Ja is the eighth consonant of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, ja is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter 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 ज are: ज = 8 (८) जि = 800 (८००) जु = 80,000 (८० ०००) जृ = 8,000,000 (८० ०० ०००) जॢ = 8 (८०८) जे = 8 (८०१०) जै = 8 (८०१२) जो = 8 (८०१४) जौ = 8 (८०१६)
Historic Ja There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Ja as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gupta . The Tocharian Ja did not have an alternate Fremdzeichen form. The third form of ja, in Kharoshthi () was probably derived from Aramaic separately from the Brahmi letter.
Brahmi Ja The Brahmi letter , Ja, is probably derived from the Aramaic Zayin , and is thus related to the modern Latin Z and Greek Zeta. Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ja 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 Ja historic formsAshoka(3rd-1st c. BCE) Girnar(~150 BCE) Kushana(~150-250 CE) Gujarat(~250 CE) Gupta(~350 CE)
Tocharian Ja The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi , but does not have an alternate Fremdzeichen form. +Tocharian Ja with vowel marks Ja Jā Ji Jī Ju Jū Jr Jr̄ Je Jai Jo Jau Jä
Kharoṣṭhī Ja The Kharoṣṭhī letter is generally accepted as being derived from the Aramaic Zayin , and is thus related to Z and Zeta, in addition to the Brahmi Ja.
Devanagari script
Ja (ज) is the eighth consonant of the Devanagari abugida. It ultimately arose from the Brahmi letter , after having gone through the Gupta letter . Letters that derive from it are the Gujarati letter જ and Modi letter 𑘕.
Devanagari Jja Jja (ॼ) is the character ज with an underbar to represent the voiced palatal implosive that occurs in Sindhi. This underbar is distinct from the Devanagari stress sign anudātta. The underbar is fused to the stem of the letter while the anudātta is a stress accent applied to the entire syllable. This underbar used for Sindhi implosives does not exist as a separate character in Unicode. When the ु or ू vowel sign is applied to jja (ॼ), the ु and ू vowel signs are drawn beneath jja. When the उ ( ु) vowel sign or ऊ ( ू) vowel sign is applied to ja with an anudātta (ज॒), the उ ( ु) vowel sign or ऊ ( ू) vowel sign is first placed under ja (ज) and then the anudātta is placed underneath the उ ( ु) vowel sign or ऊ ( ू) vowel sign. Character Nameउ ( ु) vowel signऊ ( ू) vowel signॼ (Implosive ja)ॼुॼूज॒ (Ja with anudātta)जु॒जू॒ An example of a Sindhi word that uses jja (ॼ) is ॼाण (ڄاڻَ), which is of the feminine grammatical gender and means information or knowledge.Lekhwani, Kanhaiyalal. 1987 (1909). An intensive course in Sindhi. Mysore: Central Institute of Indian Languages; [New York]: Hippocrene Books.
Devanagari Za Za (ज़) is the character ज with a single dot underneath. It is used in Devanagari transcriptions of Urdu, English, and other languages to denote the voiced alveolar sibilant . Za (ज़) should not be confused with ža (झ़), which is the character jha (झ) combined with a nuqta, and is used to transcribe the voiced post-alveolar fricative from Urdu (ژ) and English. Za (ज़) should also not be confused zha (ॹ), which is used in Devanagari transcriptions of the Avestan letter zhe (𐬲) to denote the voiced post-alveolar fricative .
Devanagari Zha Zha (ॹ) is the character ज with three dots underneath. It is used in Devanagari transcriptions of the Avestan letter zhe (𐬲) to denote the voiced palatal fricative . An example of its usage is in Kavasji Edulji Kanga's Avesta, yazna 41.3 to write ईॹीम्. Zha (ॹ) should not be confused with za (ज़), which is used to denote the voiced alveolar sibilant from Urdu, English, and other languages. Zha (ॹ) should also not be confused with ža (झ़), which is the character jha (झ) combined with a nuqta, and is used to transcribe the voiced post-alveolar fricative from Urdu (ژ) and English.
