for long u.

It stands alone; ◌𑘴 is a vowel sign attached to a consonant. In regular spelling, 𑘄 usually represents both short and long u, though a separate long-u form is attested.

How did Modi script develop?

Modi grew from Nagari as a cursive hand for continuous writing. Use is documented from the fifteenth century; the earliest surviving document identified by Unicode dates to the early seventeenth century.

Officials used Modi for correspondence, revenue records, and administration under the medieval Sultanat and Maratha kingdoms. Balbodh, the Devanagari form used for Marathi, served much literary and sacred writing. Print favored Balbodh in the nineteenth century, and Modi was formally discontinued in the 1950s.

By 2023, renewed interest also cast Modi as a heritage and regional-identity symbol alongside its earlier administrative role.

Use 𑘅 only when the source marks long u

Use it when transcribing a source that distinguishes the long vowel. For ordinary Modi without that distinction, use 𑘄. Fonts handle Modi’s contextual shapes, so a familiar outline is not a reliable identity test.