Tamil character tables

This document lists the per-character shaping information needed to shape Tamil text.

Contents

• Tamil character table

• Tamil Supplement character table

• Grantha marks character table

• Vedic Extensions character table

• Miscellaneous character table

Tamil character table

Tamil glyphs should be classified as in the following table. Codepoints in the Tamil block with no assigned meaning are designated as unassigned in the Unicode category column.

Assigned codepoints with a null in the Shaping class column evoke no special behavior from the shaping engine. Note that this does include some valid codepoints, such as currency marks, punctuation, and other symbols.

Note: the NUMBER and SYMBOL Shaping classes are important during syllable identification, but generally evoke no further special behavior during the rest of the shaping process.

The Mark-placement subclass column indicates mark-placement positioning for codepoints in the Mark category. Assigned, non-mark codepoints have a null in this column and evoke no special mark-placement behavior. Marks tagged with [Mn] in the Unicode category column are categorized as non-spacing; marks tagged with [Mc] are categorized as spacing-combining.

Some codepoints in the following table use a Shaping class that differs from the codepoint’s Unicode General Category. The Shaping class takes precedence during OpenType shaping, as it captures more specific, script-aware behavior.

Table 71 Tamil character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+0B80	unassigned
U+0B81	unassigned
U+0B82	Mark [Mn]	BINDU	TOP_POSITION	ஂ Anusvara
U+0B83	Letter	MODIFYING_LETTER	null	ஃ Visarga
U+0B84	unassigned
U+0B85	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	அ A
U+0B86	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ஆ Aa
U+0B87	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	இ I
U+0B88	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ஈ Ii
U+0B89	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	உ U
U+0B8A	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ஊ Uu
U+0B8B	unassigned
U+0B8C	unassigned
U+0B8D	unassigned
U+0B8E	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	எ E
U+0B8F	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ஏ Ee
U+0B90	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ஐ Ai
U+0B91	unassigned
U+0B92	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ஒ O
U+0B93	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ஓ Oo
U+0B94	Letter	VOWEL_INDEPENDENT	null	ஔ Au
U+0B95	Letter	CONSONANT	null	க Ka
U+0B96	unassigned
U+0B97	unassigned
U+0B98	unassigned
U+0B99	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ங Nga
U+0B9A	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ச Ca
U+0B9B	unassigned
U+0B9C	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ஜ Ja
U+0B9D	unassigned
U+0B9E	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ஞ Nya
U+0B9F	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ட Tta
U+0BA0	unassigned
U+0BA1	unassigned
U+0BA2	unassigned
U+0BA3	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ண Nna
U+0BA4	Letter	CONSONANT	null	த Ta
U+0BA5	unassigned
U+0BA6	unassigned
U+0BA7	unassigned
U+0BA8	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ந Na
U+0BA9	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ன Nnna
U+0BAA	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ப Pa
U+0BAB	unassigned
U+0BAC	unassigned
U+0BAD	unassigned
U+0BAE	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ம Ma
U+0BAF	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ய Ya
U+0BB0	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ர Ra
U+0BB1	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ற Rra
U+0BB2	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ல La
U+0BB3	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ள Lla
U+0BB4	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ழ Llla
U+0BB5	Letter	CONSONANT	null	வ Va
U+0BB6	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ஶ Sha
U+0BB7	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ஷ Ssa
U+0BB8	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ஸ Sa
U+0BB9	Letter	CONSONANT	null	ஹ Ha
U+0BBA	unassigned
U+0BBB	unassigned
U+0BBC	unassigned
U+0BBD	unassigned
U+0BBE	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ா Sign Aa
U+0BBF	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ி Sign I
U+0BC0	Mark [Mn]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	TOP_POSITION	ீ Sign Ii
U+0BC1	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ு Sign U
U+0BC2	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ூ Sign Uu
U+0BC3	unassigned
U+0BC4	unassigned
U+0BC5	unassigned
U+0BC6	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_POSITION	ெ Sign E
U+0BC7	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_POSITION	ே Sign Ee
U+0BC8	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_POSITION	ை Sign Ai
U+0BC9	unassigned
U+0BCA	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_AND_RIGHT_POSITION	ொ Sign O
U+0BCB	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_AND_RIGHT_POSITION	ோ Sign Oo
U+0BCC	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	LEFT_AND_RIGHT_POSITION	ௌ Sign Au
U+0BCD	Mark [Mn]	VIRAMA	TOP_POSITION	் Virama
U+0BCE	unassigned
U+0BCF	unassigned
U+0BD0	Letter	null	null	ௐ Om
U+0BD1	unassigned
U+0BD2	unassigned
U+0BD3	unassigned
U+0BD4	unassigned
U+0BD5	unassigned
U+0BD6	unassigned
U+0BD7	Mark [Mc]	VOWEL_DEPENDENT	RIGHT_POSITION	ௗ Au Length Mark
U+0BD8	unassigned
U+0BD9	unassigned
U+0BDA	unassigned
U+0BDB	unassigned
U+0BDC	unassigned
U+0BDD	unassigned
U+0BDE	unassigned
U+0BDF	unassigned
U+0BE0	unassigned
U+0BE1	unassigned
U+0BE2	unassigned
U+0BE3	unassigned
U+0BE4	unassigned
U+0BE5	unassigned
U+0BE6	Number	NUMBER	null	௦ Digit Zero
U+0BE7	Number	NUMBER	null	௧ Digit One
U+0BE8	Number	NUMBER	null	௨ Digit Two
U+0BE9	Number	NUMBER	null	௩ Digit Three
U+0BEA	Number	NUMBER	null	௪ Digit Four
U+0BEB	Number	NUMBER	null	௫ Digit Five
U+0BEC	Number	NUMBER	null	௬ Digit Six
U+0BED	Number	NUMBER	null	௭ Digit Seven
U+0BEE	Number	NUMBER	null	௮ Digit Eight
U+0BEF	Number	NUMBER	null	௯ Digit Nine
U+0BF0	Number	NUMBER	null	௰ Number Ten
U+0BF1	Number	NUMBER	null	௱ Number One Hundred
U+0BF2	Number	NUMBER	null	௲ Number One Thousand
U+0BF3	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	௳ Day Sign
U+0BF4	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	௴ Month Sign
U+0BF5	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	௵ Year Sign
U+0BF6	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	௶ Debit Sign
U+0BF7	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	௷ Credit Sign
U+0BF8	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	௸ As Above Sign
U+0BF9	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	௹ Tamil Rupee Sign
U+0BFA	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	௺ Number Sign
U+0BFB	unassigned
U+0BFC	unassigned
U+0BFD	unassigned
U+0BFE	unassigned
U+0BFF	unassigned

