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    Joseph Carne-Ross

    For other uses, see GAF.
    This article contains special characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols.
    Gāf
    گ
    Usage
    Writing systemArabic script
    TypeAbjad
    Language of originPersian language
    Sound valuesg
    Alphabetical position26
    History
    Development
    𐤊‎
    • 𐡊
      • 𐢎‎, 𐢏‎
        • ك, كـ
          • گ
    Other
    Writing directionRight-to-left
    This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.
    One form of gaf
    Persian alphabet
    ا ب پ ت ث ج چ ح خ د ذ ر ز ژ س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ک گ ل م ن و ه ی
    Perso-Arabic script

    Gaf (Persian: گاف; gāf), is the name of different Perso-Arabic letters, all representing /ɡ/. They are all derived from the letter kāf, with additional diacritics, such as dots and lines. In name and shape, it is a variant of kaf. It is also one of the five letters the Persian alphabet added to the Arabic alphabet (the others being ژ, پ, and چ in addition to the obsolete ڤ). Its numerical value is 5000 (see Abjad numerals). There are four forms, each used in different alphabets:

    Use in Arabic

    A non-standard letter to the Arabic alphabet; Gāf (گ) has been traditionally used in Iraq and parts of the Levant for /g/. In Morocco, a similar letter (ݣ‎) is used. while in other Arabic-speaking countries other letters are used, such as ڨ‎ in Tunisia and Algeria, and any of the standard letters ج‎, غ‎, or ق‎ in the other countries.

    Variant forms

    Kaf with line

    The most common form of gāf (گ‎) is based on kāf with an additional line. It is rarely used in Standard Arabic itself but is used to represent the sound /ɡ/ when writing other languages.

    Position in word: Isolated Final Medial Initial
    Naskh glyph form:
    (Help)     		گ‎ ـگ‎ ـگـ‎ گـ‎
    Nastaʿlīq glyph form: گ ــــگ ــــگــــ گــــ

    When representing this sound in transliteration of Persian into Hebrew, it is written as כ׳ kaph and a geresh.

    It is frequently used in Persian, Pashto, Uyghur, Urdu and Kurdish, and is one of four Perso-Arabic letters not found in Arabic. It is also commonly used in Mesopotamian Arabic.[1]

    Kaf with ring

    In Pashto, this letter is used for /ɡ/.

    Position in word: Isolated Final Medial Initial
    Naskh glyph form:
    (Help)     		ګ‎ ـګ‎ ـګـ‎ ګـ‎
    Nastaʿlīq glyph form: ګ ــــګ ــــګــــ ګــــ

    Kaf with single dot above

    This gāf (ݢ‎) is derived from a variant form of kāf (ک‎), with the addition of a dot. It is not used in the Arabic language itself, but is used in the Jawi script to represent /ɡ/.

    Position in word: Isolated Final Medial Initial
    Glyph form:
    (Help)     		ݢ‎ ـݢ‎ ـݢـ‎ ݢـ‎

    Unicode includes two forms on this letter: one based on the standard Arabic kāf (ك‎), and one based on the variant form (ک‎). The latter is the preferred form.[2]

    Character information
    Preview ڬ ݢ
    Unicode name ARABIC LETTER KAF WITH DOT ABOVE ARABIC LETTER KEHEH WITH DOT ABOVE
    Encodings decimal hex dec hex
    Unicode 1708 U+06AC 1890 U+0762
    UTF-8 218 172 DA AC 221 162 DD A2
    Numeric character reference ڬ ڬ ݢ ݢ

    Kaf with three dots below

    This letter (ڮ‎) is derived from a form of kāf (ك‎), with the addition of three dots below.

    Position in word: Isolated Final Medial Initial
    Glyph form:
    (Help)     		ڮ‎ ـڮ‎ ـڮـ‎ ڮـ‎

    Gaf with inverted stroke

    In Chechen, Kabardian, and Adyghe, the Arabic character ࢰ‎ is used to spell /kʼ/ or /t͡ʃʼ/. In Chechen, ⟨گ‎⟩ is alternatively used as well.

