N'Ko Digit Zero

߀ is zero in N'Ko, a script for Manding languages. Its right-to-left numbers can place zero before the leading digit.

Text symbol

What ߀ means

߀ marks zero in N'Ko numerals.

Solomana Kantè unveiled N'Ko in Bingerville on April 14, 1949, after five years experimenting with Arabic and Latin writing. The script marks Manding tones and long vowels and supports mother-tongue schooling and Islamic study.

Ajami—writing African languages in Arabic script—formed part of N'Ko's 1949 West African setting. By 2019, scholarship described N'Ko as a cross-border literacy movement and kángbɛ (“clear language”) register linking Manding varieties.

Why does zero appear on the left in N'Ko numbers?

The leading N'Ko digit appears at the right edge. Zero therefore sits left of one in ten; incorrect text direction can reverse the number.

Part of the collection

N'Ko Alphabet

Who writes ߀

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Don't confuse it with

Digit Zero

Digit zero is the usual look-alike of N'Ko digit zero, an oval ring. Mixed up in mixed-script text and in fonts where the two shapes nearly match.

Latin Capital Letter O

Latin capital O is a round letter that can pass for N'Ko digit zero. Confusion happens in copied text and in fonts with similar round shapes.

Cyrillic Capital Letter O

Cyrillic capital O looks identical to Latin O. It is a common spoofing letter in web addresses and usernames, so it can slip into text unnoticed.

Greek Capital Letter Omicron

Used in spoofed words, and a copy-paste may bring it in place of the N'Ko digit.

０

Fullwidth Digit Zero

Fullwidth digit zero is a wide form of the digit 0. It can appear in pasted text and look like N'Ko digit zero in some fonts.

Questions people ask

Why does ߀ show as a box on some devices?

Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.