Circumflex

2025-11-02T15:48:25Z

2607:FA49:B505:B600:5CB2:2083:5B8F:4868: /* Vowel quality */

{{Short description|Diacritic (◌̂) in European scripts}}
{{About|the diacritic used to modify other characters|use as an independent, spacing character|Caret}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2011}}
{{Infobox diacritic|char=◌̂ |name=Circumflex (diacritic)
|unicode={{unichar|0302|COMBINING CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT |cwith=◌}} }}
{{Infobox symbol
|mark = ^
|name=Circumflex (symbol)
|unicode = {{unichar|005E|Circumflex accent|nlink=Caret (computing)}} (freestanding symbol, see [[#Freestanding|below]]) 
{{unichar|02C6|MODIFIER LETTER CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT|nlink=Spacing Modifier Letters}} (IPA, UPA etc. symbol) 
{{unichar|FF3E|Fullwidth circumflex accent|nlink=Fullwidth and halfwidth forms}} (freestanding)
|see also = Similar free-standing accent symbols:
{{unbulleted list
|{{unichar|0060|nlink=Grave accent}}
| {{unichar|007E|nlink=Tilde}}
| {{unichar|00B4|nlink=Acute accent}}
}}
|different from = {{unichar|0302|COMBINING CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT |cwith=◌}} (diacritic) 
{{unichar|2038|caret|nlink=caret (proofreading)}} 
{{unichar|2227|Logical AND|nlink=Logical conjunction}}
}}
{{IPA notice}}

The '''circumflex''' ({{char|◌̂}}) is a [[diacritic]] in the [[Latin script|Latin]] and [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] scripts that is also used in the written forms of many languages and in various [[romanization]] and [[Transcription (linguistics)|transcription]] schemes. It received its English name from {{langx|la|circumflexus}} "bent around"{{mdash}}a translation of the {{langx|grc|περισπωμένη}} ({{transliteration|grc|[[perispomenon|perispōménē]]}}).

The circumflex in the Latin script is [[Chevron (insignia)|chevron]]-shaped (<big>{{char|◌̂}}</big>), while the Greek circumflex may be displayed either like a [[tilde]] (<big>{{char|◌̃}}</big>) or like an [[inverted breve]] (<big>{{char|◌̑}}</big>). For the most commonly encountered uses of the accent in the Latin alphabet, [[precomposed character]]s are available.

In [[English language|English]], the circumflex, like other diacritics, is sometimes retained on [[loanword]]s that used it in the original language (for example ''[[entrepôt]], [[crème brûlée]]'').
In mathematics and [[statistics]], the circumflex diacritic is sometimes used to denote a function and is called a ''[[hat operator]]''.

A free-standing version of the circumflex symbol, {{char|^}}, is encoded in [[ASCII]] and [[Unicode]] and has become known as ''[[caret]]'' and has acquired special uses, particularly in [[computing]] and [[mathematics]]. The [[caret (proofreading)|original caret]], <big>{{char|‸}}</big>, is used in [[proofreading]] to indicate insertion.

==Uses==

===Diacritic on vowels===

====Pitch====
{{See also|Ancient Greek accent}}
The circumflex has its origins in the [[Greek diacritics|polytonic orthography]] of [[Ancient Greek]], where it marked [[vowel length|long vowels]] that were pronounced with high and then falling [[Pitch accent|pitch]]. In a similar vein, the circumflex is today used to mark [[tone contour]] in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]]. This is also how it is used in [[Bamanankan language|Bamanankan]] (as opposed to a [[háček]], which signifies a rising tone on a syllable).

The shape of the circumflex was originally a combination of the [[acute accent|acute]] and [[grave accent]]s (^), as it marked a [[syllable]] contracted from two vowels: an acute-accented vowel and a non-accented vowel (all non-accented syllables in Ancient Greek were once marked with a grave accent).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smyth |first=Herbert Weir |url=http://www.ccel.org/s/smyth/grammar/html/toc_uni.htm |title=A Greek Grammar for Colleges |date=1920 |publisher=American Book Company |location=New York |author-link=Herbert Weir Smyth |via=ccel.org |access-date=2017-10-15 |archive-date=2018-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126022458/http://www.ccel.org/s/smyth/grammar/html/toc_uni.htm |url-status=live }}: "155. The ancients regarded the grave originally as belonging to every syllable not accented with the acute or circumflex; and some Mss. show this in practice, e.g. πὰγκρὰτής. [...]"</ref>{{clarify|date=April 2014|reason=A. Was it universal up to a period? Or did it happen only in some cases, by some, but not all, "groups" of scribes/"writers"? B. A citation is in any case needed.}} Later a variant similar to the [[tilde]] (~) was also used.

{|align="center" style="font-size: large"
|-
| νόος
|rowspan=2 style="padding: 1em; text-align: center"| contraction → ([[synaeresis]])
| ν-'''´ō`'''-ς = νō͂ς = νοῦς
|-
| nóos
| n-'''´ō`'''-s = nō̂s = noûs
|}

The term "circumflex" is also used to describe similar tonal accents that result from combining two vowels in related languages such as Sanskrit and Latin.