    Position in word: Isolated Final Medial Initial
    Glyph form:
    (Help)     		ࢰ‎ ـࢰ‎ ـࢰـ‎ ࢰـ‎

    Kaf with a dot below

    This letter (ࢴ‎) is derived from a form of kāf (ك‎), with the addition of three a dot below. It is not used in the Arabic language itself, but is used in the Arwi alphabet for the Tamil language and the Pegon script for Indonesian languages to represent /ɡ/.[3][4]

    Position in word: Isolated Final Medial Initial
    Glyph form:
    (Help)     		ࢴ‎ ـࢴ‎ ـࢴـ‎ ࢴـ‎

    Kaf with three dots

    See also: Ng (Arabic letter)
    The Arabic signage for the Argana cafe in Marrakesh's Jemaa el-Fnaa features a prominent gaf with three dots.
    A page from a 12th century Persian manuscript of "Kitab al-Abniya 'an Haqa'iq al-Adwiya" by Abu Mansur Muwaffaq with letter gāf written as (ڭـ).

    The letter ڭ‎ is used in Berber and Moroccan Arabic to represent /ɡ/.[5] Examples of its use include city names (e.g., Agadir: أݣادير‎) and family names (e.g., El Guerrouj: الݣروج‎). The preferred form is ڭ‎.

    Position in word: Isolated Final Medial Initial
    Glyph form:
    (Help)     		ڭ‎ ـڭ‎ ـڭـ‎ ڭـ‎

    It was also used in Ottoman Turkish for /ŋ/. Both forms are based on variant forms of kāf (ك‎/ک‎), with the addition of three dots. The preferred form is ݣ‎.

    Position in word: Isolated Final Medial Initial
    Glyph form:
    (Help)     		ݣ‎ ـݣ‎ ـݣـ‎ ݣـ‎

    Character encoding

    Character information
    Preview ګ ڬ ڮ گ ࢰ
    Unicode name ARABIC LETTER KAF WITH RING ARABIC LETTER KAF WITH DOT ABOVE ARABIC LETTER KAF WITH THREE DOTS BELOW ARABIC LETTER GAF ARABIC LETTER GAF WITH INVERTED STROKE
    Encodings decimal hex dec hex dec hex dec hex dec hex
    Unicode 1707 U+06AB 1708 U+06AC 1710 U+06AE 1711 U+06AF 2224 U+08B0
    UTF-8 218 171 DA AB 218 172 DA AC 218 174 DA AE 218 175 DA AF 224 162 176 E0 A2 B0
    Numeric character reference ګ ګ ڬ ڬ ڮ ڮ گ گ ࢰ ࢰ
    Character information
    Preview ݢ ݣ ڭ ࢴ
    Unicode name ARABIC LETTER KEHEH WITH
    DOT ABOVE     		ARABIC LETTER KEHEH WITH
    THREE DOTS ABOVE     		ARABIC LETTER NG ARABIC LETTER KAF WITH
    DOT BELOW
    Encodings decimal hex dec hex dec hex dec hex
    Unicode 1890 U+0762 1891 U+0763 1709 U+06AD 2228 U+08B4
    UTF-8 221 162 DD A2 221 163 DD A3 218 173 DA AD 224 162 180 E0 A2 B4
    Numeric character reference ݢ ݢ ݣ ݣ ڭ ڭ ࢴ ࢴ

    See also

    References

    1. ^ Alkalesi, Yasin M. (2001) "Modern iraqi arabic: A textbook". Georgetown University Press. ISBN 978-0878407880
    2. ^ Jonatha Kew (2003). "Proposal to encode Jawi and Moroccan Arabic GAF characters" (PDF).
    3. ^ Pournader, Roozbeh (June 24, 2013). "Proposal to encode three Arabic characters for Arwi" (PDF).
    4. ^ Nasrullah, Febri Muhammad (2022-09-11). "On ARABIC LETTER KAF WITH DOT BELOW" (PDF). UTC Document Register for 2022.
    5. ^ "Learn Moroccan Arabic". Best Riad Marakkesh. 8 November 2009. واش كتهدر بالإنݣليزية
    Credit: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%AF

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