Modifier letters are a
collection of small
signs, generally used to indicate modifications of a preceding letter. A few may modify the following letter, and some may serve as independent letters. The signs are distinguished from
diacritical marks in that modifier letters are treated as
free-standing,
spacing characters. They are distinguished from
similar or
identical appearing
punctuation or symbols by the fact that the members of this block are considered to be
letter characters that do not break up a word. The majority of these signs are
phonetic modifiers.
Unicode's
Spacing Modifier Letters code block reserves the
80 code points from U+02B0 to U+02FF, of which all 80 are currently assigned.
IPA Extensions <-- Spacing Modifier Letters --> Combining Diacritical Marks
Number of characters added in each version of the Unicode standard :
Unicode 1.1 : 57
Unicode 3.0 : 6
Unicode 4.0 : 17
Number of characters in each General Category :
Letter, Modifier Lm : 37
Symbol, Modifier Sk : 43
Number of characters in each Bidirectional Category :
Left To Right L : 24
Other Neutral ON : 56
The columns below should be interpreted as :
- The Unicode code for the character
- The character in question
- The Unicode name for the character
- The Unicode General Category for the character
- The Unicode Bidirectional Category for the character
- The Unicode version when this character was added
If the characters below show up poorly, or not at all, see Unicode Support for possible solutions.
Spacing Modifier Letters
Latin superscript modifier letters
- U+02B0 ʰ modifier letter small h Lm L 1.1
- * aspiration
- U+02B1 ʱ modifier letter small h with hook Lm L 1.1
- * breathy voiced, murmured
- ref U+0266 ɦ Latin small letter H with hook (IPA Extensions)
- ref U+0324 ̤ combining diaeresis below (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02B2 ʲ modifier letter small j Lm L 1.1
- * palatalization
- ref U+0321 ̡ combining palatalized hook below (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02B3 ʳ modifier letter small r Lm L 1.1
- U+02B4 ʴ modifier letter small turned r Lm L 1.1
- ref U+0279 ɹ Latin small letter turned r (IPA Extensions)
- U+02B5 ʵ modifier letter small turned r with hook Lm L 1.1
- ref U+027B ɻ Latin small letter turned r with hook (IPA Extensions)
- U+02B6 ʶ modifier letter small capital inverted r Lm L 1.1
- * preceding four used for r-coloring or r-offglides
- ref U+0281 ʁ Latin letter small capital inverted r (IPA Extensions)
- U+02B7 ʷ modifier letter small w Lm L 1.1
- * labialization
- ref U+032B ̫ combining inverted double arch below (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02B8 ʸ modifier letter small y Lm L 1.1
- * palatalization
- * common Americanist usage for 02B2
Miscellaneous phonetic modifiers
- U+02B9 ʹ modifier letter prime Lm ON 1.1
- * primary stress, emphasis
- * transliteration of mjagkij znak (Cyrillic soft sign: palatalization)
- ref U+0027 ' apostrophe (Basic Latin)
- ref U+00B4 ´ acute accent (Latin-1 Supplement)
- ref U+02CA ˊ modifier letter acute accent (Spacing Modifier Letters)
- ref U+0301 ́ combining acute accent (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- ref U+0374 ʹ Greek numeral sign (Greek and Coptic)
- ref U+2032 ′ prime (General Punctuation)
- U+02BA ʺ modifier letter double prime Lm ON 1.1
- * exaggerated stress, contrastive stress
- * transliteration of tverdyj znak (Cyrillic hard sign: no palatalization)
- ref U+0022 " quotation mark (Basic Latin)
- ref U+030B ̋ combining double acute accent (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- ref U+2033 ″ double prime (General Punctuation)
- U+02BB ʻ modifier letter turned comma Lm L 1.1
- * typographical alternate for 02BD or 02BF
- * used in Hawai`ian orthography as `okina (glottal stop)
- ref U+0312 ̒ combining turned comma above (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- ref U+07F5 ߵ nko low tone apostrophe (NKo)
- ref U+2018 ‘ left single quotation mark (General Punctuation)
- U+02BC ʼ modifier letter apostrophe Lm L 1.1
- sgml '
- aka apostrophe
- * glottal stop, glottalization, ejective
- * many languages use this as a letter of their alphabets
- * used as a tone marker in Dogri (swarbal chinha)
- * used as a tone marker in Bodo (gojocoma)
- * used as a length marker in Maithili (pralamban chinh)
- * 2019 is the preferred character for a punctuation apostrophe
- ref U+0027 ' apostrophe (Basic Latin)
