Modifier Letter Small Bottom Half O

Modifier Letter Small Bottom Half O at U+1D55 is a small raised phonetic letter shaped like the lower half of an o, used as a modifier rather than as an ordinary alphabetic letter. It belongs to the Phonetic Extensions block, a Unicode block for specialized transcription signs used by linguists and phoneticians. Its main role is in phonetic transcription traditions that need compact superscript-style symbols for secondary articulation, vowel quality, or fine pronunciation details. In a narrow transcription, a symbol such as ᵕ may be attached after a sound to record a specific reduced or rounded vocalic feature defined by the transcription system or by the work’s notation key. This character is mostly encountered in academic linguistics, language documentation, dictionaries with detailed pronunciation data, and digitized phonetic materials. It is not part of everyday spelling in any major language, and its meaning is convention-dependent, so it should be read alongside the transcription guide used by the source.