Diacritical Marks

Virama or halant in Devanagari

Quick copy

Details for U+094D

DEVANAGARI SIGN VIRAMA

Exact sequence: ्

U+094D

Properties
Mn; CCC 9
HTML
्
Word Alt+X
094D
Normalization
NFC: U+094D; NFD: U+094D; NFKC: U+094D; NFKD: U+094D

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Devanagari virama, often called halant in this context, is U+094D. It suppresses the consonant's inherent vowel and can participate in conjunct formation. [4], [6]

Copy exact examples

Details for U+0915 U+094D

DEVANAGARI LETTER KA + DEVANAGARI SIGN VIRAMA

Exact sequence: क्

U+0915 U+094D

Details for U+0915 U+094D U+0937

DEVANAGARI LETTER KA + DEVANAGARI SIGN VIRAMA + DEVANAGARI LETTER SSA

Exact sequence: क्ष

U+0915 U+094D U+0937

Details for U+0915 U+094D U+200D U+0937

DEVANAGARI LETTER KA + DEVANAGARI SIGN VIRAMA + ZERO WIDTH JOINER + DEVANAGARI LETTER SSA

Exact sequence: क्‍ष

U+0915 U+094D U+200D U+0937

Uses and scope

A virama is a structural part of Indic text. Depending on the following characters and the font's shaping rules, it may be visible or contribute to a conjunct. Other scripts have their own virama characters and related mechanisms; the Devanagari example does not define every Indic shaping system. [6]

Similar shapes, different characters

Deleting virama is not harmless accent stripping. A zero width joiner or non-joiner can affect shaping in a sequence, but neither is a replacement for virama. Stored order should be inspected directly when appearance is uncertain. The examples include a plain dead consonant and a conjunct sequence. [1], [2], [6]

Typing and text forms

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Searchable character table

The records include listed signs and encoded letters whose canonical decomposition contains one of this page's combining signs. This Unicode relationship does not prove membership in the languages discussed above. [1], [2]

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Sources and method

Usage statements link to the authority that supports their scope. Character names, categories, combining classes and normalization results come from the pinned Unicode data. A canonical decomposition does not establish language membership or spelling frequency.

Source access date: 2026-09-14.

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Related reading

Sources, versions and limits

Encoded properties
Properties use Unicode 17.0.0. Normalization follows UAX #15; grapheme boundaries follow UAX #29. Script associations describe encoded properties, not language use.
Language evidence
CLDR 48.2and the IANA registry dated 2026-08-08. Main and auxiliary exemplars are distinct. CLDR exemplars are not complete orthographies.
Review and limitations
The dataset is derived from the sources above. Editorial guides cite additional scoped authorities. No native or specialist orthography approval is implied. Release scope date: 14 September 2026. Historic or specialist usage needs separate evidence. Registry-only records have unknown orthography in this release.
Reproduction and corrections
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