Vai syllable bee

It is a syllable sign in Vai’s writing system. Vai is a syllabary, meaning each sign represents a syllable. Vai text runs from left to right, and neighboring signs build words; this character by itself does not express a complete idea.

If it arrives alone, treat it as a piece of Vai text and ask what word or passage it came from.

How old is the Vai script?

The Vai script emerged in the early 1830s. Its earliest surviving sample is a manuscript from 1834, created among Vai speakers in Liberia. A note preserved with the manuscript says young people wanted to write their language after seeing Americans exchange letters.

The script became practical for schools, correspondence, and record-keeping, especially among merchants and traders. Samples spanning 1834–2005 show forms changing over time; some older signs later fell out of readers’ knowledge. ꔇ retains a syllabic role in the material described here.

Vai also connects to a wider West African writing-system history. Mende Kikakui is thought to draw on both Vai and Arabic; researchers identify a Vai syllabic model in later Bamum and possibly Bamana scripts. A connection with Cherokee has been proposed but remains uncertain.

How do I type ꔇ?

In MediaWiki’s Vai transliteration layout, type b, then e. Those Latin-letter keystrokes produce ꔇ in that layout.

On mobile, Gboard is a documented route for Vai input as of 2026. Input and display are separate: a keyboard can enter ꔇ even when the receiving device’s font cannot show it.