N’Ko letter U

It is the N’Ko vowel letter U.

Inside a word, ߎ writes the U vowel; alone, it is only a fragment and cannot reveal the full word or the sender’s intent.

Solomana Kanté created the N’Ko script in Guinea in 1949 to write Manding languages. Arabic and Latin spelling approaches did not show Manding tones—the pitch differences that can distinguish words—well. N’Ko spread through Manding-speaking Muslim traders and Qur’anic schools (schools for studying the Qur’an), growing into a cross-border literacy and education movement. A standard written form was meant to bridge related Manding varieties.

Why does ߎ look different in a word?

Neighboring letters and the font shape its joins.

N’Ko is usually cursive and runs right to left. Depending on its position, ߎ can have a separate form or a form that joins at the start, middle, or end of a word. A non-cursive font may leave it disconnected; the character is still ߎ.

In a line mixing N’Ko and Latin text, the N’Ko run stays right to left. If the order looks wrong, check the text direction setting and font.