Devanagari-using Languages In many languages, ज is pronounced as or when appropriate. In Marathi, ज is sometimes pronounced as or in addition to or . In Nepali, ज is pronounced as or [z] in free variation. Like all Indic scripts, Devanagari uses vowel marks attached to the base consonant to override the inherent /ə/ vowel: + Devanagari ज with vowel marks Ja Jā Ji Jī Ju Jū Jr Jr̄ Jl Jl̄ Je Jai Jo Jau Jजजाजिजीजुजूजृजॄजॢजॣजेजैजोजौज्
Conjuncts with ज
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 ज
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. The conjunct jja also has a unique half form that differs from the regular conjunct. Repha र् (r) + ज (ja) gives the ligature र्ज (rja):
Eyelash र् (r) + ज (ja) gives the ligature rja:
ज् (j) + rakar र (ra) gives the ligature ज्र (jra):
ज् (j) + न (na) gives the ligature ज्न (jna):
ज् (j) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ज्ज (jja):
ज् (j) + ज् (j) + व (va) gives the ligature ज्ज्व (jjva):
ज् (j) + ज् (j) + य (ya) gives the ligature ज्ज्य (jjya):
Devanagari Jña
One of the most common true ligatures in Devanagari is the conjunct jña ज्ञ. This ligature is a required form for most Devanagari languages, and the conjunct even has its own half form that freely joins other letters in horizontal conjuncts. ज् (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ज्ञ (jña):
Repha र् (r) + ज् (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature र्ज्ञ (rjña):
Eyelash र् (r) + ज् (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature rjña:
भ् (bh) + ज् (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature भ्ज्ञ (bhjña):
ब् (b) + ज् (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ब्ज्ञ (bjña):
छ् (ch) + ज् (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature छ्ज्ञ (chjña):
च্ (c) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature cjña:
ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ḍʱjña:
ड্ (ḍ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ḍjña:
द্ (d) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature djña:
घ্ (ɡʱ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ɡʱjña:
ग্ (g) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature gjña:
ह্ (h) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature hjña:
ज্ (j) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature jjña:
झ্ (jh) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature jhjña:
ख্ (kh) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature khjña:
क্ (k) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature kjña:
ल্ (l) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ljña:
म্ (m) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature mjña:
न্ (n) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature njña:
ञ্ (ñ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ñjña:
ङ্ (ŋ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ŋjña:
फ্ (ph) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature phjña:
प্ (p) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature pjña:
श্ (ʃ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ʃjña:
स্ (s) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature sjña:
ष্ (ṣ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ṣjña:
थ্ (th) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature thjña:
त্ (t) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature tjña:
ठ্ (ṭh) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ṭhjña:
ट্ (ṭ) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature ṭjña:
व্ (v) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature vjña:
य্ (y) + ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature yjña:
Stacked conjuncts of ज 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. भ্ (bh) + ज (ja) gives the ligature bhja:
ब্ (b) + ज (ja) gives the ligature bja:
छ্ (ch) + ज (ja) gives the ligature chja:
च্ (c) + ज (ja) gives the ligature cja:
ढ্ (ḍʱ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ḍʱja:
ड্ (ḍ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ḍja:
ध্ (dʱ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature dʱja:
द্ (d) + ज (ja) gives the ligature dja:
घ্ (ɡʱ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ɡʱja:
ग্ (g) + ज (ja) gives the ligature gja:
ह্ (h) + ज (ja) gives the ligature hja:
ज্ (j) + च (ca) gives the ligature jca:
ज্ (j) + ड (ḍa) gives the ligature jḍa:
झ্ (jh) + ज (ja) gives the ligature jhja:
ज্ (j) + ल (la) gives the ligature jla:
ज্ (j) + ङ (ŋa) gives the ligature jŋa:
ज্ (j) + ञ (ña) gives the ligature jña:
ज্ (j) + श (ʃa) gives the ligature jʃa:
ख্ (kh) + ज (ja) gives the ligature khja:
क্ (k) + ज (ja) gives the ligature kja:
ल্ (l) + ज (ja) gives the ligature lja:
ळ্ (ḷ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ḷja:
म্ (m) + ज (ja) gives the ligature mja:
ङ্ (ŋ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ŋja:
न্ (n) + ज (ja) gives the ligature nja:
ञ্ (ñ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ñja:
फ্ (ph) + ज (ja) gives the ligature phja:
प্ (p) + ज (ja) gives the ligature pja:
श্ (ʃ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ʃja:
स্ (s) + ज (ja) gives the ligature sja:
ष্ (ṣ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ṣja:
त্ (t) + ज (ja) gives the ligature tja:
ठ্ (ṭh) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ṭhja:
ट্ (ṭ) + ज (ja) gives the ligature ṭja:
व্ (v) + ज (ja) gives the ligature vja:
य্ (y) + ज (ja) gives the ligature yja:
Bengali script The Bengali script জ is derived from the Siddhaṃ , and is marked by a similar horizontal head line, but less geometric shape, than its Devanagari counterpart, ज. The inherent vowel of Bengali consonant letters is /ɔ/, so the bare letter জ will sometimes be transliterated as "jo" instead of "ja". Adding okar, the "o" vowel mark, gives a reading of /d͡ʒo/. Like all Indic consonants, জ can be modified by marks to indicate another (or no) vowel than its inherent "a". + Bengali জ with vowel marks ja jā ji jī ju jū jr jr̄ je jai jo jau jজজাজিজীজুজূজৃজৄজেজৈজোজৌজ্
জ in Bengali-using languages জ is used as a basic consonant character in all of the major Bengali script orthographies, including Bengali and Assamese.
Conjuncts with জ Bengali জ exhibits conjunct ligatures, as is common in Indic scripts, with a tendency towards stacked ligatures. ব্ (b) + জ (ja) gives the ligature bja:
জ্ (j) + জ (ja) gives the ligature jja:
জ্ (j) + ঝ (jha) gives the ligature jjha:
জ্ (j) + জ্ (j) + ব (va) gives the ligature jjva, with the va phala suffix:
জ্ (j) + ঞ (ña) gives the ligature jña:
জ্ (j) + র (ra) gives the ligature jra, with the ra phala suffix:
জ্ (j) + ব (va) gives the ligature jva, with the va phala suffix:
জ্ (j) + য (ya) gives the ligature jya, with the ya phala suffix:
ঞ (ñ) + জ (ja) gives the ligature ñja: