Gāf (Persian letter)

*Gāf*
Gāf
گ
Usage
Writing system	Arabic script
Type	Abjad
Language of origin	Persian language
Sound values	g
Alphabetical position	26
History
Development	𐤊‎ 𐡊 𐢎‎, 𐢏‎ ك, كـ گ; ; ; ;
Other
Writing direction	Right-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.

Gāf (گ; Persian: گاف), is the name of different Perso-Arabic letters, all representing /ɡ/. They are all derived from the letter Kāf (ک), with additional diacritics, such as dots and lines. In name and shape, it is a variant of Kāf (ک).

It is also one of the five letters the Persian alphabet added to the Arabic alphabet, which are; Že (ژ), Če (چ), and Gaf (گ), in addition to the obsolete Ve (ڤ). Its numerical value is 5000 (see Abjad numerals), except for the Jawi variant (ݢ) which instead has a value of 6000.^[1] There are four forms, each used in different alphabets:

Gāf (گ) in the Persian alphabet, Tausug written in the Arabic script
Gāf (ݢ) in the Jawi script
Gāf (ࢴ or ڮ) in the Pegon script
Gāf (ګ) in Pashto

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 a varitation of Qāf (ق) known as Gāf (ڨ) in Tunisia and Algeria, and any of the standard letters Jīm (ج), Ghayn (غ), or Qāf (ق) elsewhere.

This article contains special characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols.

Variant forms

Kāf with line

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

When representing this sound in transliteration of Persian into Hebrew, it is written as Kaf (כ׳) with a geresh.

It is frequently used in Persian, Urdu, Balochi, Sindhi, Kurdish, and is one of four Perso-Arabic letters not found in Arabic. It is also commonly used in Mesopotamian Arabic.^[2]

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

Kāf with ring

In Pashto, this letter (ګ) is used for /ɡ/.

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

Kāf with single dot above

This Gāf (ݢ) is derived from a variant form of Kāf (ک), with the addition of a dot. It's 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.^[3]

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

Kāf 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

Gāf with inverted stroke

In Chechen, Kabardian, and Adyghe, the character (ࢰ) is used to spell /kʼ/ or /t͡ʃʼ/.

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

Kāf with a dot below

This letter (ࢴ) is derived from a form of Kāf (ك), with the addition of three a dot below. It's used in the Arwi alphabet for the Tamil language and the Pegon script for Indonesian languages to represent /ɡ/.^[4]^[5]

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

Kāf with three dots

This letter (ڭ) is used in Moroccan Arabic and Arabic-script Berber to represent /ɡ/.^[6] 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

References

^ Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. "Kamus Dewan Edisi Keempat". Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (in Malay). Archived from the original on 11 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026. huruf ke-26 abjad Jawi (mempunyai nilai 6000).
^ Alkalesi, Yasin M. (2001) "Modern iraqi arabic: A textbook". Georgetown University Press. ISBN 978-0878407880
^ Jonatha Kew (2003). "Proposal to encode Jawi and Moroccan Arabic GAF characters" (PDF).
^ Pournader, Roozbeh (June 24, 2013). "Proposal to encode three Arabic characters for Arwi" (PDF).
^ Nasrullah, Febri Muhammad (2022-09-11). "On ARABIC LETTER KAF WITH DOT BELOW" (PDF). UTC Document Register for 2022.
^ "Learn Moroccan Arabic". Best Riad Marakkesh. 8 November 2009. واش كتهدر بالإنݣليزية

External links

Notes on some Unicode Arabic characters: recommendations for usage (PDF)

[1] Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. "Kamus Dewan Edisi Keempat". Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (in Malay). Archived from the original on 11 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026. huruf ke-26 abjad Jawi (mempunyai nilai 6000).

[2] Alkalesi, Yasin M. (2001) "Modern iraqi arabic: A textbook". Georgetown University Press. ISBN 978-0878407880

[3] Jonatha Kew (2003). "Proposal to encode Jawi and Moroccan Arabic GAF characters" (PDF).

[4] Pournader, Roozbeh (June 24, 2013). "Proposal to encode three Arabic characters for Arwi" (PDF).

[5] Nasrullah, Febri Muhammad (2022-09-11). "On ARABIC LETTER KAF WITH DOT BELOW" (PDF). UTC Document Register for 2022.

[6] "Learn Moroccan Arabic". Best Riad Marakkesh. 8 November 2009. واش كتهدر بالإنݣليزية

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v t e Persian language
History	Proto-Indo-European (c. 3000 BCE) Proto-Indo-Iranian (c. 2000 BCE) Proto-Iranian (c. 1500 BCE) Old Persian (c. 525–300 BCE) Middle Persian (c. 300 BCE – 800 CE) New Persian (from 800)
Language families	Indo-Iranian languages Iranian languages Western Iranian languages
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