Qa (Mongolic)

Qa is a letter of related and vertically oriented alphabets used to write Mongolic and Tungusic languages.^{[1]: 549–551}

Mongolian language

Main articles: Mongolian script, Mongolian writing systems, and Mongolian language

Qa
The Mongolian script
Mongolian vowels
ᠠ a ᠡ e ᠢ i ᠣ o ᠤ u ᠥ ö ᠦ ü ᠧ (ē)
Mongolian consonants
ᠨ n ᠩ ng ᠪ b ᠫ (p) ᠬ q/k ᠭ ɣ/g ᠮ m ᠯ l ᠰ s ᠱ š ᠲ t ᠳ d ᠴ č ᠵ ǰ ᠶ y ᠷ r ᠸ (w)
Mongolian script multigraphs
Galik alphabet
v t e

Letter[2]: 14, 17, 21, 24–25 [3]: 546 [4]: 212–213
q	k	Transliteration[note 1]
ᠬ		Initial
‍ᠬ‍		Medial (syllable-initial)
—	—	Medial (syllable-final)
—	—	Final

C-V syllables[2]: 15 [6]: 19
q‑a	qa	ke	ki	qo, qu	kö, kü	Transliteration
—	ᠬᠠ [note 2]	ᠬᠡ [note 3]	ᠬᠢ [note 4]	ᠬᠣ᠋	ᠬᠥ⟨?⟩ ⟨w/o tail⟩ [note 5]	Alone
					ᠬᠥ᠋⟨?⟩ ⟨w/ tail⟩
—	ᠬᠠ‍	ᠬᠡ‍	ᠬᠢ‍	ᠬᠣ‍	ᠬᠥ‍	Initial
—	‍ᠬᠠ‍	‍ᠬᠡ‍	‍ᠬᠢ‍	‍ᠬᠣ‍	‍ᠬᠥ‍	Medial
‍ᠬ᠎ᠠ⟨?⟩ ⟨⟩	—	‍ᠬᠡ	‍ᠬᠢ	‍ᠬᠣ	‍ᠬᠥ	Final

Separated suffixes[note 6]
‑ki	‑kin	Transliteration
ᠬᠢ	ᠬᠢᠨ	Whole

q/k

• Transcribes Chakhar /x/;^[11][12] Khalkha /x/.^{[citation needed]} Transliterated into Cyrillic with the letter х.^[6][5]
• Produced with H using the Windows Mongolian keyboard layout.^[13]
• In the Mongolian Unicode block, q/k comes after p and before ɣ/g.

q

• Distinction from other tooth-shaped letters by position in syllable sequence.^{[citation needed]}
• A separated isolate-shaped ‑q appears in the Uyghur loan title ayaɣ‑q‑a tegimlig 'worthy of respect; reverend'.^{[3]: 546 [14]: 43}
• Derived from Old Uyghur merged gimel and heth (𐽲).^{[3]: 539–540, 545–546 [15]: 111, 113–115 [16]: 35}

k

• Syllable-initially indistinguishable from g.^{[2]: 15, 24 [9]: 9}
• Derived from Old Uyghur kaph (𐽷).^{[3]: 539–540, 545–546 [15]: 111, 113, 115 [16]: 35}

Clear Script

Main article: Clear Script

Notes

1. Scholarly transliteration.^[5]
2. As in ᠬᠠ/ᠬᠠᠮᠢᠭ᠎ᠠ^⟨?⟩ qa/qamiɣ‑a (Khalkha: хаа khaa) 'where'.^{[8]: 895, 923}
3. As in ᠬᠡ/ᠬᠡᠭᠡ/ᠬᠡᠭᠡᠨ ke/kege/kegen (Khalkha: хээ khee) 'pattern, piping, design, stamp'.^{[8]: 438, 442}
4. See the separated  ᠬᠢ ‑ki suffix.^[8]
5. As in the strengthening (emphatic) ᠭᠦ^⟨?⟩ kü (Khalkha: хүү khüü) particle,^{[8]: 494 [9]: 46} or ᠬᠥ^⟨?⟩/ᠬᠥᠭᠡ kö/köge (Khalkha: хөө khöö) 'soot; obstacle, hindrance; trouble', or 'ring of mail'.^{[8]: 475, 478}
6. Separated suffixes starting with the letter k include:  ᠬᠢ ‑ki or  ᠬᠢᠨ ‑kin (case-bound possession).^[10]