Ha (Indic)

Comparison of Ha in different scripts

Aramaic - Kharoṣṭhī 𐨱 Ashoka Brahmi Kushana Brahmi Tocharian Gupta Brahmi Pallava - Kadamba - Bhaiksuki 𑰮 Siddhaṃ Grantha 𑌹 Cham ꨨ Sinhala හ Pyu / Old Mon - Tibetan Newa 𑐴 Ahom 𑜑 Malayalam ഹ Telugu హ Burmese ဟ Lepcha ᰝ Ranjana - Saurashtra ꢲ Dives Akuru 𑤭 Kannada ಹ Kayah Li ꤟ Limbu ᤜ Soyombo 𑪂 Khmer ហ Tamil ஹ Chakma 𑄦 Tai Tham ᩈ / ᩌ Meitei Mayek ꯍ Gaudi - Thai ห Lao ຫ Tai Le ᥞ Marchen 𑲎 Tirhuta 𑒯 New Tai Lue ᦠ / ᦣ Tai Viet ꪬ / ꪭ Aksara Kawi - 'Phags-pa ꡜ Odia ହ Sharada 𑆲 Rejang ꥁ Batak ᯂ Buginese ᨖ Zanabazar Square 𑨱 Bengali-Assamese Takri 𑚩 Javanese ꦲ Balinese ᬳ Makasar - Hangul - Northern Nagari - Dogri 𑠪 Laṇḍā - Sundanese ᮠ Baybayin ᜑ Modi 𑘮 Gujarati હ Khojki 𑈪 Khudabadi 𑋞 Mahajani 𑅱 Tagbanwa - Devanagari Nandinagari 𑧎 Kaithi 𑂯 Gurmukhi ਹ Multani 𑊦 Buhid ᝑ Canadian Syllabics - Soyombo 𑪂 Sylheti Nagari ꠢ Gunjala Gondi 𑶇 Masaram Gondi 𑴬 Hanuno'o ᜱ Notes

Ha is a consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ha is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter after having gone through the Gupta letter .

Āryabhaṭa numeration

Further information: Āryabhaṭa numeration

Aryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The values of the different forms of ह are:

• ह [hə] = 100 (१००)
• हि [hɪ] = 10,000 (१० ०००)
• हु [hʊ] = 1,000,000 (१० ०० ०००)
• हृ [hri] = 100,000,000 (१० ०० ०० ०००)
• हॢ [hlə] = ×10¹⁰ (१०^१०)
• हे [he] = ×10¹² (×१०^१२)
• है [hɛː] = ×10¹⁴ (×१०^१४)
• हो [hoː] = ×10¹⁶ (×१०^१६)
• हौ [hɔː] = ×10¹⁸ (×१०^१८)

Historic Ha

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Ha as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta . The Tocharian Ha did not have an alterante Fremdzeichen form. The third form of ha, in Kharoshthi () was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.

Brahmi Ha

The Brahmi letter , Ha, is probably derived from the Aramaic He , and is thus related to the modern Latin H and Greek Eta. Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ha can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period. As the earliest and most geometric style of Brahmi, the letters found on the Edicts of Ashoka and other records from around that time are normally the reference form for Brahmi letters, with vowel marks not attested until later forms of Brahmi back-formed to match the geometric writing style.

Brahmi Ha historic forms

Ashoka (3rd-1st c. BCE)	Girnar (~150 BCE)	Kushana (~150-250 CE)	Gujarat (~250 CE)	Gupta (~350 CE)

Tocharian Ha

The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi , but does not have an alternate Fremdzeichen form.

Tocharian Ha with vowel marks

Ha	Hā	Hi	Hī	Hu	Hū	Hr	Hr̄	He	Hai	Ho	Hau	Hä

Kharoṣṭhī Ha

The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the Aramaic He , and is thus related to H and Eta, in addition to the Brahmi Ha.

Devanagari Ha

Main article: Devanagari ha

Ha (ह) is a consonant of the Devanagari abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , after having gone through the Gupta letter . Letters that derive from it are the Gujarati letter હ, and the Modi letter 𑘮.

