U+0D05 "അ" Malayalam Letter A Unicode Character
Unicode Version 17.0
അ
U+0D05 "അ" Malayalam Letter A is the first vowel of the Malayalam abugida, representing the short, open back unrounded vowel sound /a/. It serves as the foundational independent vowel character in the script, functioning as a syllable on its own or as the base for dependent vowel signs attached to consonants. In digital text, this character is encoded in the Unicode Standard to enable the consistent representation and processing of Malayalam, primarily used in the Indian state of Kerala and by Malayali communities worldwide. Its shape resembles a curved line with an open top, distinct from derived vowel forms, and it is essential for writing native words, Sanskrit loanwords, and grammatical markers in the language.
General Properties
| Code Point | U+0D05 |
| Version Added | 1.1 |
| Name | Malayalam Letter A |
| Block | Malayalam |
| General Category | Other Letter |
| Canonical Combining Class | Not Reordered |
| Bidirectional Class | Left To Right |
Encodings
| HTML Decimal Encoding | അ |
| HTML Hex Encoding | അ |
| UTF-8 Encoding | 0xE0 0xB4 0x85 |
| UTF-16 Encoding | 0x0D05 |
| UTF-32 Encoding | 0x00000D05 |
| C/C++/Java Escape | \u0d05 |