Since [[Modern Greek]] has a [[stress (linguistics)|stress accent]] instead of a pitch accent, the circumflex has been replaced with an [[acute accent]] in the modern monotonic orthography.

==== Length ====
The circumflex accent marks a [[vowel length|long vowel]] in the [[orthography]] or [[transliteration]] of several languages.

* In [[Afrikaans]], the circumflex marks a [[vowel]] with a lengthened pronunciation, often arising from [[compensatory lengthening]] due to the loss of {{angbr|g}} from the original [[Dutch language|Dutch]] form. Examples of circumflex use in Afrikaans are ''sê'' "to say", ''wêreld'' "world", ''môre'' "tomorrow", ''brûe'' "bridges".
* In the transliteration of [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]], the circumflex indicates a long vowel resulting from an [[aleph]] contraction.
* In western [[Cree language|Cree]], [[Sauk language (Algonquian)|Sauk]], and [[Saulteaux language|Saulteaux]], the Algonquianist Standard Roman Orthography (SRO) indicates long vowels {{IPA|[aː eː iː oː~uː]}} either with a circumflex ⟨â ê î ô⟩ or with a [[Macron (diacritic)|macron]] ⟨ā ē ī ō⟩.
* The PDA orthography for [[Domari language|Domari]] uses circumflex-bearing vowels for length.
* In [[Emilian dialect|Emilian]], {{angbr|â î û}}, are used to represent {{IPA|[aː, iː, uː]}}
* [[French language|French]]: In some varieties{{snd}} such as in [[French of France#Northern regions|Northern French]], [[Belgian French]], [[Swiss French]] and [[Quebec French]]{{snd}} vowels with a circumflex are usually long: {{lang|fr|fête}} {{IPA|[feːt]}} (party) is longer than {{lang|fr|faite}} {{IPA|[fɛt]}}. This [[compensatory lengthening|length compensates]] for a deleted consonant, usually {{angbr|s}}. French words with deleted {{angbr|s}} include {{lang|fr|châtain}} and {{lang|fr|hôpital}}.
* [[Friulian language|Standard Friulian]].
* [[Japanese language|Japanese]]: In the [[Nihon-shiki]] system of [[Romaji|romanization]], the circumflex is used to indicate long vowels which were inherited from the [[Portuguese alphabet]] ({{angbr|â, ê, î, ô, û}} in particular). The [[Kunrei-shiki]] system{{snd}} which is based on Nihon-shiki system{{snd}} also uses the circumflex. The Traditional and Modified forms of the [[Hepburn romanization|Hepburn]] system use the [[macron (diacritic)|macron]] for this purpose, though some users may use the circumflex as a substitute if there are difficulties inputting the macron, as the two diacritics are visually fairly similar.
* [[Jèrriais]].
* In [[Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN|UNGEGN]] romanization system for [[Khmer language|Khmer]]: {{angbr|â}} is used to represent {{IPA|[ɑː]}}, {{angbr|ê}} {{IPA|[ae]}} in first series and {{IPA|[ɛː]}} in second series, and {{angbr|ô}} for {{IPA|[ɔː]}}. There are also additional vowels which are [[diphthong]]s such as {{angbr|aô}} {{IPA|[ao]}}, {{angbr|âu}} {{IPA|[ʔɨw]}}, {{angbr|âm}} {{IPA|[ɑm]}}, {{angbr|ŏâm}} {{IPA|[oəm]}} and {{angbr|aôh}} {{IPA|[ɑh]}}.
* In [[Kurmanji|Kurmanji Kurdish]], {{angbr|ê, î, û}} are used to represent {{IPA|/eː iː uː/}}.<ref>{{Citation |last=Thackston |first=Wheeler M. |title=Kurmanji Kurdish: A Reference Grammar with Selected Readings |date=2006 |url=http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/Kurmanji/kurmanji_1_grammar.pdf |page=11 |access-date=November 26, 2016 |mode=cs1 |via=Iranian Studies at Harvard University |archive-date=June 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616142342/http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/Kurmanji/kurmanji_1_grammar.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In [[Mikasuki]], circumflexed vowels indicate a rising and falling pitch or tone.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cypress |first=Carol |title=A Dictionary of Miccosukee |date=2006 |publisher=Ah Tah Thi Ki |location=Clewiston, FL, USA}}</ref>
* In [[Adûnaic]], [[Black Speech]] and [[Khuzdul]]{{snd}} constructed languages of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]{{snd}} all long vowels are transcribed with the circumflex. In [[Sindarin]]{{snd}} another of Tolkien's languages{{snd}} long vowels in [[syllable|polysyllabic]] words take the [[acute accent|acute]] but a circumflex in monosyllables used to mark a [[phoneme|non-phonemic]] extra lengthening.

==== Stress ====
[[File:27 Y Parêd.jpg|thumb|Bilingual sign showing the use of the circumflex in Welsh as an indicator of length and stress: ''parêd'' [paˈreːd] "parade", as opposed to ''pared'' [ˈparɛd] "partition wall".]]

