Syriac Rukkakha

It marks a softer reading for one of six Syriac consonants.

Rukkakha follows ܒ, ܓ, ܕ, ܟ, ܦ, or ܬ when the softer value needs to be shown. Depending on the letter and tradition, that value is a fricative (made as air passes through a narrow opening) or a breathier sound. Its partner ݁, qushshaya, marks the hard value. This is a pronunciation mark, not punctuation.

Rukkakha belongs to the Syriac manuscript tradition, not modern computer notation. The earliest recorded example described for both points is a manuscript dated 599. East and West Syriac traditions treat parts of the hard-soft series differently; West Syriac pronunciation does not distinguish the two values for ܒ. A Syriac teaching grammar may use the points selectively when a reading is unexpected or uncertain.

How do I type ݂ without breaking the word?

Place it immediately after the Syriac letter it marks.

Rukkakha is a combining mark: it has no spacing of its own and is positioned relative to the letter before it. With ܕ, it shifts slightly to the right because dalath already has a dot below, so the mark may not sit directly beneath the letter.

If it looks detached, check that the letter comes before the mark and that the font supports Syriac shaping. Use a Syriac keyboard or character picker instead of guessing a punctuation key.