Modifier Letter Small E

It marks a short e-like sound in a Uralic transcription system. That system is the Uralic Phonetic Alphabet (UPA), a way to transcribe speech in Uralic languages.

The UPA was designed for precise descriptions of speech sounds, sound patterns, and word histories in Uralic languages. Raised ᵉ belongs to that system; it is not general-purpose superscript styling.

Why can the same raised vowel mean different things?

The transcription system decides what the raised vowel means. UPA uses superscript letters for very short, transitional, or other sounds. In Americanist phonetic notation, a separate tradition for writing speech sounds, a superscript vowel can instead mark the secondary or transitional part of a diphthong—a two-part vowel within one syllable. So ᵉ is not a universal symbol across the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA); follow the text’s notation key.

ᵊ is the modifier schwa counterpart; schwa is a reduced, neutral vowel. ᵋ is the modifier open-e counterpart, for a more open e-like vowel. Each marks a different vowel quality.

How do I type ᵉ as real text?

Use the literal character when the notation calls for it. Rich-text superscript changes appearance; it does not insert the same phonetic character.

In HTML source, enter ᵉ. Some Unicode-aware editors also accept a code-point entry. If ᵉ sits too high or low, the font determines its placement.