The circumflex accent marks the [[Stress (linguistics)|stressed vowel]] of a word in some languages:

* [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] {{angbr|â}}, {{angbr|ê}} and {{angbr|ô}} are stressed [[close vowels]], opposed to their open counterparts {{angbr|á}}, {{angbr|é}} and {{angbr|ó}} (see below).
* [[Welsh language|Welsh]]: the circumflex{{snd}} due to its function as a disambiguating lengthening sign (see above){{snd}} is used in polysyllabic words with word-final long vowels. The circumflex thus indicates the stressed syllable (which would normally be on the [[penult|penultimate syllable]]), since in Welsh, non-stressed vowels may not normally be long. This happens notably where the singular ends in an {{angbr|a}}, to, e.g. singular {{lang|cy|camera}}, {{lang|cy|drama}}, {{lang|cy|opera}}, {{lang|cy|sinema}} → plural {{lang|cy|camerâu}}, {{lang|cy|dramâu}}, {{lang|cy|operâu}}, {{lang|cy|sinemâu}}; however, it also occurs in singular nominal forms, e.g. {{lang|cy|arwyddocâd}}; in verbal forms, e.g. {{lang|cy|deffrônt}}, {{lang|cy|cryffânt}}; etc.

==== Vowel quality ====
*In [[Breton language|Breton]], it is used on an {{angbr|e}} to show that the letter is pronounced [[Vowel height|open]] instead of closed.
* In [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]], the sound represented in Bulgarian by the Cyrillic letter ''ъ'' (''er goljam'') is usually transliterated as ''â'' in systems used prior to 1989. Although called a [[schwa]] (misleadingly suggesting an unstressed lax sound), it is more accurately described as a [[close-mid back unrounded vowel#Mid back unrounded vowel|mid back unrounded vowel]] {{IPAslink|ɤ}}. Unlike [[English language|English]] or [[French language|French]], but similar to [[Romanian language|Romanian]] and [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]], it can be stressed.
* In [[Pinyin]] romanized [[Standard Mandarin|Mandarin Chinese]], {{angbr|ê}} is used to represent the sound {{IPAslink|ɛ}} in isolation, which occurs sometimes as an exclamation.
* In French, the letter {{angbr|â}} is usually pronounced {{IPAslink|ɑ}} in some varieties of French: [[Swiss French]] and [[Quebec French]]. In the usual pronunciations of central and northern [[France]], ''ô'' is pronounced {{IPAslink|o}}, like {{lang|fr|eau}}, ''eû'' is pronounced {{IPAslink|ø}}, like {{lang|fr|eux}}; in Southern France, no distinction is made between {{IPAslink|ɔ}} and {{IPAslink|o}}, {{IPAslink|œ}} and {{IPAslink|ø}}.
* In [[Phuthi language|Phuthi]], {{angbr|î'}} and {{angbr|û}} are used to mark [[superclose vowel]]s {{IPAslink|ɪ}} and {{IPAslink|ʊ}}, respectively.
* [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] {{angbr|â}} {{IPAslink|ɐ}}, {{angbr|ê}} {{IPAslink|e}}, and {{angbr|ô}} {{IPAslink|o}} are stressed high vowels, in opposition to {{angbr|á}} {{IPAslink|a}}, {{angbr|é}} {{IPAslink|ɛ}}, and {{angbr|ó}} {{IPAslink|ɔ}}, which are stressed low vowels.
* In [[Romanian language|Romanian]], the circumflex is used on the vowels {{angbr|â}} and {{angbr|î}} to mark the vowel {{IPAslink|ɨ}}, similar to Russian ''[[yery]]''. The names of these accented letters are ''â din a'' and ''î din i'', respectively. (The letter {{angbr|â}} only appears in the middle of words; thus, its [[majuscule]] version appears only in all-capitals inscriptions.)
* In [[Slovak language|Slovak]], the circumflex (''vokáň'') on an {{angbr|ô}} (uppercase {{angbr|Ô}}) indicates a [[diphthong]] {{IPA|sk|ʊɔ|}}.
* In [[Swedish language|Swedish]] [[dialect]] and [[folklore]] [[literature]] the circumflex is used to indicate the phonemes {{IPAslink|a|a(ː)}} or {{IPAslink|æ|æ(ː)}} ({{angbr|â}}), {{IPAslink|ɶ|ɶ(ː)}} or {{IPAslink|ɞ|ɞ(ː)}} (''ô'') and {{IPAslink|ɵ|ɵ(ː)}} (''û'') in dialects and regional accents where these are distinct from {{IPAslink|ɑ|ɑ(ː)}} ({{angbr|a}}), {{IPAslink|ø|ø(ː)}} ({{angbr|'ö}}) or {{IPAslink|o|o(ː)}} ({{angbr|o}} or {{angbr|å}}) and {{IPAslink|ʉ|ʉ(ː)}} ({{angbr|u}}) respectively, unlike Standard Swedish where {{IPA|[a]}} and {{IPA|[ɑː]}}, {{IPA|[ɵ]}} and {{IPA|[ʉː]}} are short and long allophones of the phonemes {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/ʉ/}} respectively, and where [[Old Swedish]] short {{IPAslink|o}} (''ŏ'') has merged with {{IPA|/o(ː)/}} from Old Swedish {{IPA|/ɑː/}} (''ā'', Modern Swedish {{angbr|[[å]]}}) instead of centralizing to {{IPA|[ɞ]}} or fronting to {{IPA|[ɶ]}} and remaining a distinct phoneme ({{angbr|ô}}) as in the dialects in question. Different methods can be found in different literature, so some author may use {{angbr|æ}} instead of {{angbr|â}}, or use {{angbr|â}} where others use {{angbr|å̂}} ({{angbr|å}} with a circumflex; for a sound between {{IPA|/ɑ(ː)/}} and {{IPA|/o(ː)/}}).
* [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] {{angbr|â}} {{IPAslink|ə}}, {{angbr|ê}} {{IPAslink|e}}, and {{angbr|ô}} {{IPAslink|o}} are higher vowels than {{angbr|a}} {{IPAslink|ɑ}}, {{angbr|e}} {{IPAslink|ɛ}}, and {{angbr|o}} {{IPAslink|ɔ}}. The circumflex can appear together with a [[Tonal language#Notational systems|tone mark]] on the same vowel, as in the word ''Việt''. Vowels with circumflex are considered separate letters from the base vowels.

