Copy ʔ, the glottal stop symbol of the IPA; the raised ˀ, the pair Ɂ ɂ and apostrophe forms follow.
Glottal Stop Symbol
ʔLatin letter glottal stopU+0294Ready to copy
16 glottal stop characters. Tap any value to copy it.
16 glottal stop characters. A character and its name both copy the character. A code copies the code.
Character
Name
Code point
HTML
U+0294. The glottal stop of phonetic writing: a question mark without its dot, for the catch halfway through uh-oh. One form only, with no capital. No Alt code and no HTML name; a web page writes ʔ.
U+02C0. The same shape raised and shrunk to a superscript, written after a consonant made with a catch in the throat.
U+0241. A capital form, made for alphabets of northern Canada that write the sound as a cased letter. In Unicode since version 4.1 (2005).
U+0242. The small partner of Ɂ, shorter than the caseless ʔ. Unicode names Chipewyan, Dogrib and Slavey as languages that use the pair.
U+02BC. An apostrophe that counts as a letter. Many alphabets write the glottal stop with it, and the ʔ shape grew out of it.
U+02BB. Hawaiian spells the sound with this mark, the ʻokina, which curls like a small 6.
U+02A1. The letter with a bar across its stem. Another sound: Unicode glosses it voiced epiglottal stop.
U+A78C. Saltillo, an upright tick that many languages of Mexico spell the sound with.
U+A78B. The capital saltillo, for orthographies that give the sound both cases.
U+02BE. A small half ring open to the left, used to write the Arabic hamza in Latin letters.
U+0621. Hamza, the Arabic letter for the glottal stop.
U+097D. A glottal stop letter for Devanagari, added for writing Limbu in that script.
U+141E. The same sound in the syllabic script of northern Canada; Unicode notes Moose Cree beside it.
U+0295. The shape facing the other way; reversed glottal stop is its other name in Unicode. A different sound, the voiced pharyngeal fricative.
U+0296. The shape upside down, with the hook at the foot. Unicode glosses it lateral click.
U+0037. A plain 7 from the keyboard. Squamish writing uses the digit for the sound, as its road signs show.
The glottal stop symbol is ʔ, U+0294, a question mark without its dot. It is the IPA symbol for the catch halfway through uh-oh. No keyboard key and no Alt code types it.
Read the full guide
The sound and its sign
A glottal stop is a consonant made by stopping the air at the glottis. The IPA writes it ʔ. Several languages of Canada use the same shape as a letter of the alphabet, some with a capital and a small form, Ɂ and ɂ. The raised ˀ is a superscript form.
Apostrophes that mean the same
The letter grew out of an apostrophe, and apostrophe-like letters still write the sound: ʼ in many alphabets, the ʻokina in Hawaiian, the saltillo ꞌ. Where ʔ cannot be typed, a question mark sometimes stands in, and Squamish uses the digit 7.
ʕ, the reversed shape, is a different sound: the voiced pharyngeal fricative.
Neither Alt code table holds ʔ. A web page can write it ʔ.
ء is hamza, the Arabic letter for the glottal stop.
Questions and answers
What is the IPA symbol for a glottal stop?
ʔ, U+0294, named Latin letter glottal stop in Unicode. It looks like a question mark with the dot removed, and it is caseless: phonetic writing has the one form only.
Is there an Alt code for the glottal stop symbol?
No. Neither Alt code table holds ʔ, and no key of the U.S. keyboard types it. Copy it, or write ʔ in a web page.
What is the difference between ʔ, Ɂ and ɂ?
ʔ is the caseless letter of phonetic writing. Ɂ and ɂ are a capital and a small letter, made for the alphabets of Athabaskan languages in Canada’s Northwest Territories, which write the sound in both cases.
Is the ʻokina a glottal stop?
Yes: the ʻokina is the Hawaiian letter for the sound. It is shaped like a 6, or a comma turned over, and it is U+02BB, a different character from the apostrophe.
All 16 glottal stop characters
Start here 6
ɁLatin capital letter glottal stopU+0241. A capital form, made for alphabets of northern Canada that write the sound as a cased letter. In Unicode since version 4.1 (2005).
ʔLatin letter glottal stopU+0294. The glottal stop of phonetic writing: a question mark without its dot, for the catch halfway through uh-oh. One form only, with no capital. No Alt code and no HTML name; a web page writes ʔ.
ɂLatin small letter glottal stopU+0242. The small partner of Ɂ, shorter than the caseless ʔ. Unicode names Chipewyan, Dogrib and Slavey as languages that use the pair.
ʼModifier letter apostropheU+02BC. An apostrophe that counts as a letter. Many alphabets write the glottal stop with it, and the ʔ shape grew out of it.
ˀModifier letter glottal stopU+02C0. The same shape raised and shrunk to a superscript, written after a consonant made with a catch in the throat.
ʻModifier letter turned commaU+02BB. Hawaiian spells the sound with this mark, the ʻokina, which curls like a small 6.
The ʔ letter 1
ʡLatin letter glottal stop with strokeU+02A1. The letter with a bar across its stem. Another sound: Unicode glosses it voiced epiglottal stop.
Show all 16 glottal stop characters (9 more)
Apostrophe forms 3
ꞋLatin capital letter saltilloU+A78B. The capital saltillo, for orthographies that give the sound both cases.
ꞌLatin small letter saltilloU+A78C. Saltillo, an upright tick that many languages of Mexico spell the sound with.
ʾModifier letter right half ringU+02BE. A small half ring open to the left, used to write the Arabic hamza in Latin letters.
In other scripts 3
ءArabic letter hamzaU+0621. Hamza, the Arabic letter for the glottal stop.
ᐞCanadian syllabics glottal stopU+141E. The same sound in the syllabic script of northern Canada; Unicode notes Moose Cree beside it.
ॽDevanagari letter glottal stopU+097D. A glottal stop letter for Devanagari, added for writing Limbu in that script.
Reversed and inverted: other sounds 2
ʖLatin letter inverted glottal stopU+0296. The shape upside down, with the hook at the foot. Unicode glosses it lateral click.
ʕLatin letter pharyngeal voiced fricativeU+0295. The shape facing the other way; reversed glottal stop is its other name in Unicode. A different sound, the voiced pharyngeal fricative.
Stand-ins 1
7Digit sevenU+0037. A plain 7 from the keyboard. Squamish writing uses the digit for the sound, as its road signs show.