Nun (letter)

The letter Nun is the fourteenth letter in several ancient writing systems called Semitic abjads. These include the Phoenician, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, and Arabic alphabets. In all of these languages, Nun makes the "n" sound, like in the word "no". It also has a special job in counting, having a value of 50.

Nun is also the third letter in the Thaana alphabet used in the Maldives, where it is called "noonu".

The shape of Nun in these languages comes from even older writing systems. It is related to letters used by people in Ancient North Arabia, South Arabia, and Ge'ez.

Later, the Phoenician Nun inspired the Greek letter nu, the Etruscan letter, the Latin letter N, and the Cyrillic letter Н. This shows how early writing systems influenced the letters we use today.

Origins

See also: Middle Bronze Age alphabets

Nun likely comes from an ancient Egyptian picture of a snake. The Hebrew word for snake, נָחָשׁ (nakhash), starts with Nun. Some people think it may also have come from a picture of a fish. In Aramaic and Akkadian, nun means fish, and in Arabic, nūn means a large fish or whale. The Phoenician letter was called nūn, meaning "fish," and some believe this name comes from an even older word in Proto-Canaanite for "snake," based on the letter name in Ethiopic, which also comes from a picture of a snake.

Arabic nūn

The letter nūn is a special letter used in Arabic writing. It can look different depending on where it appears in a word. In Arabic, nūn helps change verbs to show who is doing the action. For example, it can show when a group of girls is doing something, or when "we" are doing something.

During a difficult time in some areas, the letter nūn was sadly used to mark the homes of certain people. This led many to change their online pictures to show support for those affected. The letter nūn is also used in other writing systems in different ways.

Hebrew nun

The Hebrew letter נוּן is written as נ‎ but changes to ן‎ at the end of words. It sounds like the English letter N.

In a special counting system called gematria, נוּן stands for the number 50. It is one of seven letters that get a special decoration called a tag when written in very important books. In a game called dreidel, if you roll a נוּן, the turn passes to the next player.

Syriac nun

The Syriac letter nūn is written as ܢ. It is part of the Syriac abjad, which is a group of writing systems used for several languages. Like other letters in this group, nūn has a special value when used in numbers, representing the number 50.

Character encodings

The letter Nun appears in several ancient writing systems, including Phoenician, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, and Arabic. In each of these languages, it represents a sound similar to the “n” we use today.

In these writing systems, Nun has a special value of 50 when used as a number. It is also the third letter in the Thaana script used in the Maldives, where it is called "noonu".