Ca is the sixth consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, ca is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter , which is probably derived from the North Semitic letter tsade (reflected in the Aramaic , "ts"), with an inversion seen in several other derivatives, after having gone through the Gupta letter .
Āryabhaṭa numeration
Aryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The values of the different forms of च are: च = 6 (६) चि = 600 (६००) चु = 60,000 (६० ०००) चृ = 6,000,000 (६० ०० ०००) चॢ = 6 (६०८) चे = 6 (६०१०) चै = 6 (६०१२) चो = 6 (६०१४) चौ = 6 (६०१६)
Historic Ca There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Ca as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta . The Tocharian Ca did not have an alternate Fremdzeichen form. The third form of ca, in Kharoshthi () was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.
Brahmi Ca The Brahmi letter , Ca, is probably derived from the Aramaic Tsade , and is thus related to the Greek San. Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ca can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period.Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838 As the earliest and most geometric style of Brahmi, the letters found on the Edicts of Ashoka and other records from around that time are normally the reference form for Brahmi letters, with vowel marks not attested until later forms of Brahmi back-formed to match the geometric writing style. +Brahmi Ca historic formsAshoka(3rd-1st c. BCE) Girnar(~150 BCE) Kushana(~150-250 CE) Gujarat(~250 CE) Gupta(~350 CE)
Tocharian Ca The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi , but does not have an alternate Fremdzeichen form. +Tocharian Ca with vowel marks Ca Cā Ci Cī Cu Cū Cr Cr̄ Ce Cai Co Cau Cä
Kharoṣṭhī Ca The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the Aramaic Tsade , and is thus related to San (letter), in addition to the Brahmi Ca.
Devanagari script
Ca (च) is the sixth consonant of the Devanagari abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , after having gone through the Gupta letter . In Marathi, च is sometimes pronounced as or in addition to or , while in Nepali, the pronunciation is standard, and deviates with regard to dialect. Letters that derive from it are the Gujarati letter ચ and the Modi letter 𑘓.
Devanagari-using Languages Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel: + Devanagari च with vowel marks Ca Cā Ci Cī Cu Cū Cr Cr̄ Cl Cl̄ Ce Cai Co Cau Cचचाचिचीचुचूचृचॄचॢचॣचेचैचोचौच्
Conjuncts with च
Devanagari exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. In modern Devanagari texts, most conjuncts are formed by reducing the letter shape to fit tightly to the following letter, usually by dropping a character's vertical stem, sometimes referred to as a "half form". Some conjunct clusters are always represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters. Vertically stacked conjuncts are ubiquitous in older texts, while only a few are still used routinely in modern Devanagari texts. The use of ligatures and vertical conjuncts may vary across languages using the Devanagari script, with Marathi in particular preferring the use of half forms where texts in other languages would show ligatures and vertical stacks.
Ligature conjuncts of च True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Devanagari are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra. Nepali and Marathi texts use the "eyelash" Ra half form for an initial "R" instead of repha. Repha र্ (r) + च (ca) gives the ligature rca:
Eyelash र্ (r) + च (ca) gives the ligature rca:
च্ (c) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature cra:
च্ (c) + न (na) gives the ligature cna:
Stacked conjuncts of च Vertically stacked ligatures are the most common conjunct forms found in Devanagari text. Although the constituent characters may need to be stretched and moved slightly in order to stack neatly, stacked conjuncts can be broken down into recognizable base letters, or a letter and an otherwise standard ligature. ब্ (b) + च (ca) gives the ligature bca:
भ্ (bʰ) + च (ca) gives the ligature bʰca:
च্ (c) + ब (ba) gives the ligature cba:
च্ (c) + च (ca) gives the ligature cca:
च্ (c) + ड (ḍa) gives the ligature cḍa:
छ্ (cʰ) + च (ca) gives the ligature cʰca:
च্ (c) + ज (ja) gives the ligature cja:
च্ (c) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature cjña:
च্ (c) + क (ka) gives the ligature cka:
च্ (c) + ल (la) gives the ligature cla:
च্ (c) + ङ (ŋa) gives the ligature cŋa:
च্ (c) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature cña:
च্ (c) + व (va) gives the ligature cva:
द্ (d) + च (ca) gives the ligature dca:
ड্ (ḍ) + च (ca) gives the ligature ḍca:
ढ্ (ḍʱ) + च (ca) gives the ligature ḍʱca:
ध্ (dʱ) + च (ca) gives the ligature dʱca:
घ্ (ɡʱ) + च (ca) gives the ligature ɡʱca:
ह্ (h) + च (ca) gives the ligature hca:
ज্ (j) + च (ca) gives the ligature jca:
झ্ (jʰ) + च (ca) gives the ligature jʰca:
क্ (k) + च (ca) gives the ligature kca:
ख্ (kʰ) + च (ca) gives the ligature kʰca:
ल্ (l) + च (ca) gives the ligature lca:
ळ্ (ḷ) + च (ca) gives the ligature ḷca:
म্ (m) + च (ca) gives the ligature mca:
न্ (n) + च (ca) gives the ligature nca:
ङ্ (ŋ) + च (ca) gives the ligature ŋca:
ञ্ (ñ) + च (ca) gives the ligature ñca:
प্ (p) + च (ca) gives the ligature pca:
फ্ (pʰ) + च (ca) gives the ligature pʰca:
स্ (s) + च (ca) gives the ligature sca:
श্ (ʃ) + च (ca) gives the ligature ʃca:
ष্ (ṣ) + च (ca) gives the ligature ṣca:
त্ (t) + च (ca) gives the ligature tca:
थ্ (tʰ) + च (ca) gives the ligature tʰca:
ट্ (ṭ) + च (ca) gives the ligature ṭca:
ठ্ (ṭʰ) + च (ca) gives the ligature ṭʰca:
व্ (v) + च (ca) gives the ligature vca:
य্ (y) + च (ca) gives the ligature yca:
Bengali script The Bengali script চ is derived from the Siddhaṃ , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, च. The inherent vowel of Bengali consonant letters is /ɔ/, so the bare letter চ will sometimes be transliterated as "co" instead of "ca". Adding okar, the "o" vowel mark, gives a reading of /t͡ʃo/. Like all Indic consonants, চ can be modified by marks to indicate another (or no) vowel than its inherent "a". + Bengali চ with vowel marks ca cā ci cī cu cū cr cr̄ ce cai co cau cচচাচিচীচুচূচৃচৄচেচৈচোচৌচ্
চ in Bengali-using languages চ is used as a basic consonant character in all of the major Bengali script orthographies, including Bengali and Assamese.