Devanagari-using Languages

In all languages, ह is pronounced as [ɦə] or [ɦ] when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

Devanagari ह with vowel marks

Ha	Hā	Hi	Hī	Hu	Hū	Hr	Hr̄	Hl	Hl̄	He	Hai	Ho	Hau	H
ह	हा	हि	ही	हु	हू	हृ	हॄ	हॢ	हॣ	हे	है	हो	हौ	ह्

Conjuncts with ह

Devanagari exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. In modern Devanagari texts, most conjuncts are formed by reducing the letter shape to fit tightly to the following letter, usually by dropping a character's vertical stem, sometimes referred to as a "half form". Some conjunct clusters are always represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters. Vertically stacked conjuncts are ubiquitous in older texts, while only a few are still used routinely in modern Devanagari texts. Lacking a vertical stem to drop for making a half form, Ha either forms a stacked conjunct/ligature, or uses its full form with Virama. The use of ligatures and vertical conjuncts may vary across languages using the Devanagari script, with Marathi in particular avoiding their use where other languages would use them.

Ligature conjuncts of ह

True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Devanagari are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra. Nepali and Marathi texts use the "eyelash" Ra half form for an initial "R" instead of repha.

• Repha र্ (r) + ह (ha) gives us the ligature rha: ^note

• Eyelash र্ (r) + ह (ha) gives us the ligature rha:

• ह্ (h) + rakar र (ra) gives us the ligature hra:

Stacked conjuncts of ह

Vertically stacked ligatures are the most common conjunct forms found in Devanagari text. Although the constituent characters may need to be stretched and moved slightly in order to stack neatly, stacked conjuncts can be broken down into recognizable base letters, or a letter and an otherwise standard ligature.

• छ্ (cʰ) + ह (ha) gives us the ligature cʰha:

• ड্ (ḍ) + ह (ha) gives us the ligature ḍha:

• ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ह (ha) gives us the ligature ḍʱha:

• द্ (d) + ह (ha) gives us the ligature dha:

• ह্ (h) + ब (ba) gives us the ligature hba:

• ह্ (h) + च (ca) gives us the ligature hca:

• ह্ (h) + ज (ja) gives us the ligature hja:

• ह্ (h) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature hjña:

• ह্ (h) + क (ka) gives us the ligature hka:

• ह্ (h) + ल (la) gives us the ligature hla:

• ह্ (h) + ळ (ḷa) gives us the ligature hḷa:

• ह্ (h) + म (ma) gives us the ligature hma:

• ह্ (h) + न (na) gives us the ligature hna:

• ह্ (h) + ण (ṇa) gives us the ligature hṇa:

• ह্ (h) + ञ (ña) gives us the ligature hña:

• ह্ (h) + व (va) gives us the ligature hva:

• ह্ (h) + य (ya) gives us the ligature hya:

• ङ্ (ŋ) + ह (ha) gives us the ligature ŋha:

• ट্ (ṭ) + ह (ha) gives us the ligature ṭha:

• ठ্ (ṭʰ) + ह (ha) gives us the ligature ṭʰha:

Bengali Ha

The Bengali script হ is derived from the Siddhaṃ , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, ह. The inherent vowel of Bengali consonant letters is /ɔ/, so the bare letter হ will sometimes be transliterated as "ho" instead of "ha". Adding okar, the "o" vowel mark, gives a reading of /ho/.

Like all Indic consonants, হ can be modified by marks to indicate another (or no) vowel than its inherent "a".

Bengali হ with vowel marks

ha	hā	hi	hī	hu	hū	hr	hr̄	he	hai	ho	hau	h
হ	হা	হি	হী	হু	হূ	হৃ	হৄ	হে	হৈ	হো	হৌ	হ্

হ in Bengali-using languages

হ is used as a basic consonant character in all of the major Bengali script orthographies, including Bengali and Assamese.

Conjuncts with হ

Bengali হ does not form conjuncts like most other letters, and can only be found in conjunction with Repha and Ya-phala.

• র্ (r) + হ (ha) gives us the ligature rha, showing the repha prefix:

• র্ (r) + হ্ (h) + য (ya) gives us the ligature rhya, with repha and the ya phala suffix:

Gujarati Ha

Gujarati Ha.

Ha (હ) is the thirty-third consonant of the Gujarati abugida. It is derived from the Devanagari Ha with the top bar (shiro rekha) removed, and ultimately the Brahmi letter .

Gujarati-using Languages

The Gujarati script is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. In both languages, હ is pronounced as [hə] or [h] when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Gujarati uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel:

Ha	Hā	Hi	Hī	Hu	Hū	Hr	Hl	Hr̄	Hl̄	Hĕ	He	Hai	Hŏ	Ho	Hau	H
Gujarati Ha syllables, with vowel marks in red.