Tamil Supplement character table

Tamil text runs may also include historical symbols and fractions from the Tamil Supplement block. These characters should be classified as follows.

Table 72 Tamil Supplement character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+11FC0	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿀 Fraction One Three-Hundred-And-Twentieth
U+11FC1	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿁 Fraction One One-Hundred-And-Sixtieth
U+11FC2	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿂 Fraction One Eightieth
U+11FC3	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿃 Fraction One Sixty-Fourth
U+11FC4	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿄 Fraction One Fortieth
U+11FC5	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿅 Fraction One Thirty-Second
U+11FC6	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿆 Fraction Three Eightieths
U+11FC7	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿇 Fraction Three Sixty-Fourths
U+11FC8	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿈 Fraction One Twentieth
U+11FC9	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿉 Fraction One Sixteenth-1
U+11FCA	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿊 Fraction One Sixteenth-2
U+11FCB	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿋 Fraction One Tenth
U+11FCC	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿌 Fraction One Eighth
U+11FCD	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿍 Fraction Three Twentieths
U+11FCE	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿎 Fraction Three Sixteenths
U+11FCF	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿏 Fraction One Fifth
U+11FD0	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿐 Fraction One Quarter
U+11FD1	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿑 Fraction One Half-1
U+11FD2	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿒 Fraction One Half-2
U+11FD3	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿓 Fraction Three Quarters
U+11FD4	Number	NUMBER	null	𑿔 Fraction Downscaling Factor Kiizh
U+11FD5	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿕 Sign Nel
U+11FD6	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿖 Sign Cevitu
U+11FD7	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿗 Sign Aazhaakku
U+11FD8	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿘 Sign Uzhakku
U+11FD9	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿙 Sign Muuvuzhakku
U+11FDA	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿚 Sign Kuruni
U+11FDB	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿛 Sign Pathakku
U+11FDC	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿜 Sign Mukkuruni
U+11FDD	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿝 Sign Kaacu
U+11FDE	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿞 Sign Panam
U+11FDF	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿟 Sign Pon
U+11FE0	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿠 Sign Varaakan
U+11FE1	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿡 Sign Paaram
U+11FE2	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿢 Sign Kuzhi
U+11FE3	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿣 Sign Veli
U+11FE4	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿤 Wet Cultivation Sign
U+11FE5	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿥 Dry Cultivation Sign
U+11FE6	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿦 Land Sign
U+11FE7	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿧 Salt Pan Sign
U+11FE8	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿨 Traditional Credit Sign
U+11FE9	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿩 Traditional Number Sign
U+11FEA	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿪 Current Sign
U+11FEB	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿫 And Odd Sign
U+11FEC	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿬 Spent Sign
U+11FED	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿭 Total Sign
U+11FEE	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿮 In Possession Sign
U+11FEF	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿯 Starting From Sign
U+11FF0	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿰 Sign Muthaliya
U+11FF1	Symbol	SYMBOL	null	𑿱 Sign Vakaiyaraa
U+11FF2	unassigned
U+11FF3	unassigned
U+11FF4	unassigned
U+11FF5	unassigned
U+11FF6	unassigned
U+11FF7	unassigned
U+11FF8	unassigned
U+11FF9	unassigned
U+11FFA	unassigned
U+11FFB	unassigned
U+11FFC	unassigned
U+11FFD	unassigned
U+11FFE	unassigned
U+11FFF	Punctuation	null	null	𑿿 End Of Text

