Modifier Letter Colon

The modifier colon marks a language-specific feature inside a word.

Its value depends on a language's spelling system. Unicode's 2006 proposal documents these uses: Budu uses it for past tense, Sabaot as a subject marker, and some Papua New Guinea orthographies for grammatical tone.

The Americanist phonetic system, a way linguists recorded speech sounds, used colon punctuation for long vowels in 1915–1916. That is an older colon convention, not evidence this exact character existed then. A 2006 Unicode proposal describes the word-forming modifier as a newer spelling convention developed after the typewriter era, and argues it needs a separate character.

What does ꞉ mean when someone sends it?

The word and language around ꞉ determine its reading.

Inside a word, it marks part of that language's spelling. If it arrives alone, ask which word or language it came from.

The 2006 Unicode proposal specifies closer dots and narrower side spacing than for :; the font can make that difference hard to see.

How do I type ꞉?

Use Unicode input; the ordinary colon key gives a different character.

As of 2026, Microsoft Word converts A789 followed by Alt+X. Other Unicode-entry shortcuts depend on the system and app.