Mongolian letter E

On Microsoft’s Traditional Mongolian (MNS) layout, press E. The Mongolfont input method also maps lowercase e to ᠡ. Enter a word in letter order; the font selects its initial, middle, final, or isolated forms.

Some spellings place an invisible Mongolian vowel separator (MVS) immediately before a final ᠡ. This extra character keeps the letter apart from the preceding consonant.

Why does Mongolian e change shape?

Its position and neighbors choose the visible form. Traditional Mongolian is written vertically, with letters joining in cursive forms. ᠡ has initial, middle, final, and isolated forms; its final stroke can depend on the preceding consonant.

It is a front vowel. Mongolian vowel harmony groups vowels, and ᠡ belongs to the front group; that helps select the forms of some consonants pronounced farther back in the mouth. In modern Mongolian speech, vowels outside the first syllable may weaken or disappear, so written ᠡ need not sound like a full vowel.

Where did Mongolian writing come from?

Mongolian writing reached this form through Sogdian and Uyghur traditions. Sogdian writing was used in Central Asia and influenced Uyghur writing; Mongols adapted the Uyghur-derived cursive vertical script. This letter belongs to that inherited tradition. The Yisüngge stele, a stone monument bearing an inscription, is generally dated to 1224–1225 and is the earliest surviving example of Mongolian writing in this script.

Mongol rulers used the script for government: edicts were written in it, translated for recipients, sealed, and archived. Later reforms moved some Mongolian communities toward Latin or Cyrillic writing. In 2025, scholarship described the vertical script as both a living writing system and a marker of national culture.