====Nasality====
* In [[Luxembourgish]] {{angbr|m̂}} {{angbr|n̂}} can be used to indicate nasalisation of a vowel. Also, the circumflex can be over the vowel to indicate nasalisation. In either case, the circumflex is rare.
* In several [[New Caledonian languages|indigenous languages of New Caledonia]], a circumflex indicates [[Nasal vowel|nasality on vowels]]: e.g. the orthography [[Xârâcùù]] contrasts its [[oral vowel]]s {{angbr|a}} {{IPAslink|ɑ}}, {{angbr|e}} {{IPAslink|ɛ}}, {{angbr|i}} {{IPAslink|i}}, {{angbr|u}} {{IPAslink|u}} with its [[nasal vowel]]s {{angbr|â}} {{IPAslink|ɑ̃}}, {{angbr|ê}} {{IPAslink|ɛ̃}}, {{angbr|î}} {{IPAslink|ĩ}}, {{angbr|ô}} {{IPAslink|ɔ̃}}, {{angbr|û}} {{IPAslink|ũ}}{{snd}} with duplicated variants indicating length (e.g. {{angbr|êê}} {{IPAslink|ɛ̃ː}}). Due to typographical shortage of characters, some nasal vowels in Xârâcùù are encoded with a [[two dots (diacritic)|two dots diacritic]]: e.g. {{angbr|ä}} {{IPAslink|ʌ̃}}, {{angbr|ü}} {{IPAslink|ɨ̃}}).

====Other articulatory features====
* In [[Emilian dialect|Emilian]], {{angbr|ê, ô}} {{IPA|[eː, oː]}} denote both length and height.
* In [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], [[Cebuano language|Cebuano]] and most [[Philippine languages]], the circumflex accent (''pakupyâ'') is used to represent the simultaneous occurrence of a stress and a [[glottal stop]] on the last vowel of a word. Though not part of the official alphabet, possible combinations can include: {{angbr|â}}, {{angbr|ê}}, {{angbr|î}}, {{angbr|ô}}, and {{angbr|û}}. But in the case of [[Tboli language|T'boli]], the circumflex accent is only used as a pure unstressed glottal stop. It works as a combination of acute and grave accent; with the case of letters {{angbr|é}} and {{angbr|ó}} which represents the sound of {{IPAslink|ɛ}} and {{IPAslink|o}} respectively and can be shown as {{angbr|ê}} and {{angbr|ô}} if it contains a glottal stop.<ref name="expr">{{Cite web |last=Morrow |first=Paul |date=March 16, 2011 |title=The Basics of Filipino Pronunciation: Part 2 of 3: Accent Marks |url=http://www.pilipino-express.com/history-a-culture/in-other-words/1180-basics-of-filipino-pronunciation-part-2.html |access-date=July 18, 2012 |website=Pilipino Express |archive-date=December 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227075213/http://www.pilipino-express.com/history-a-culture/in-other-words/1180-basics-of-filipino-pronunciation-part-2.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="tagalog">{{Cite book |url=http://www.supadu.com/images/ckfinder/26/pdfs/PIMSLEUR/Tagalog_Phase1-Bklt.pdf |title=Tagalog Reading Booklet |date=2007 |publisher=Simon & Schister's Pimsleur |page=5–6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127030759/http://www.supadu.com/images/ckfinder/26/pdfs/PIMSLEUR/Tagalog_Phase1-Bklt.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-27 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*In [[Romagnol dialect|Romagnol]], they are used to represent the diphthongs {{IPA|/eə, oə/}}, whose specific articulation varies between dialects, e.g. ''sêl'' {{IPA|[seəl~seɛl~sæɛl~sɛɘl]}} "salt".
* In [[Old Tupi]], the circumflex changed a vowel into a [[semivowel]]: {{angbr|î}} {{IPAblink|j}}, {{angbr|û}} {{IPAblink|w}}, and {{angbr|ŷ}} {{IPAblink|ɰ}}.
*In [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]], the letter {{angbr|ŷ}} {{IPAblink|ɨ}} is sometimes used to transliterate the [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] letter {{angbr|ы}}.
* In [[Turkish language|Turkish]], the circumflex over {{angbr|a}} and {{angbr|u}} is sometimes used in words of [[Arabic]] or [[Persian language|Persian]] derivation to indicate when a preceding consonant ({{angbr|k}}, {{angbr|g}}, {{angbr|l}}) is to be pronounced as a [[palatal consonant|palatal]] plosive; {{IPAblink|c}}, {{IPAblink|ɟ}} (''kâğıt'', ''gâvur'', ''mahkûm'', ''Gülgûn''). The circumflex over {{angbr|î}} is used to indicate a [[Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba|nisba]] suffix (''millî'', ''dinî'').<ref name="tdk" />
* In [[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]] romanization of [[Hokkien]], the circumflex over a vowel ({{angbr|â}}, {{angbr|ê}}, {{angbr|î}}, {{angbr|ô}}, and {{angbr|û}}) or a syllabic nasal ({{angbr|m}}, {{angbr|ng}}) indicate the [[tone (linguistics)|tone]] number 5, traditionally called Yang Level or Light Level (陽平). The [[tone contour]] is usually low rising. For example, {{angbr|ê}} {{IPA|[e˩˧]}}, ''n̂g'' {{IPA|[ŋ̩˩˧]}}.

