ۀ is a letter of the Pashto and Persian languages consisting of hāʾ with a hamza above.

Hā with hamza above
ۀ
Usage
Writing systemArabic script
TypeAbjad
Language of originIranian languages
Sound valuesPashto: [ə]
Persian: [eje]
In UnicodeU+06C0 ۀ ARABIC LETTER HEH WITH YEH ABOVE [1] U+06C2 ۂ ARABIC LETTER HEH GOAL WITH HAMZA ABOVE [2]
History
Development
  • ۀ
Other
Writing directionRight-to-left
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Usage

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In the Pashto alphabet, it is the fortieth letter, known as Kajira He, where it represents the vowel /ə/ and is transliterated ⟨ë⟩.[3]

In Persian, it is not considered a distinct letter of the alphabet but is used when marking ezafe on a word ending in ـه ⟨…e⟩ [e], thus yielding ـهٔ ⟨…e-ye⟩ [eje]. According to one source, this is not actually a hamza but rather a development of the letter ی ye as a diacritic.[4]

In both written Pashto and Persian, it only appears in the final position:

Position in word Isolated Final Medial Initial
Glyph form:
(Help)
ۀ ـۀ ـۀ ۀ

References

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  1. ^ "Unicode Utilities: Character Properties". util.unicode.org. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Unicode Utilities: Character Properties". util.unicode.org. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  3. ^ Ullah, Noor (2011). Pashto Grammar. UK: AuthorHouse. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4567-8007-4.
  4. ^ "Persian Online – Grammar & Resources: Ezāfe 2". The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 1 March 2024.