Modifier Letter Small Chi

Use Unicode input; superscript styling is a different character.

Julia’s programming editor accepts \^chi as a named input shortcut, documented as of 2026. Elsewhere, a Unicode picker or code-point input can insert the character; HTML source can use ᵡ.

Formatting χ as superscript changes its appearance, not the text character. Some UPA distinctions rely on ᵡ as plain text; if a font lacks it, the character may appear as a blank box or replacement mark.

What does ᵡ mean?

It modifies a neighboring sound in phonetic transcription.

The Uralic Phonetic Alphabet (UPA) is a system for writing the sounds of Uralic languages. First published in 1901 and revised in the 1970s, it uses raised letters to mark brief sounds. In Lagercrantz’s 1939 Sámi examples, ᵡ marks a short, voiceless rasping release at the back of the mouth. Its shape comes from Greek chi χ, raised to act as a modifier.

Older or extended International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) notation placed ᵡ after a consonant to add a rasping release at the back of the mouth. In [qᵡ], the stop and friction can be analyzed as an affricate: one consonant released from a stop into friction. This IPA use has been non-standard since 1989.