What ެ means
It marks the short e sound in Dhivehi. Dhivehi is spoken in the Maldives and on Minicoy island. Its Thaana writing runs right to left, with attached vowel signs called fili.
Thaana followed Dhives Akuru, an older Maldivian script rooted in Brahmi, an ancient South Asian writing system. Historian H. A. Maniku links its spread to reforms after Portuguese rule ended in 1573, making writing easier to learn. Thaana inscriptions on Kaditheemu mosque doorposts record roofing dates of 1599 and 1611; they establish early use of the script, not this individual mark’s invention.
A tradition credits the scholar Sheik Muhammed Jamaaludhdheen with inventing Thaana, but that attribution remains uncertain. Thaana shares right-to-left writing and an attached-vowel system with Arabic.
How do I type ެ?
Enter the base letter first, then the vowel mark. With Windows Divehi Phonetic, documented in CLDR 25, press E without Shift to add ebefili.
Check the sequence and font if the mark looks misplaced. Windows Uniscribe, the software that positions text, displays invalid combinations on a dotted circle. With non-OpenType fonts, invalid marks can overlap instead.
Don't confuse it with
1Questions people ask
1Is the dotted circle part of ެ?
No. Windows Uniscribe adds the circle for display; it is not stored as part of the original text.
How to type ެ
ެ\07ACCodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.