Javanese Alphabet

Tap a Javanese letter to copy it: the 20 base letters in the order of the hana caraka verse.

Javanese Alphabet

ꦲJavanese haU+A9B2Ready to copy

69 letters. Tap one to copy it.

Base letters 20

Marks on ꦏ 12

Murda letters 10

Vowel letters 7

Digits 10

Punctuation 10

Next step The sister script: the Balinese alphabet

How it works

The Javanese alphabet as it is learned: the base letters first, then the marks that change a vowel, shown on ꦏ, the murda letters, vowel letters, digits ꧐ to ꧙ and punctuation.

Read the full guide

Four lines, twenty letters

The base letters are learned as a verse of four lines of five: hana caraka, data sawala, padha jayanya, maga bathanga. It uses each letter once. The order has been in use since at least the 15th century, and gives the script its other name, hanacaraka.

A mark changes the vowel

A letter alone is a syllable ending in a: ꦏ is ka. One mark turns it into ꦏꦶ ki, ꦏꦸ ku or ꦏꦺꦴ ko, and the pangkon takes the vowel away, so that ꦏ꧀ is k. By tradition the script runs words together without spaces.

  • Murda letters such as ꦟ and ꦑ are written in the names of respected people. Not every letter has one.
  • ꦲ can be read ha or a, so a foreign name takes a vowel letter such as ꦄ in its place.
  • A device with no font for the script shows empty boxes where the letters should be.

Questions and answers

How many letters are in the Javanese alphabet?

Modern Javanese uses 20 base letters, the ones in the hana caraka verse. The script once had 33, for the sounds of Sanskrit and Kawi, and some of the other 13 became the murda letters.

What does hana caraka mean?

There were two emissaries. It is the first line of the verse; the next three say that they began to fight, that their valor was equal, and that they both fell dead.

What are ꧁ and ꧂?

The left and the right rerenggan, punctuation of the Javanese script with no Latin equivalent. They are decorative, and writers use the pair to frame a title or a section of text.

Is the Javanese script still used?

It was in daily use from at least the mid-16th century to the mid-20th, when the Latin alphabet gradually took its place. It is still taught in schools in Yogyakarta, Central Java and East Java.

All 69 letters

Base letters 20

  • Javanese ba U+A9A7 Javanese letter ba. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 18 of 20, in the line maga bathanga.
  • Javanese ca U+A995 Javanese letter ca. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 3 of 20, in the line hana caraka.
  • Javanese da U+A9A2 Javanese letter da. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 6 of 20, in the line data sawala.
  • Javanese dha U+A99D Javanese letter dda. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 12 of 20, in the line padha jayanya.
  • Javanese ga U+A992 Javanese letter ga. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 17 of 20, in the line maga bathanga.
  • Javanese ha U+A9B2 Javanese letter ha. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 1 of 20, in the line hana caraka. Read ha or a.
  • Javanese ja U+A997 Javanese letter ja. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 13 of 20, in the line padha jayanya.
  • Javanese ka U+A98F Javanese letter ka. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 5 of 20, in the line hana caraka.
  • Javanese la U+A9AD Javanese letter la. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 10 of 20, in the line data sawala.
  • Javanese ma U+A9A9 Javanese letter ma. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 16 of 20, in the line maga bathanga.
Show all 69 letters (59 more)

Base letters, continued

  • Javanese na U+A9A4 Javanese letter na. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 2 of 20, in the line hana caraka.
  • Javanese nga U+A994 Javanese letter nga. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 20 of 20, in the line maga bathanga. Also spelled ṅa.
  • Javanese nya U+A99A Javanese letter nya. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 15 of 20, in the line padha jayanya. Also spelled ña.
  • Javanese pa U+A9A5 Javanese letter pa. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 11 of 20, in the line padha jayanya.
  • Javanese ra U+A9AB Javanese letter ra. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 4 of 20, in the line hana caraka.
  • Javanese sa U+A9B1 Javanese letter sa. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 8 of 20, in the line data sawala.
  • Javanese ta U+A9A0 Javanese letter ta. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 7 of 20, in the line data sawala.
  • Javanese tha U+A99B Javanese letter tta. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 19 of 20, in the line maga bathanga.
  • Javanese wa U+A9AE Javanese letter wa. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 9 of 20, in the line data sawala.
  • Javanese ya U+A9AA Javanese letter ya. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Letter 14 of 20, in the line padha jayanya.

Marks on ꦏ 12

  • Javanese k U+A98F U+A9C0 Javanese letter ka with the mark pangkon. Takes the vowel away and leaves k. Used at the end of a word, not in the middle.
  • Javanese kah U+A98F U+A983 Javanese letter ka with the mark wignyan. Closes the syllable with h.
  • Javanese kang U+A98F U+A981 Javanese letter ka with the mark cecak. Closes the syllable with ng.
  • Javanese kar U+A98F U+A982 Javanese letter ka with the mark layar. Closes the syllable with r.
  • Javanese ke U+A98F U+A9BC Javanese letter ka with the vowel mark pepet. Changes ka to ke.
  • Javanese ké U+A98F U+A9BA Javanese letter ka with the vowel mark taling. Changes ka to ké.
  • Javanese ki U+A98F U+A9B6 Javanese letter ka with the vowel mark wulu. Changes ka to ki.
  • Javanese ko U+A98F U+A9BA U+A9B4 Javanese letter ka with the vowel mark taling-tarung. Changes ka to ko.
  • Javanese kra U+A98F U+A9BF Javanese letter ka with the mark cakra. Adds r after the k.
  • Javanese kre U+A98F U+A9BD Javanese letter ka with the mark keret. Adds re after the k.
  • Javanese ku U+A98F U+A9B8 Javanese letter ka with the vowel mark suku. Changes ka to ku.
  • Javanese kya U+A98F U+A9BE Javanese letter ka with the mark pengkal. Adds y after the k.

