What ߚ means
It marks the N’Ko consonant called rra. In Latin-letter transliteration, it is written “rr.”
N’Ko runs right to left, and its letters join neighbors under a shaping system adapted from Arabic script. Depending on its place in a word, ߚ takes an isolated form or a connected beginning, middle, or ending form. If a paragraph mixing N’Ko and Latin defaults to left-to-right, the two text runs can appear in the wrong order.
Why was N’Ko created?
It was designed to write Manding languages clearly. Solomana Kanté first tried Arabic and Latin spelling, then designed N’Ko because he judged those systems insufficient for Manding sounds and tone. The script paired practical writing for local languages with a goal of expanding literacy and affirming Mande culture.
The exact milestone is disputed. A community history dates completion to 14 April 1947; a historical account tentatively places N’Ko’s first appearance in Bingerville on 14 April 1949, and a French scholarly account also dates its creation to 1949. The dates point to a modern script developed over time, without one uncontested milestone.
As N’Ko spread, it also became the name of Kangbe, a shared written variety blending major Manding languages so literate speakers could communicate.
ߚ belongs inside written N’Ko words; by itself, it identifies a letter rather than a complete word.
Part of the collection
Who writes ߚ
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Don't confuse it with
1
Questions people ask
1Why does ߚ change shape in a word?
The font chooses a positional form as it connects N’Ko letters to their neighbors: isolated, beginning, middle, or ending. The character remains ߚ.
More like this
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Collections with ߚ
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How to type or find ߚ
- Search it as
- rra · rr · N’Ko rra · N’Ko rr · rra vs ra · Manding alphabet
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
ߚ\07DACodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.