U+17B3 "ឳ" Khmer Independent Vowel Qau Unicode Character

U+17B3 "ឳ" Khmer Independent Vowel Qau is a glyph used in the Khmer script to represent a specific, standalone vowel sound distinct from the inherent vowel found after consonants. This character functions as an independent vowel, typically romanized as "au" or "ao," and is employed in writing certain native Khmer words and loanwords where the vowel does not follow a consonant. It belongs to the Khmer block of the Unicode standard and is part of the script's inventory of vowel symbols that can appear without a base consonant character.