Murda letters 10

  • Murda ba U+A9A8 Javanese letter ba murda. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. The murda form of ba.
  • Murda ca U+A996 Javanese letter ca murda. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. The murda form of ca.
  • Murda ga U+A993 Javanese letter ga murda. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. The murda form of ga.
  • Murda ka U+A991 Javanese letter ka murda. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. The murda form of ka.
  • Murda na U+A99F Javanese letter na murda. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. The murda form of na.
  • Murda nya U+A998 Javanese letter nya murda. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. The murda form of nya.
  • Murda pa U+A9A6 Javanese letter pa murda. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. The murda form of pa.
  • Murda ra U+A9AC Javanese letter ra agung. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. The murda form of ra. Less widely known than the other murda letters.
  • Murda sa U+A9AF Javanese letter sa murda. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. The murda form of sa.
  • Murda ta U+A9A1 Javanese letter ta murda. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. The murda form of ta.

Vowel letters 7

  • Javanese a U+A984 Javanese letter a. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. A vowel written on its own; IPA a.
  • Javanese e U+A98C Javanese letter e. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. A vowel written on its own; IPA e.
  • Javanese i U+A986 Javanese letter i. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. A vowel written on its own; IPA i.
  • Javanese lĕ U+A98A Javanese letter nga lelet. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Written in place of la with the mark pepet; IPA lə.
  • Javanese o U+A98E Javanese letter o. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. A vowel written on its own; IPA o.
  • Javanese rĕ U+A989 Javanese letter pa cerek. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Written in place of ra with the mark pepet; IPA rə.
  • Javanese u U+A988 Javanese letter u. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. A vowel written on its own; IPA u.

Digits 10

  • Javanese 0 U+A9D0 Javanese digit zero. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2.
  • Javanese 1 U+A9D1 Javanese digit one. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Looks like the letter ga.
  • Javanese 2 U+A9D2 Javanese digit two. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2.
  • Javanese 3 U+A9D3 Javanese digit three. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2.
  • Javanese 4 U+A9D4 Javanese digit four. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2.
  • Javanese 5 U+A9D5 Javanese digit five. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2.
  • Javanese 6 U+A9D6 Javanese digit six. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2.
  • Javanese 7 U+A9D7 Javanese digit seven. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2.
  • Javanese 8 U+A9D8 Javanese digit eight. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Looks like the murda letter pa.
  • Javanese 9 U+A9D9 Javanese digit nine. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2.

Punctuation 10

  • Left rerenggan U+A9C1 Javanese left rerenggan. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Decorative: with the right mark it frames a title.
  • Pada adeg U+A9CA Javanese pada adeg. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Encloses an insert in the text, as a bracket or a quotation mark does.
  • Pada adeg-adeg U+A9CB Javanese pada adeg adeg. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Opens a paragraph.
  • Pada lingsa U+A9C8 Javanese pada lingsa. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Separates clauses, as a comma does.
  • Pada lungsi U+A9C9 Javanese pada lungsi. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Ends a sentence, as a full stop does.
  • Pada pangkat U+A9C7 Javanese pada pangkat. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Works as a colon, and stands on both sides of a number inside a sentence.
  • Pada piseleh U+A9CC Javanese pada piseleh. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Opens an insert in the text; the turned mark closes it.
  • Pada rangkap U+A9CF Javanese pangrangkep. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Repeats the word before it.
  • Right rerenggan U+A9C2 Javanese right rerenggan. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Decorative: with the left mark it frames a title.
  • Turned piseleh U+A9CD Javanese turned pada piseleh. Javanese block, Unicode 5.2. Closes an insert that pada piseleh opened.

How this list was compiled: Every character was checked against UnicodeData.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/UnicodeData.txt): the code points and the character names in the notes come from that file, names in sentence case. Block names come from Blocks.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/Blocks.txt) and the Unicode version each character arrived in from DerivedAge.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/DerivedAge.txt), both version 18.0.0. Other names of a character come from NamesList.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/NamesList.txt). The 20 base letters and their order, the four lines of the hana caraka verse and what they mean, the Latin spelling of each letter, the marks and what each does, the murda letters, the vowel letters, the digits and the punctuation follow Wikipedia's Javanese script article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javanese_script), restated in this site's own words. The article spells two base letters ña and ṅa; their tiles carry nya and nga, as the verse in the same article and the Unicode names do. Unicode names the letters dha and tha dda and tta. Each mark tile is ꦏ with the mark added. Left out: the letters used only for Sanskrit and Kawi, the long vowel marks, the letters for loan words, and the forms a letter takes under another. CLDR's Javanese locale is written in Latin letters, so it could not be compared. A tile name is the word Javanese and the spelling; the grouping is this site's own. Each tile was drawn on 2026-10-08 before it was kept, and all of them drew. All sources were read on 2026-10-08. Licence: own work

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