====Visual discrimination between homographs====
* In [[Serbo-Croatian]] the circumflex can be used to distinguish [[homograph]]s, and it is called the "genitive sign" or "length sign". Examples include ''sam'' "am" versus ''sâm'' "alone". For example, the phrase "I am alone" may be written ''Ja sam sâm'' to improve clarity. Another example: ''da'' "yes", ''dâ'' "gives".<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://www.srpskijezickiatelje.com/pravopis:ostali-znaci#toc2 |title=Pravopis Srpskog Jezika |language=sr |chapter=Genitivni znak |access-date=2011-04-25 |archive-date=2012-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308121610/http://www.srpskijezickiatelje.com/pravopis:ostali-znaci#toc2 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Turkish language|Turkish]]. According to [[Turkish Language Association]] orthography, ''düzeltme işareti'' "correction mark" over ''a'', ''i'' and ''u'' marks a [[long vowel]] to disambiguate similar words. For example, compare ''ama'' "but" and ''âmâ'' "blind", ''şura'' 'that place, there' and ''şûra'' "council".<ref name="tdk">{{Cite web |title=Düzeltme İşareti |trans-title=Correction Mark |url=http://www.tdk.gov.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF4EC2F94D94121ECE |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221180227/http://www.tdk.gov.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EF4EC2F94D94121ECE |archive-date=February 21, 2007 |website=Türk Dil Kurumu |language=tr}}</ref> In general, circumflexes occur only in [[Arabic]] and [[Persian language|Persian]] [[loanwords]] as vowel length in early Turkish was not phonemic. However, this standard was never applied entirely consistently<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Geoffrey |title=The Turkish Language Reform: A Catastrophic Success |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-823856-8 |location=Oxford}}</ref> and by the late 20th century many publications had stopped using circumflexes almost entirely.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kornfilt |first=Jaklin |title=Turkish |year=1997 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-00010-6 |location=London|author-link=Jaklin Kornfilt}}</ref>
* [[Welsh language|Welsh]]. The circumflex is known as ''hirnod'' "long sign" or ''acen grom'' "crooked accent", but more usually and colloquially as ''tŷ bach'' "little roof". It lengthens a stressed vowel (''a, e, i, o, u, w, y''), and is used particularly to differentiate between [[homonym|homographs]]; e.g. ''tan'' and ''tân'', ''ffon'' and ''ffôn'', ''gem'' and ''gêm'', ''cyn'' and ''cŷn'', or ''gwn'' and ''gŵn''. However the circumflex is only required on elongated vowels if the same word exists without the circumflex - "nos" (night), for example, has an elongated "o" sound but a circumflex is not required as the same word with a shortened "o" doesn't exist.
* The [[French orthography|orthography of French]] has a few pairs of [[homophone]]s that are only distinguished by the circumflex: e.g. ''[[:wikt:du#French|du]]'' {{IPA|fr|dy|}} ([[partitive]] article) vs. ''[[:wikt:dû|dû]]'' {{IPA|fr|dy|}} 'due'.