Grantha marks character table

Tamil text runs may also include diacritical and syllable-modifier marks from the Grantha block. These characters should be classified as follows.

Table 73 Grantha marks character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+11301	Mark [Mn]	BINDU	TOP_POSITION	𑌁 Grantha Candrabindu
U+11303	Mark [Mc]	VISARGA	RIGHT_POSITION	𑌃 Grantha Visarga
U+1133B	Mark [Mn]	NUKTA	BOTTOM_POSITION	𑌻 Combining Bindu Below
U+1133C	Mark [Mn]	NUKTA	BOTTOM_POSITION	𑌼 Grantha Nukta

Vedic Extensions character table

Sanskrit runs written in the Tamil script may also include characters from the Vedic Extensions block. These characters should be classified as follows.

Note: See the Vedic Extensions document for additional information.

Table 74 Vedic Extensions character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+1CD0	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳐ Tone Karshana
U+1CD1	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳑ Tone Shara
U+1CD2	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳒ Tone Prenkha
U+1CD3	Punctuation	null	null	᳓ Sign Nihshvasa
U+1CD4	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	OVERSTRUCK	᳔ Tone Midline Svarita
U+1CD5	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳕ Tone Aggravated Independent Svarita
U+1CD6	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳖ Tone Independent Svarita
U+1CD7	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳗ Tone Kathaka Independent Svarita
U+1CD8	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳘ Tone Candra Below
U+1CD9	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳙ Tone Kathaka Independent Svarita Schroeder
U+1CDA	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳚ Tone Double Svarita
U+1CDB	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳛ Tone Triple Svarita
U+1CDC	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳜ Tone Kathaka Anudatta
U+1CDD	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳝ Tone Dot Below
U+1CDE	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳞ Tone Two Dots Below
U+1CDF	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳟ Tone Three Dots Below
U+1CE0	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳠ Tone Rigvedic Kashmiri Independent Svarita
U+1CE1	Mark [Mc]	CANTILLATION	RIGHT_POSITION	᳡ Tone Atharavedic Independent Svarita
U+1CE2	Mark [Mn]	AVAGRAHA	OVERSTRUCK	᳢ Sign Visarga Svarita
U+1CE3	Mark [Mn]	null	OVERSTRUCK	᳣ Sign Visarga Udatta
U+1CE4	Mark [Mn]	null	OVERSTRUCK	᳤ Sign Reversed Visarga Udatta
U+1CE5	Mark [Mn]	null	OVERSTRUCK	᳥ Sign Visarga Anudatta
U+1CE6	Mark [Mn]	null	OVERSTRUCK	᳦ Sign Reversed Visarga Anudatta
U+1CE7	Mark [Mn]	null	OVERSTRUCK	᳧ Sign Visarga Udatta With Tail
U+1CE8	Mark [Mn]	AVAGRAHA	OVERSTRUCK	᳨ Sign Visarga Anudatta With Tail
U+1CE9	Letter	SYMBOL	null	ᳩ Sign Anusvara Antargomukha
U+1CEA	Letter	null	null	ᳪ Sign Anusvara Bahirgomukha
U+1CEB	Letter	null	null	ᳫ Sign Anusvara Vamagomukha
U+1CEC	Letter	SYMBOL	null	ᳬ Sign Anusvara Vamagomukha With Tail
U+1CED	Mark [Mn]	AVAGRAHA	BOTTOM_POSITION	᳭ Sign Tiryak
U+1CEE	Letter	SYMBOL	null	ᳮ Sign Hexiform Long Anusvara
U+1CEF	Letter	null	null	ᳯ Sign Long Anusvara
U+1CF0	Letter	null	null	ᳰ Sign Rthang Long Anusvara
U+1CF2	Letter	CONSONANT_DEAD	null	ᳲ Sign Ardhavisarga
U+1CF3	Letter	CONSONANT_DEAD	null	ᳳ Sign Rotated Ardhavisarga
U+1CF3	Mark [Mc]	VISARGA	null	ᳳ Sign Rotated Ardhavisarga
U+1CF4	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	᳴ Tone Candra Above
U+1CF5	Letter	CONSONANT_WITH_STACKER	null	ᳵ Sign Jihvamuliya
U+1CF6	Letter	CONSONANT_WITH_STACKER	null	ᳶ Sign Upadhmaniya
U+1CF7	Mark [Mc]	null	null	᳷ Sign Atikrama
U+1CF8	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	null	᳸ Tone Ring Above
U+1CF9	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	null	᳹ Tone Double Ring Above
U+1CFA	Letter	PLACEHOLDER	null	ᳺ Sign Double Anusvara Antargomukha
U+1CFB	unassigned
U+1CFC	unassigned
U+1CFD	unassigned
U+1CFE	unassigned
U+1CFF	unassigned

