Mongolian Free Variation Selector One

Place it immediately after the base letter it modifies.

Mongolian text normally gets positional letter forms from its neighbors. Add FVS1 only when that shaping cannot select a required traditional, word-specific, or foreign-word form. In the standard example for the Mongolian word meaning “fire,” ᠭᠠᠯ selects the dotted modern form; ᠭ᠋ᠠᠯ selects the undotted traditional form.

Why does Mongolian FVS1 look blank?

It has no standalone glyph, and font support varies.

A detached selector, or one placed after a character with no defined variant, is ignored. Most Mongolian text needs no FVS1 because a text renderer can infer the form from context.

As of 2026, the W3C Mongolian gap analysis still warns that fonts and text processors do not handle free-variation selectors consistently. Check the complete word in the intended environment when its exact form matters.

Where did FVS1 come from?

FVS1 is a modern text control layered onto an older writing tradition.

The Mongolian script's development is placed in the 12th century, and it became important for administering the Mongol Empire. The Yisüngge stele—an inscribed stone monument—dated 1224 or 1225 is described as the earliest surviving example of Mongolian writing in this Uyghur-derived script.

Traditional Mongolian writing was adapted from Old Uyghur, part of a script tradition that ultimately derives from Aramaic. The script was later adapted to write Manchu and Sibe. During the 1940s, Mongolia shifted toward Cyrillic while Inner Mongolia retained traditional Mongolian writing.