fsymbols
🔍
Loading symbols…
››
˸

modifier letter raised colon

Modifier Letter Raised Colon

˸ is a UPA phonetic mark in Uralic (Finno-Ugric) transcription, not ordinary punctuation. Its exact sound value depends on the source’s transcription key, so check that key before interpreting a word. Specialist keyboard layouts exist because UPA characters can be difficult to enter.

Text symbol
Also called
raised colon · UPA raised colon
Search it as
UPA · FUT · SUT · Uralic transcription · Finno-Ugric transcription · phonetic transcription · phonetics
Shows up in
Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws

What ˸ means

Read it as UPA notation, not punctuation.

In the Uralic Phonetic Alphabet (UPA), also called Finno-Ugric transcription (FUT), ˸ marks a phonetic distinction within a transcription. UPA authors may use variants or additional letters, so consult the key supplied with the particular source before assigning it a sound.

Why was the raised colon used?

It was designed for detailed transcription of Uralic speech.

Researchers discussed a shared system in Helsinki in 1892; publications used the agreed system in 1893, and Setälä published a proposal in 1901. The Unicode proposal points to ˸ in Kannisto’s 1951 Wogulische Volksdichtung, a Mansi folk-poetry collection, and Munkácsi’s 1986 Wogulisches Wörterbuch, a Mansi dictionary.

Setälä’s approach was economical: record the speech distinctions relevant to a study without marking every detail. The mark looks like punctuation, but functions as part of a transcription.

Academic specialist notation; in an ordinary message it reads as an unexplained mark.

Its colon shape does not make it punctuation; IPA length marks have different roles.

What it means when someone sends it to you

2 readings
Beside a UPA transcription
A phonetic mark; use that source’s key to establish its exact value.
Sent by itself in chat
An unexplained character; ask what text or transcription it came from.

Don't confuse it with

3
:
Colon
An ordinary colon is punctuation; ˸ is a mark used in phonetic transcription.
ˑ
Modifier Letter Half Triangular Colon
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) half-length mark; its similar shape does not make it interchangeable with ˸.
ː
Modifier Letter Triangular Colon
The IPA long mark; it has a different role from ˸ in Uralic transcription.

Questions people ask

1

Why does ˸ show as a box on some devices?

Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.

How to type ˸

Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 02F8, then Alt+X to get ˸.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “modifier letter raised colon”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 02f8, then Enter or Space.
HTML
˸
CSS
\02F8
Unicode input
For Unicode input U+02F8, use your editor’s Unicode entry method; the keystrokes depend on your system.
UPA keyboard
A dedicated UPA layout or diacritic helper can make this rare mark easier to enter.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
˸
HTML hex
˸
CSS content
content: "\02F8";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%CB%B8
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
2
UTF-8 bytes

A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.

Families this belongs to

1

Accents & marks659 symbols

^`¨¯´¸ʰʱʲʳʴʵ