Osmanya Letter Waw

It writes the Somali consonant /w/ and helps spell long uu. In Osmanya, 𐒓 can mark the consonant represented by Latin w in Somali transliteration; in long-vowel spelling it helps write uu. The name “waw” does not point to just one sound.

Read the whole Osmanya word to tell which job it has. Alone, 𐒓 is a letter sample, not a complete Somali word.

Why was Osmanya created for Somali?

Osmanya was designed to write Somali in its own alphabet. Cismaan Yuusuf Keenadiid devised it in 1920–1922, replacing an earlier Arabic-based attempt associated with Sheikh Uweys.

After World War II, Somali Youth League schools and language societies promoted it as a national script; it also appeared in private letters and bookkeeping. Modified Latin became Somalia’s official orthography in 1973, shifting Osmanya chiefly into historical and study use.

Who uses Osmanya today?

It reads as a historical or scholarly script reference. After 1973, scholars and librarians were its main users. A proposal described online efforts to reintroduce the script and, as of 2025, presented it as Somali cultural heritage.

Send 𐒓 alone only when the recipient knows Osmanya; otherwise it reads as a sample letter.