Ugaritic Letter Ssu

It is an extra Ugaritic consonant sign whose exact value remains disputed. Specialists transcribe it as s₂ or ś; “ssu” is Unicode’s character label, not a translation.

Ugaritic scribes used an alphabetic script: signs stood for sounds and were pressed into clay as wedge-shaped marks, a technique called cuneiform. The system had taken shape at Ugarit by the 13th century BCE.

Why was 𐎝 added to the Ugaritic alphabet?

It was one of the extra signs used to write Hurrian. Hurrian was another language written at Ugarit; 𐎝 sits at the alphabet’s end alongside two vowel signs added to support Hurrian writing.

The Ugaritic and later Phoenician and Hebrew alphabets preserve a recognizable letter order, though Ugaritic signs are wedge impressions rather than the later letter shapes. That links the traditions without making 𐎝 a Phoenician or Hebrew letter.

What does it mean when someone sends 𐎝?

Treat it as a script reference unless the surrounding text tells you more. Alone, it can point to the character itself, but it does not make a complete Ugaritic or Hurrian message. In a longer inscription, the neighboring signs and the language matter.

Published transcriptions may use s₂ or ś, while the Unicode name is “ssu.” When checking an inscription, follow its transcription key; replacing the sign with an ordinary Latin s or a Hebrew letter could erase a distinction the source intends.