Conjuncts with চ Bengali চ exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts. Unlike other Bengali letters, Ca does not tend towards stacked ligatures. চ্ (c) + চ (ca) gives the ligature cca:
চ্ (c) + ছ (cʰa) gives the ligature ccʰa:
চ্ (c) + ছ্ (cʰ) + র (ra) gives the ligature ccʰra, with the ra phala suffix:
চ্ (c) + ছ্ (cʰ) + র (ra) gives the ligature ccʰra, with the ra phala suffix:
চ্ (c) + ঞ (ña) gives the ligature cña:
চ্ (c) + ব (va) gives the ligature cva, with the va phala suffix:
চ্ (c) + য (ya) gives the ligature cya, with the ya phala suffix:
ঞ (ñ) + চ (ca) gives the ligature ñca:
র্ (r) + চ (ca) gives the ligature rca, with the repha prefix:
র্ (r) + চ্ (c) + য (ya) gives the ligature , with the repha prefix and ya phala suffix:
শ্ (ʃ) + চ (ca) gives the ligature ʃca:
Gurmukhi script Chachaa (ਚ) is the eleventh letter of the Gurmukhi alphabet. Its name is [t͡ʃət͡ʃːɑ] and is pronounced as /t͡ʃ/ when used in words. It is derived from the Laṇḍā letter ca, and ultimately from the Brahmi ca. Gurmukhi chachaa does not have a special pairin or addha (reduced) form for making conjuncts, and in modern Punjabi texts do not take a half form or halant to indicate the bare consonant /t͡ʃ/, although Gurmukhi Sanskrit texts may use an explicit halant.
Gujarati Ca
Ca (ચ) is the sixth consonant of the Gujarati abugida. It is derived from the 16th century Devanagari Ca with the top bar (shiro rekha) removed, and ultimately from the Brahmi letter . The Gujarati letter Ca (ચ) should not be confused with the Gujarati vowel A (અ), and care should be taken when reading Gujarati script texts not to confuse the two.
Gujarati-using Languages The Gujarati script is used to write the Gujarati and Kutchi languages. In both languages, ચ is pronounced as or when appropriate. Like all Indic scripts, Gujarati uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel: Ca Cā Ci Cī Cu Cū Cr Cl Cr̄ Cl̄ Cĕ Ce Cai Cŏ Co Cau CGujarati Ca syllables, with vowel marks in red.
Conjuncts with ચ
Gujarati ચ exhibits conjunct ligatures, much like its parent Devanagari Script. Most Gujarati conjuncts can only be formed by reducing the letter shape to fit tightly to the following letter, usually by dropping a character's vertical stem, sometimes referred to as a "half form". A few conjunct clusters can be represented by a true ligature, instead of a shape that can be broken into constituent independent letters, and vertically stacked conjuncts can also be found in Gujarati, although much less commonly than in Devanagari. True ligatures are quite rare in Indic scripts. The most common ligated conjuncts in Gujarati are in the form of a slight mutation to fit in context or as a consistent variant form appended to the adjacent characters. Those variants include Na and the Repha and Rakar forms of Ra. ર્ (r) + ચ (ca) gives the ligature RCa:
ચ્ (c) + ર (ra) gives the ligature CRa:
ચ્ (c) + ન (na) gives the ligature CNa:
શ્ (ʃ) + ચ (ca) gives the ligature ŚCa:
Thai script Cho chan (จ) is the eighth letter of the Thai script. It falls under the middle class of Thai consonants. In IPA, cho chan is pronounced as [tɕ] at the beginning of a syllable and is pronounced as [t̚] at the end of a syllable. There are three other letters whose names contain cho in RTGS (and hence in the Unicode names), but their sounds at the beginning of syllable are [tɕʰ]. The ninth letter of the alphabet, cho ching (ฉ), is also named cho and falls under the high class of Thai consonants. The tenth and twelfth letters of the alphabet, cho chang (ช) and cho choe (ฌ), are also named cho, however, they all fall under the low class of Thai consonants. Unlike many Indic scripts, Thai consonants do not form conjunct ligatures, and use the —an explicit virama with a dot shape—to indicate bare consonants. In the acrophony of the Thai script, chan (จาน) means ‘plate’. Cho chan corresponds to the Sanskrit character ‘च’.
Javanese script
Telugu Ca
Ca (చ) is a consonant of the Telugu abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter . It is closely related to the Kannada letter ಚ. Most Telugu consonants contain a v-shaped headstroke that is related to the horizontal headline found in other Indic scripts, although headstrokes do not connect adjacent letters in Telugu. The headstroke is normally lost when adding vowel matras.