===Diacritic on consonants===
*In [[Pinyin]], the romanized writing of [[Standard Mandarin|Mandarin Chinese]], <ẑ>, <ĉ>, and <ŝ> are, albeit rarely, used to represent <zh> {{IPAblink|tʂ}}, <ch> {{IPAblink|tʂʰ}}, and <sh> {{IPAblink|ʂ}}, respectively.
*In [[Esperanto]], the circumflex is used on <ĉ> {{IPAblink|tʃ}}, <ĝ> {{IPAblink|dʒ}}, <ĥ> {{IPAblink|x}}, <ĵ> {{IPAblink|ʒ}}, <ŝ> {{IPAblink|ʃ}}. Each indicates a different consonant from the unaccented form, and is considered a separate letter for purposes of [[collation]]. (See [[Esperanto orthography]].)
* In [[Nsenga language|Nsenga]], <ŵ> denotes the [[labiodental approximant]] {{IPAslink|ʋ}}.
* In [[Chichewa language|Chichewa]], <ŵ> (present for example in the name of the country ''[[Malawi|Malaŵi]]'') used to denote the [[voiced bilabial fricative]] {{IPAslink|β}}; nowadays, however, most Chichewa-speakers pronounce it as a regular {{IPAblink|w}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-10-25 |title=Malawi em português: Maláui, Malaui, Malauí, Malavi ou Malávi? |url=http://dicionarioegramatica.com.br/2015/10/25/malawi-malaui-malaui-malaui-malavi-ou-malavi/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817120145/https://dicionarioegramatica.com.br/2015/10/25/malawi-malaui-malaui-malaui-malavi-ou-malavi/ |archive-date=2016-08-17 |access-date=2015-10-25 |website=DicionarioeGramatica.com.br |language=pt}}</ref>
* In [[Nias language#Phonology|Nias]], <ŵ> denotes the [[semivowel]] {{IPAblink|w}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Halawa |first1=T. |url=http://repositori.kemdikbud.go.id/3607/1/Struktur%20bahasa%20nias.pdf |title=Struktur Bahasa Nias |last2=Harefa |first2=A. |last3=Silitonga |first3=M. |date=1983 |publisher=Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan |location=Jakarta |language=id |trans-title=Nias Language Structure |via=repositori.kemdikbud.go.id |access-date=2021-12-11 |archive-date=2021-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306223647/http://repositori.kemdikbud.go.id/3607/1/Struktur%20bahasa%20nias.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In the African language [[Venda language|Venda]], a circumflex below <d>, <l>, <n>, and <t> is used to represent dental consonants: <ḓ>, <ḽ>, <ṋ>, <ṱ>.
* In the 18th century, the [[Real Academia Española]] introduced the circumflex accent in Spanish to mark that a <ch> or <x> were pronounced {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/ɡs/}} respectively (instead of {{IPA|/tʃ/}} and {{IPA|/x/}}, which were the default values): {{lang|es|châracteres, exâcto}} (spelled today {{lang|es|caracteres, exacto}}). This usage was quickly abandoned during the same century, once the RAE decided to use <ch> and <x> with one assigned pronunciation only: {{IPA|/tʃ/}} and {{IPA|/ɡs/}} respectively.
* In [[Domari language|Domari]] (according to the Pan-Domari Alphabet orthography), the circumflex is used on the letters <ĉ ĝ ĵ ŝ ẑ> to represent the sounds of {{IPA|/t͡ʃ ɣ d͡ʒ ʃ ʒ/}}. It is also used above vowels to indicate length.

===Abbreviation, contraction, and disambiguation===

==== English ====
In 18th century [[British English]], before the cheap [[Penny Post]] and while paper was taxed, the combination ''[[Ough (orthography)|ough]]'' was occasionally shortened to {{angbr|ô}} when the ''gh'' was not pronounced, to save space: ''thô'' for ''though'', ''thorô'' for ''thorough'', and ''brôt'' for ''brought''. {{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

==== French ====
{{Main|Circumflex in French}}
In [[French alphabet|French]], the circumflex generally marks the former presence of a consonant (usually ''s'') that was [[deletion (phonology)|deleted]] and is no longer pronounced. (The corresponding [[Norman French]] words, and consequently the words derived from them in English, frequently retain the lost consonant.) For example:
* {{lang|fr|ancêtre}} "ancestor"
* {{lang|fr|hôpital}} "hospital"
* {{lang|fr|hôtel}} "hostel"
* {{lang|fr|forêt}} "forest"
* {{lang|fr|rôtir}} "to roast"
* {{lang|fr|côte}} "rib, coast, slope"
* {{lang|fr|pâté}} "paste"
* {{lang|fr|août}} "August"
* {{lang|fr|dépôt}} (from the {{langx|la|depositum}} 'deposit', but now referring to both a deposit or a storehouse of any kind)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dépôt |url=http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/d%C3%A9p%C3%B4t/23875 |access-date=8 December 2016 |website=Larousse |language=fr |archive-date=30 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130114714/http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/d%C3%A9p%C3%B4t/23875 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some [[homophone]]s (or near-homophones in some varieties of French) are distinguished by the circumflex. However, {{angbr|â}}, {{angbr|ê}} and {{angbr|ô}} distinguish different sounds in most varieties of French, for instance {{lang|fr|cote}} {{IPA|fr|kɔt|}} "level, mark, code number" and {{lang|fr|côte}} {{IPA|fr|kot|}} "rib, coast, hillside".

