U+0C8B "ಋ" Kannada Letter Vocalic R Unicode Character

Unicode Version 17.0

U+0C8B "ಋ" Kannada Letter Vocalic R is a vowel in the Kannada script that represents a syllabic r sound, a feature inherited from the Brahmi-derived writing systems of South India. It corresponds to the vocalic r found in Sanskrit and is used primarily in writing loanwords and scholarly or religious texts from that language. The character is distinct from the consonant-consonant conjunct forms and serves as an independent vowel, often appearing in the first syllable of words like "Rigveda" or "rishi." Its pronunciation varies, typically realized as a short, retroflex r sound with a slight vowel quality, akin to the Sanskrit ऋ. This letter is essential for accurately representing ancient and classical Kannada literature and for maintaining the historical link between modern Kannada and its Sanskritic roots.

General Properties

Code Point U+0C8B
Version Added 1.1
Name Kannada Letter Vocalic R
Block Kannada
General Category Other Letter
Canonical Combining Class Not Reordered
Bidirectional Class Left To Right

Encodings

HTML Decimal Encoding ಋ
HTML Hex Encoding ಋ
UTF-8 Encoding 0xE0 0xB2 0x8B
UTF-16 Encoding 0x0C8B
UTF-32 Encoding 0x00000C8B
C/C++/Java Escape \u0c8b

Unicode Properties

NFC Quick Check Yes
NFD Quick Check Yes
NFKC Quick Check Yes
NFKD Quick Check Yes
Numeric Type None
Numeric Value NaN
Line Break Alphabetic
Script Kannada
Script Extensions Kannada
Indic Syllabic Category Vowel Independent
ID Start Yes
XID Start Yes
ID Continue Yes
XID Continue Yes
Alphabetic Yes
Vertical Orientation Rotated
Grapheme Base Yes
Grapheme Cluster Break Other
Word Break Alphabetic letter
Sentence Break OLetter