What ஶ means
It belongs to the Grantha letter set used for Sanskrit in Tamil. Grantha letters let Tamil writing represent Sanskrit sounds that native Tamil spelling did not cover. Their introduction into Tamil country is tied to Pallava rulers during the 6th–7th centuries.
Some Tamil purists prefer native spellings for Sanskrit loanwords; Sanskritic or devotional writing may keep Grantha forms such as ஷ, ஸ, ஜ, ஹ, and க்ஷ. That choice can mark a formal or devotional spelling tradition.
Why do ஶ்ரீ and ஸ்ரீ look the same?
They encode Sri with different first letters. Unicode 17.0 describes two sequences: ஶ்ரீ begins with ஶ, while the other begins with ஸ. Some Tamil fonts render them as the same ligature, so inspect the underlying letters when exact spelling matters.
A marked Sanskritic spelling choice in Tamil, especially in Sanskrit-derived names and ஶ்ரீ.
A matching-looking ஶ்ரீ may begin with ஸ, not ஶ.
Part of the collection
Who writes ஶ
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Don't confuse it with
2
Related characters
4
க்ஷ A Grantha form used in Tamil writing for Sanskrit-derived words, alongside ஶ and other borrowed forms.
Combination ideas
1Questions people ask
2Which spelling should I use, ஶ்ரீ or ஸ்ரீ?
Follow the spelling convention of the text or name. The sequences use different first letters even when a font makes them look alike.
Can ஶ replace every Tamil “sh” spelling?
No. Tamil spelling traditions use Grantha letters and native substitutions differently; follow the convention used by the word or name.
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How to type or find ஶ
- Also called
- śa · Grantha sha
- Search it as
- sha · shri · shree · sri · Grantha · ஶ்ரீ
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
ஶ\0BB6sha may produce ஶ; as of 2026, mappings differ, and that layout maps ssa to ஷ.Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.