In handwritten French, for example in taking notes, an '{{angbr|m}} with a circumflex ({{angbr|m̂}}) is an informal abbreviation for ''même'' "same".{{cn|date=August 2025}}

In February 2016, the [[Académie Française]] decided to remove the circumflex from about 2,000 words, a plan that had been outlined since 1990. However, usage of the circumflex would not be considered incorrect.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 February 2016 |title=End of the Circumflex? Changes in French Spelling Cause Uproar |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35496893 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=4 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104080028/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35496893 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Italian ====
In [[Italian language|Italian]], {{angbr|î}} is occasionally used in the plural of nouns and adjectives ending with ''-io'' {{IPA|it|jo|}} as a [[crasis]] mark. Other possible spellings are ''-ii'' and obsolete ''-j'' or ''-ij''. For example, the plural of {{lang|it|vario}} {{IPA|it|ˈvaːrjo|}} "various" can be spelt {{lang|it|vari}}, {{lang|it|varî}}, {{lang|it|varii}}; the pronunciation will usually stay {{IPA|it|ˈvaːri|}} with only one {{IPA|it|i|}}. The plural forms of {{lang|it|principe}} {{IPA|it|ˈprintʃipe|}} "prince" and of {{lang|it|principio}} {{IPA|it|prinˈtʃiːpjo|}} "principle, beginning" can be confusing. In pronunciation, they are distinguished by whether the stress is on the first or on the second syllable, but {{lang|it|principi}} would be a correct spelling of both. When necessary to avoid ambiguity, it is advised to write the plural of {{lang|it|principio}} as {{lang|it|principî}} or as {{lang|it|principii}}.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

==== Latin ====

In [[Neo-Latin]], circumflex was used most often to disambiguate between forms of the same word that used a long vowel, for example ablative of first declension and genitive of fourth declension, or between second and third conjugation verbs. It was also used for the interjection {{angbr|ô}}.<ref>{{cite conference |url=https://archive.org/details/hafniactaconvent00inteuoft/page/924/mode/2up |title=Acta Conventus Neo-Latini Hafniensis |last1=Steenbakkers |first1=Piet |pages=925–934 |location=Copenhagen |conference=Eighth International Congress of neo-Latin Studies}}</ref>

==== Norwegian ====
In [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], the circumflex differentiates ''fôr'' "lining, fodder" from the preposition ''for''. From a historical point of view, the circumflex also indicates that the word used to be spelled with the letter {{angbr|[[ð]]}} in [[Old Norse language|Old Norse]]{{spaced ndash}}for example, ''fôr'' is derived from ''fóðr'', ''lêr'' 'leather' from ''leðr'', and ''vêr'' "weather, ram" from ''veðr'' (both ''lêr'' and ''vêr'' only occur in the [[Nynorsk]] spelling; in [[Bokmål]] these words are spelled ''lær'' and ''vær''). After the {{angbr|ð}} disappeared, it was replaced by a {{angbr|[[d]]}} (''fodr, vedr'').

==== Portuguese ====
Circumflexes are used in many common words of the language, such as the name of the language, {{lang|pt|português}}. Usually, {{angbr|â}}, {{angbr|ê}} and {{angbr|ô}} appear before nasals ({{angbr|m}} and {{angbr|n}}) in [[proparoxytone]] words, like {{lang|pt|higiênico}} but in many cases in European Portuguese {{angbr|e}} and {{angbr|o}} will be marked with an acute accent (e.g. {{lang|pt|higiénico}}) since the vowel quality is open (ɛ or ɔ) in this standard variety. In early literacy classes in school, it is commonly nicknamed {{lang|pt|chapéu}} (hat).

====Welsh====
{{main|Welsh orthography#Diacritics}}
The circumflex (ˆ) is mostly used to mark [[vowel length|long vowels]], so {{angbr|â, ê, î, ô, û, ŵ, ŷ}} are always long. However, not all long vowels are marked with a circumflex, so the letters {{angbr|a, e, i, o, u, w, y}} with no circumflex do not necessarily represent short vowels.

===Mathematics===
{{main|Hat notation}}
In mathematics, the circumflex is used to modify variable names; it is usually read "hat", e.g., <math>\hat x</math> is "x hat". The [[Fourier transform]] of a function ''ƒ'' is often denoted by <math>\hat f</math>.

In geometry, a hat is sometimes used for an [[angle]]. For instance, the angles <math>\hat{A}</math> or <math>\widehat{ABC}</math>.

In vector notation, a hat above a letter indicates a [[unit vector]] (a dimensionless [[vector (geometric)|vector]] with a [[Magnitude (mathematics)|magnitude]] of 1). For instance, <math>\hat{\mathbf{\imath}}</math>, <math>\hat{\mathbf{x}}</math>, or <math>\hat{\mathbf{e}}_1</math> stands for a unit vector in the direction of the [[x-axis]] of a [[Cartesian coordinate system]].

In [[statistics]], the hat is used to denote an [[estimator]] or an estimated value, as opposed to its theoretical counterpart. For example, in [[errors and residuals]], the hat in <math>\hat\varepsilon</math> indicates an observable estimate (the residual) of an unobservable quantity called <math>\varepsilon</math> (the statistical error). It is read ''x-hat'' or ''x-roof'', where ''x'' represents the character under the hat.

