What ꗮ means
It writes the Vai syllable “mgbe.”
Vai is a syllabic script: each sign writes one syllable. Vai speakers in Liberia developed it around 1833 to write their language and exchange letters. A handwritten Vai document dated 1834 in Harvard’s Houghton Library may be the earliest surviving specimen. Vai writing later served correspondence, schools, trade, religious texts, and print. Possible Cherokee influence remains debated; visual resemblance alone does not establish descent. Vai later helped inspire other West African scripts.
Don't confuse it with
4Questions people ask
1Why does ꗮ appear as a box?
The font lacks Vai coverage; choose one that includes the script.
How to type ꗮ
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType A5EE, then Alt+X to get ꗮ.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “vai syllable mgbe”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType a5ee, then Enter or Space.
HTML
ꗮCSS
\A5EEVai keyboard
A Vai keyboard layout enters it; a font with Vai coverage displays it.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
ꗮ
HTML hex
ꗮ
CSS content
content: "\A5EE";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%EA%97%AE
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.