Conjuncts with હ

Gujarati હ exhibits conjunct ligatures, much like its parent Devanagari Script. While most Gujarati conjuncts can only be formed by reducing the letter shape to create a "half form" that fits tightly to following letter, Ha does not have a half form. A few conjunct clusters can be represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters, and vertically stacked conjuncts can also be found in Gujarati, although much less commonly than in Devanagari. Lacking a half form, Ha will normally use an explicit virama when forming conjuncts without a true ligature.

True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Gujarati are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra.

• ર્ (r) + હ (ha) gives us the ligature RHa:

• હ્ (h) + ર (ra) gives us the ligature HRa:

• હ્ (h) + ણ (ɳa) gives us the ligature HṆa:

• હ્ (h) + ન (na) gives us the ligature HNa:

• હ્ (h) + લ (la) gives us the ligature HLa:

• હ્ (h) + વ (va) gives us the ligature HVa:

Javanese Ha

Main article: Ha (Javanese)

Telugu Ha

Telugu independent and subjoined Ha.

Ha (హ) is a consonant of the Telugu abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter . It is closely related to the Kannada letter ಹ. Most Telugu consonants contain a v-shaped headstroke that is related to the horizontal headline found in other Indic scripts, although headstrokes do not connect adjacent letters in Telugu. The headstroke is normally lost when adding vowel matras.

Telugu conjuncts are created by reducing trailing letters to a subjoined form that appears below the initial consonant of the conjunct. Many subjoined forms are created by dropping their headline, with many extending the end of the stroke of the main letter body to form an extended tail reaching up to the right of the preceding consonant. This subjoining of trailing letters to create conjuncts is in contrast to the leading half forms of Devanagari and Bengali letters. Ligature conjuncts are not a feature in Telugu, with the only non-standard construction being an alternate subjoined form of Ṣa (borrowed from Kannada) in the KṢa conjunct.

Malayalam Ha

Malayalam letter Ha

Ha (ഹ) is a consonant of the Malayalam abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Grantha letter Ha. Like in other Indic scripts, Malayalam consonants have the inherent vowel "a", and take one of several modifying vowel signs to represent syllables with another vowel or no vowel at all.

Malayalam Ha matras: Ha, Hā, Hi, Hī, Hu, Hū, Hr̥, Hr̥̄, Hl̥, Hl̥̄, He, Hē, Hai, Ho, Hō, Hau, and H.

Conjuncts of ഹ

As is common in Indic scripts, Malayalam joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. There are several ways in which conjuncts are formed in Malayalam texts: using a post-base form of a trailing consonant placed under the initial consonant of a conjunct, a combined ligature of two or more consonants joined together, a conjoining form that appears as a combining mark on the rest of the conjunct, the use of an explicit candrakkala mark to suppress the inherent "a" vowel, or a special consonant form called a "chillu" letter, representing a bare consonant without the inherent "a" vowel. Texts written with the modern reformed Malayalam orthography, put̪iya lipi, may favor more regular conjunct forms than older texts in paḻaya lipi, due to changes undertaken in the 1970s by the Government of Kerala.

• ഹ് (h) + ന (na) gives us the ligature hna:

• ഹ് (h) + മ (ma) gives us the ligature hma:

Odia Ha

Odia independent and subjoined letter Ha.

Ha (ହ) is a consonant of the Odia abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , via the Siddhaṃ letter Ha. Like in other Indic scripts, Odia consonants have the inherent vowel "a", and take one of several modifying vowel signs to represent syllables with another vowel or no vowel at all.

Odia Ha with vowel matras

Ha	Hā	Hi	Hī	Hu	Hū	Hr̥	Hr̥̄	Hl̥	Hl̥̄	He	Hai	Ho	Hau	H
ହ	ହା	ହି	ହୀ	ହୁ	ହୂ	ହୃ	ହୄ	ହୢ	ହୣ	ହେ	ହୈ	ହୋ	ହୌ	ହ୍

As is common in Indic scripts, Odia joins letters together to form conjunct consonant clusters. The most common conjunct formation is achieved by using a small subjoined form of trailing consonants. Most consonants' subjoined forms are identical to the full form, just reduced in size, although a few drop the curved headline or have a subjoined form not directly related to the full form of the consonant. The second type of conjunct formation is through pure ligatures, where the constituent consonants are written together in a single graphic form. ହ generates conjuncts only by subjoining and does not form ligatures.

References

^note Conjuncts are identified by IAST transliteration, except aspirated consonants are indicated with a superscript "h" to distinguish from an unaspirated cononant + Ha.