- ref U+0313 ̓ combining comma above (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- ref U+0315 ̕ combining comma above right (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- ref U+055A ՚ Armenian apostrophe (Armenian)
- ref U+07F4 ߴ nko high tone apostrophe (NKo)
- ref U+1FBF ᾿ Greek psili (Greek Extended)
- ref U+2019 ’ right single quotation mark (General Punctuation)
- U+02BD ʽ modifier letter reversed comma Lm L 1.1
- * weak aspiration
- ref U+0314 ̔ combining reversed comma above (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- ref U+0559 ՙ Armenian modifier letter left half ring (Armenian)
- ref U+1FFE ῾ Greek dasia (Greek Extended)
- ref U+201B ‛ single high reversed 9 quotation mark (General Punctuation)
- U+02BE ʾ modifier letter right half ring Lm L 1.1
- * transliteration of Arabic hamza (glottal stop)
- ref U+055A ՚ Armenian apostrophe (Armenian)
- ref U+0621 ء Arabic letter hamza (Arabic)
- U+02BF ʿ modifier letter left half ring Lm L 1.1
- * transliteration of Arabic ain (voiced pharyngeal fricative)
- ref U+0559 ՙ Armenian modifier letter left half ring (Armenian)
- ref U+0639 ع Arabic letter ain (Arabic)
- U+02C0 ˀ modifier letter glottal stop Lm L 1.1
- * ejective or glottalized
- * typographical alternate for 02BC or 02BE
- ref U+0294 ʔ Latin letter glottal stop (IPA Extensions)
- ref U+0309 ̉ combining hook above (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02C1 ˁ modifier letter reversed glottal stop Lm L 1.1
- * typographical alternate for 02BF
- ref U+0295 ʕ Latin letter pharyngeal voiced fricative (IPA Extensions)
- U+02C2 ˂ modifier letter left arrowhead Sk ON 1.1
- * fronted articulation
- U+02C3 ˃ modifier letter right arrowhead Sk ON 1.1
- * backed articulation
- U+02C4 ˄ modifier letter up arrowhead Sk ON 1.1
- * raised articulation
- ref U+005E ^ circumflex accent (Basic Latin)
- ref U+2303 ⌃ up arrowhead (Miscellaneous Technical)
- U+02C5 ˅ modifier letter down arrowhead Sk ON 1.1
- * lowered articulation
- U+02C6 ˆ modifier letter circumflex accent Lm ON 1.1
- html ˆ
- sgml ˆ
- * rising-falling tone, falling tone, secondary stress, etc.
- ref U+005E ^ circumflex accent (Basic Latin)
- ref U+0302 ̂ combining circumflex accent (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02C7 ˇ caron Lm ON 1.1
- sgml ˇ
- aka hacek
- * falling-rising tone
- * Mandarin Chinese third tone
- ref U+030C ̌ combining caron (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02C8 ˈ modifier letter vertical line Lm ON 1.1
- * primary stress, downstep
- * precedes letter or syllable modified
- ref U+0027 ' apostrophe (Basic Latin)
- ref U+030D ̍ combining vertical line above (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02C9 ˉ modifier letter macron Lm ON 1.1
- * high level tone
- * precedes or follows letter or syllable modified
- * Mandarin Chinese first tone
- ref U+00AF ¯ macron (Latin-1 Supplement)
- ref U+0304 ̄ combining macron (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02CA ˊ modifier letter acute accent Lm ON 1.1
- * high-rising tone (IPA), high tone, primary stress
- * Mandarin Chinese second tone
- ref U+00B4 ´ acute accent (Latin-1 Supplement)
- ref U+02B9 ʹ modifier letter prime (Spacing Modifier Letters)
- ref U+0301 ́ combining acute accent (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- ref U+0374 ʹ Greek numeral sign (Greek and Coptic)
- ref U+055B ՛ Armenian emphasis mark (Armenian)
- U+02CB ˋ modifier letter grave accent Lm ON 1.1
- * high-falling tone (IPA), low tone, secondary or tertiary stress
- * Mandarin Chinese fourth tone
- ref U+0060 ` grave accent (Basic Latin)
- ref U+0300 ̀ combining grave accent (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- ref U+055D ՝ Armenian comma (Armenian)
- U+02CC ˌ modifier letter low vertical line Lm ON 1.1
- * secondary stress
- * precedes letter or syllable modified
- ref U+0329 ̩ combining vertical line below (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02CD ˍ modifier letter low macron Lm ON 1.1
- * low level tone
- ref U+005F _ low line (Basic Latin)
- ref U+0331 ̱ combining macron below (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02CE ˎ modifier letter low grave accent Lm ON 1.1
- * low-falling tone
- U+02CF ˏ modifier letter low acute accent Lm ON 1.1
- * low-rising tone
- ref U+0375 ͵ Greek lower numeral sign (Greek and Coptic)
- U+02D0 ː modifier letter triangular colon Lm L 1.1