===Music===

In [[music theory]] and [[musicology]], a circumflex above a numeral is used to make reference to a particular [[degree (music)|scale degree]].

In [[music notation]], a [[Chevron (insignia)|chevron-shaped]] symbol placed above a note indicates [[marcato]], a special form of emphasis or [[accent (music)|accent]]. In music for [[string instrument]]s, a narrow inverted chevron indicates that a note should be performed up-bow.

==Circumflex below==
A '''circumflex below''' a vowel (for example, {{angbr|ḙ}}) is a notation used by the [[Uralic Phonetic Alphabet]] to indicate a raised variant of the vowel.

== Unicode ==
{{Contains special characters|Uncommon Unicode|section|compact=y}}
Unicode encodes a number of cases of "letter with circumflex" as [[precomposed character]]s and these are displayed below. In addition, many more symbols may be composed using the [[combining character]] facility ({{unichar|0302|Combining circumflex accent|cwith=◌|nlink=combining character}} and {{unichar|032D|cwith=◌|nlink=combining character}}) that may be used with any letter or other diacritic to create a customised symbol but this does not mean that the result has any real-world application and thus are not shown in the table. 
{{Letters with diacritic/header}}{{hlist|{{Letters with diacritic/diacritic|format=char|d=circumflex}}[[Â |Â{{NNBSP}}â]]
| [[Ĉ |Ĉ{{NNBSP}}ĉ]]
| [[Ê |Ê{{NNBSP}}ê]]
| [[Ĝ |Ĝ{{NNBSP}}ĝ]]
| [[Ĥ |Ĥ{{NNBSP}}ĥ]]
| [[Î |Î{{NNBSP}}î]]
| [[Ĵ |Ĵ{{NNBSP}}ĵ]]
| [[Ô |Ô{{NNBSP}}ô]]
| [[Ố |Ố{{NNBSP}}ố]]
| [[Ồ |Ồ{{NNBSP}}ồ]]
| [[Ổ |Ổ{{NNBSP}}ổ]]
| [[Ỗ |Ỗ{{NNBSP}}ỗ]]
| [[Ộ |Ộ{{NNBSP}}ộ]]
| [[Ŝ |Ŝ{{NNBSP}}ŝ]]
| [[Û |Û{{NNBSP}}û]]
| [[Ŵ |Ŵ{{NNBSP}}ŵ]]
| [[X̂ |X̂{{NNBSP}}x̂]]
| [[Ŷ |Ŷ{{NNBSP}}ŷ]]
| [[Ẑ |Ẑ{{NNBSP}}ẑ]]
}}{{Letters with diacritic/footer}}

The [[Greek diacritics#Accents|Greek diacritic]] {{langx|grc|περισπωμένη|perispōménē|twisted around|label=none}}, is encoded as {{unichar|342|COMBINING GREEK PERISPOMENI}}. In distinction to the angled Latin circumflex, the Greek circumflex is printed in the form of either a [[tilde]] (◌̃) or an inverted [[breve]] (◌̑).

===Freestanding circumflex ===
{{Main|Caret}}

There is a similar but larger character, {{unichar|005E|circumflex accent|html=}}, which was originally intended to emulate the typewriter's [[dead key]] function using backspace and overtype. Nowadays, this glyph is more often called a [[caret]] instead (though the term has a long-standing meaning as a [[proofreading|proofreader's]] mark, with [[Caret (proofreading)|its own codepoints]] in Unicode). It is, however, unsuitable for use as a diacritic on modern computer systems, as it is a spacing character. Two other spacing circumflex characters in Unicode are the smaller [[modifier letter]]s {{unichar|02C6|modifier letter circumflex accent|use=IPA}} and {{unichar|a788|modifier letter low circumflex accent|use=IPA}}, mainly used in [[Phonetics|phonetic]] notations or as a sample of the diacritic in isolation.

===Typing the circumflex accent===
[[File:KB France.svg|thumb|upright 1.5|French [[AZERTY]] layout with 'combining circumflex' as a [[dead key]] (beside {{keycap|P}})]]

In countries where the local language(s) routinely include letters with a circumflex, local keyboards are typically engraved with those symbols.

For users with other keyboards, see [[QWERTY#Multilingual variants]] and [[Unicode input]].

== See also ==
* [[Caret (disambiguation)]]
* [[Caron]]
* [[Circumflex in French]]
* [[Macron (diacritic)]]
* [[Tilde]]
* [[Turned v]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|^}}
* [http://diacritics.typo.cz Diacritics Project{{spaced ndash}}"All you need to design a font with correct accents"]
* [http://afrikaans-spelling.blogspot.com "Diacs and Quirks in a Nutshell{{spaced ndash}}Afrikaans spelling explained"]
* [http://www.starr.net/is/type/kbh.html Keyboard Help]{{spaced ndash}}Learn how to create world language accent marks and other diacritics on a computer

{{Navbox diacritical marks}}
{{Latin script||circumflex}}

[[Category:Greek-script diacritics]]
[[Category:Latin-script diacritics]]

Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Circumflex