Sinhala Anusvaraya Sign

It marks a nasal sound within a word. When Sinhala is transcribed into Latin letters, the following consonant determines how anusvara is written: for example, an ng-like value before consonants made at the back of the mouth, or m before consonants made with the lips. This is a transcription convention, not a complete pronunciation guide.

The sign belongs to the Brahmi-derived Sinhala writing tradition; Brahmi is an ancient South Asian script. It represents a nasal without requiring a separate full nasal letter. Sinhala script also writes Pali and Sanskrit, two other South Asian languages, so the language of the text matters.

Why does ං look detached?

It takes up space, but belongs with the preceding letters. In typed Sinhala, it comes last in its character cluster—the letters and marks that form a written unit. If the circle sits oddly, check the font and character order before changing the spelling.