Miscellaneous character table

In addition to general punctuation, runs of Tamil text often use the danda (U+0964) and double danda (U+0965) punctuation marks from the Devanagari block. Tamil text can also incorporate the udatta (U+0951) and anudatta (U+0952) signs from the Devanagari block.

Table 75 Additional punctuation character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+0951	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	TOP_POSITION	॑ Udatta
U+0952	Mark [Mn]	CANTILLATION	BOTTOM_POSITION	॒ Anudatta
U+0964	Punctuation	null	null	। Danda
U+0965	Punctuation	null	null	॥ Double Danda

Other important characters that may be encountered when shaping runs of Tamil text include the dotted-circle placeholder (U+25CC), the zero-width joiner (U+200D) and zero-width non-joiner (U+200C), and the no-break space (U+00A0).

The dotted-circle placeholder is frequently used when displaying a dependent vowel (matra) or a combining mark in isolation. Real-world text syllables may also use other characters, such as hyphens or dashes, in a similar placeholder fashion; shaping engines should cope with this situation gracefully.

Table 76 Miscellaneous character table

Codepoint	Unicode category	Shaping class	Mark-placement subclass	Glyph
U+00A0	Separator	PLACEHOLDER	null	No-break space
U+00B2	Number	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP	² Superscript Two
U+00B3	Number	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP	³ Superscript Three
U+200C	Other	NON_JOINER	null	‌ Zero-width non-joiner
U+200D	Other	JOINER	null	‍ Zero-width joiner
U+2010	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	‐ Hyphen
U+2011	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	‑ No-break hyphen
U+2012	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	‒ Figure dash
U+2013	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	– En dash
U+2014	Punctuation	PLACEHOLDER	null	— Em dash
U+2074	Number	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP	⁴ Superscript Four
U+2082	Number	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP	₂ Subscript Two
U+2083	Number	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP	₃ Subscript Three
U+2084	Number	SYLLABLE_MODIFIER	TOP	₄ Subscript Four
U+25CC	Symbol	DOTTED_CIRCLE	null	◌ Dotted circle

The zero-width joiner (ZWJ) is primarily used to prevent the formation of a conjunct from a “Consonant,Halant,Consonant” sequence. The sequence “Consonant,Halant,ZWJ,Consonant” blocks the formation of a conjunct between the two consonants.

Note, however, that the “Consonant,Halant” subsequence in the above example may still trigger a half-forms feature. To prevent the application of the half-forms feature in addition to preventing the conjunct, the zero-width non-joiner (ZWNJ) must be used instead. The sequence “Consonant,Halant,ZWNJ,Consonant” should produce the first consonant in its standard form, followed by an explicit “Halant”.

A secondary usage of the zero-width joiner is to prevent the formation of “Reph”. An initial “Ra,Halant,ZWJ” sequence should not produce a “Reph”, where an initial “Ra,Halant” sequence without the zero-width joiner otherwise would.

The no-break space (NBSP) is primarily used to display those codepoints that are defined as non-spacing (marks, dependent vowels (matras), below-base consonant forms, and post-base consonant forms) in an isolated context, as an alternative to displaying them superimposed on the dotted-circle placeholder. These sequences will match “NBSP,ZWJ,Halant,Consonant”, “NBSP,mark”, or “NBSP,matra”.

Tamil text sometimes uses the Latin numerals 2, 3, and 4 in superscript or subscript positions to annotate Sanskrit. When used in this fashion, the superscripts and subscripts are treated as SYLLABLE_MODIFIER signs for shaping purposes.