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ʁ

Latin Letter Small Capital Inverted R Letter

ʁ is a Latin Extended letter used for phonetic-style text, especially in IPA transcriptions.

U+0281

ʁ (U+0281) is a single-character symbol from the Latin Extended block. It’s commonly used when writing phonetic or pronunciation-style text. This page helps you copy it reliably and understand typical usage.

Latin Letter Small Capital Inverted R Letter Meaning

ʁ, named “Latin Letter Small Capital Inverted R” (U+0281), is widely recognized in phonetics as the IPA symbol for the voiced uvular fricative, often heard in French “r” sounds. Because it visually resembles an inverted, small-cap form of the letter R, it can also appear in typewriter-style transcriptions, stylized romanization, and linguistic notes. In practice, people use ʁ to keep pronunciation information compact and consistent across documents, subtitles, and educational materials. When you need a one-character glyph (not an ordinary “r”), ʁ is the direct choice for accurate, readable phonetic text.

Common uses

  • IPA-style pronunciation transcriptions in linguistics and language learning
  • Writing phonetic spellings in subtitles, captions, and study notes
  • Labeling sounds in dictionaries, glossaries, and phonology worksheets
  • Including phonetic symbols in academic documents and manuscripts
  • Using the glyph in UI text or signage where “r” sounds need distinct notation

Examples

ʁ – Latin Letter Small Capital Inverted R

  • ʁje prononce ʁ comme dans “roi”
  • ʁPronunciation: /ʁaːz/ (voiced uvular fricative)
  • ʁThe sound ʁ appears frequently in French loanwords.
  • ʁIPA note: /ʁu/ vs. /ʁi/ in different contexts.
  • ʁMark the target consonant: ʁ.

Variations

Technical codes

UnicodeU+0281
HTML Entityʁ
HTML Codeʁ
CSS\0281

FAQ

What does the Latin Letter Small Capital Inverted R letter mean?

ʁ, named “Latin Letter Small Capital Inverted R” (U+0281), is widely recognized in phonetics as the IPA symbol for the voiced uvular fricative, often heard in French “r” sounds. Because it visually resembles an inverted, small-cap form of the letter R, it can also appear in typewriter-style transcriptions, stylized romanization, and linguistic notes. In practice, people use ʁ to keep pronunciation information compact and consistent across documents, subtitles, and educational materials. When you need a one-character glyph (not an ordinary “r”), ʁ is the direct choice for accurate, readable phonetic text.

How do I copy ʁ reliably?

Copy the character directly from this page. For developers, you can also use the provided escapes in code: HTML entity (ʁ), CSS escape (\\0281), or JavaScript escape (\\u{0281}).

Is ʁ the same as a normal letter “r”?

No. ʁ is a specific Unicode character (U+0281) and is not interchangeable with the standard “r”. It’s commonly used to represent a distinct sound in phonetic text.

What is the Unicode/encoding value for ʁ?

Unicode code point is U+0281. The HTML entity is ʁ, CSS escape is \\0281, and the JavaScript escape is \\u{0281}.

Where is ʁ typically used?

Most often in phonetics/linguistics materials as part of IPA-style transcription and pronunciation notation.