Phags-pa Letter Ba

In Microsoft Word, type A84E and press Alt+X.

Word converts a hexadecimal Unicode value when you type A84E and press Alt+X. If nearby hexadecimal text makes Word convert the wrong span, select only A84E first. In other editors, use the system or app's Unicode character picker and a font with Phags-pa coverage.

As of 2026, Microsoft's Windows font guidance lists Phags-pa under its Universal Shaping Engine. An app still needs a suitable font and correct script shaping; if ꡎ appears as a box, the font or app cannot render it.

What does ꡎ mean?

It writes the consonant ba in Phags-pa.

Phags-pa consonants carry an inherent “a” vowel, so ꡎ can represent the syllable ba; surrounding letters and the language being written determine how it fits a word. The script's letters follow Tibetan, and it was also used to write Mongolian, Chinese, Uyghur, Tibetan, and Sanskrit.

Sent alone, ꡎ is a letter sample or a prompt to identify the script; the surrounding message supplies any personal meaning.

Why was Phags-pa made?

It was commissioned for multilingual imperial administration.

In 1269, Phags-pa and other scholars presented the script to Mongol ruler Kublai Khan. Kublai wanted an official script that represented Mongolian and Chinese sounds more precisely than the existing Mongolian script based on Uyghur writing, and could serve the empire's many languages. Its set of letters follows Tibetan; its vertical columns and joined letters follow Mongolian writing practice.

During the Yuan period, Phags-pa appeared on imperial orders, seals, official passes, coins, banknotes, books, and inscriptions. After the Yuan fell in 1368, it stopped serving as the writing system for Chinese and Mongolian. Limited use on Tibetan seals continued; by the late sixteenth century, a decorative Tibetan form called hor-yig appeared in book titles, architecture, and calligraphic samples.