- * length mark
- ref U+003A : colon (Basic Latin)
- U+02D1 ˑ modifier letter half triangular colon Lm L 1.1
- * half-length mark
- ref U+00B7 · middle dot (Latin-1 Supplement)
- U+02D2 ˒ modifier letter centred right half ring Sk ON 1.1
- * more rounded articulation
- U+02D3 ˓ modifier letter centred left half ring Sk ON 1.1
- * less rounded articulation
- U+02D4 ˔ modifier letter up tack Sk ON 1.1
- * vowel raising or closing
- ref U+031D ̝ combining up tack below (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- ref U+0323 ̣ combining dot below (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02D5 ˕ modifier letter down tack Sk ON 1.1
- * vowel lowering or opening
- ref U+031C ̜ combining left half ring below (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- ref U+031E ̞ combining down tack below (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02D6 ˖ modifier letter plus sign Sk ON 1.1
- * advanced or fronted articulation
- ref U+031F ̟ combining plus sign below (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02D7 ˗ modifier letter minus sign Sk ON 1.1
- * retracted or backed articulation
- * glyph may have small end-serifs
- ref U+0320 ̠ combining minus sign below (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- ref U+2212 − minus sign (Mathematical Operators)
Spacing clones of diacritics
- U+02D8 ˘ breve Sk ON 1.1
- sgml ˘
- ref U+0306 ̆ combining breve (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02D9 ˙ dot above Sk ON 1.1
- sgml ˙
- * Mandarin Chinese fifth tone (light or neutral)
- ref U+0307 ̇ combining dot above (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02DA ˚ ring above Sk ON 1.1
- sgml ˚
- ref U+00B0 ° degree sign (Latin-1 Supplement)
- ref U+030A ̊ combining ring above (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02DB ˛ ogonek Sk ON 1.1
- sgml ˛
- ref U+0328 ̨ combining ogonek (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- U+02DC ˜ small tilde Sk ON 1.1
- html ˜
- sgml ˜
- ref U+007E ~ tilde (Basic Latin)
- ref U+0303 ̃ combining tilde (Combining Diacritical Marks)
- ref U+223C ∼ tilde operator (Mathematical Operators)
- U+02DD ˝ double acute accent Sk ON 1.1
- sgml ˝
- ref U+030B ̋ combining double acute accent (Combining Diacritical Marks)
Additions based on 1989 IPA
- U+02DE ˞ modifier letter rhotic hook Sk ON 1.1
- * rhotacization in vowel
- * often ligated: 025A = 0259 + 02DE; 025D = 025C + 02DE
- U+02DF ˟ modifier letter cross accent Sk ON 3.0
- * Swedish grave accent
- U+02E0 ˠ modifier letter small gamma Lm L 1.1
- * these modifier letters are occasionally used in transcription of affricates
- U+02E1 ˡ modifier letter small l Lm L 1.1
- U+02E2 ˢ modifier letter small s Lm L 1.1
- U+02E3 ˣ modifier letter small x Lm L 1.1
- U+02E4 ˤ modifier letter small reversed glottal stop Lm L 1.1
Tone letters
- U+02E5 ˥ modifier letter extra high tone bar Sk ON 1.1
- U+02E6 ˦ modifier letter high tone bar Sk ON 1.1
- U+02E7 ˧ modifier letter mid tone bar Sk ON 1.1
- U+02E8 ˨ modifier letter low tone bar Sk ON 1.1
- U+02E9 ˩ modifier letter extra low tone bar Sk ON 1.1
Extended Bopomofo tone marks
- U+02EA ˪ modifier letter yin departing tone mark Sk ON 3.0
- U+02EB ˫ modifier letter yang departing tone mark Sk ON 3.0
IPA modifiers
- U+02EC ˬ modifier letter voicing Lm ON 3.0
- U+02ED ˭ modifier letter unaspirated Sk ON 3.0
Other modifier letter
- U+02EE ˮ modifier letter double apostrophe Lm L 3.0
- * Nenets
UPA modifiers
- U+02EF ˯ modifier letter low down arrowhead Sk ON 4.0
- U+02F0 ˰ modifier letter low up arrowhead Sk ON 4.0
- U+02F1 ˱ modifier letter low left arrowhead Sk ON 4.0
- U+02F2 ˲ modifier letter low right arrowhead Sk ON 4.0
- U+02F3 ˳ modifier letter low ring Sk ON 4.0
- U+02F4 ˴ modifier letter middle grave accent Sk ON 4.0
- U+02F5 ˵ modifier letter middle double grave accent Sk ON 4.0
- U+02F6 ˶ modifier letter middle double acute accent Sk ON 4.0
- U+02F7 ˷ modifier letter low tilde Sk ON 4.0
- U+02F8 ˸ modifier letter raised colon Sk ON 4.0
- U+02F9 ˹ modifier letter begin high tone Sk ON 4.0
- U+02FA ˺ modifier letter end high tone Sk ON 4.0
- U+02FB ˻ modifier letter begin low tone Sk ON 4.0
- U+02FC ˼ modifier letter end low tone Sk ON 4.0
- U+02FD ˽ modifier letter shelf Sk ON 4.0
- U+02FE ˾ modifier letter open shelf Sk ON 4.0
- U+02FF ˿ modifier letter low left arrow Sk ON 4.0
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