Modifier Letter Cyrillic Small Ef

It marks pronunciation detail; the transcription's key tells you how to read it. In Cyrillic phonetic transcription, raised letters sit above the line beside a regular letter and add sound detail rather than spelling a word.

The notation predates digital text. A 1905 description of Serbian dialects contrasts raised and lowered letters for stronger and weaker vowel values. In a 1949 study of Negidal, a Tungusic language, the raised ef marks partial devoicing—a consonant voiced less fully. A 2010 Karachay-Balkar account uses it for a fricative transition from /m/—air friction as pronunciation moves on from the m sound. These examples show why the same mark needs its transcription key.