Yezidi Letter Ow

It spells a word; it does not express a feeling. Its sound and role belong to the word around it.

The Yezidi script is one way of writing Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish), not a separate language. Yezidi communities also write Kurmanji with Latin, Cyrillic, and Arabic scripts.

What is the history of the Yezidi script?

The written record is disputed, while modern community use is documented.

Two handwritten texts, Maṣḥaf Raš and Ktébī J̌alwe̱h, were presented as old Yezidi sacred books. Their age and authorship are disputed: some accounts place them in the 12th or 13th centuries, while another scholarly view treats the published versions as forgeries, though parts overlap with Yezidi oral tradition.

Historical texts may join letter forms, while the modern alphabet writes letters separately. In 2013, Georgia’s Spiritual Council of Yezidis backed a revival that adapted an older system that mostly wrote consonants into a fuller alphabet for modern Kurmanji. The script has been used in prayers, temple names, community letterheads, and emblems. Its order reflects Persian-Arabic writing practice and some marks come from Arabic; reported influence from Sorani Kurdish and Syriac writing remains debated.

Can I send 𐺥 by itself?

Alone, it is usually a character sample, not a conventional reaction. Inside a Yezidi-script word, it contributes to spelling. In a prayer, temple inscription, or community publication, the surrounding text and setting supply any religious or identity context.

When sending Yezidi writing, keep the character inside its word and preserve the text’s right-to-left direction.