Modifier Letter Small Eth

ᶞ adds an eth-like detail to a neighboring sound. Eth is the voiced “th” sound in English “this,” made with the tongue between the teeth. Phonetic notation reads ᶞ with the nearby consonant, not as its own syllable. After a stop consonant (air briefly blocked, as for d), it can mark friction as that sound releases, a shift toward the voiced “th,” or a weak, brief inserted sound.

In Old English manuscripts, full-size ð looked like a d with a stroke and represented a “th” sound; thorn, þ, was another letter for “th,” often used at word beginnings. Phonetic transcription later reused eth as a modifier. John Laver’s 1994 book Principles of Phonetics describes the consonant modifier, and a 2003 Unicode proposal cites his account. This specialist notation appears in linguistic descriptions, textbooks, and dictionaries.

How do I type ᶞ?

Use a Unicode-aware input method or a character reference. In HTML, ᶞ or ᶞ produces ᶞ; C, C++, Java, and Python source can use \u1D9E. Windows Unicode hex input accepts 1D9E where the app supports it.

ᶞ occupies its own position in text even though phonetic notation reads it with a neighboring sound. Font design controls its size and height, so its alignment can vary. Compatibility normalization, a form of text standardization such as NFKC, can change it to ð and erase the superscript distinction.