View source for Pe (Semitic letter)

{{short description|Seventeenth letter of the Semitic scripts}}
{{About|the Semitic letter|the Cyrillic letter|Pe (Cyrillic)|the Persian letter|Pe (Persian letter)}}
{{Infobox Semitic letter|letname=Pe|previouslink=Ayin|previousletter=Ayin|nextlink=Tsade|nextletter=Tsade|archar=ف|sychar=ܦ|hechar=פ|amchar=𐡐|gechar=ፈ|phchar=𐤐|grchar=[[Pi (letter)|Π]]|lachar=[[P]]|cychar=[[П]]|ipa=[[p (IPA)|p]], [[f (IPA)|f]] (originally [[ɸ]]), [[w (IPA)|w]]|num=17|gem=80}}
'''Pe''' is the seventeenth [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]] of the [[Semitic abjads]], including [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic]] ''fāʾ'' {{Script|Arabic|ف}}, [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]] ''pē'' 𐡐, [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] ''pē'' {{Script|Hebr|פ}}, [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]] ''pē'' 𐤐, and [[Syriac alphabet|Syriac]] ''pē'' ܦ. (in [[abjadi order]]). It is related to the [[Ancient North Arabian]] 𐪐‎, [[Ancient South Arabian script|South Arabian]] {{lang|sem-x-oldsoara|𐩰}}, and [[Geʽez script|Ge'ez]] {{lang|gez|ፈ}}.
{{Contains special characters|Ugaritic}}
The original sound value is a [[voiceless bilabial plosive]] {{IPA|/p/}} and it retains this value in most Semitic languages, except for Arabic, where the sound {{IPA|/p/}} changed into the [[voiceless labiodental fricative]] {{IPA|/f/}}, carrying with it the pronunciation of the letter. However, the sound {{IPA|/p/}} in Arabic is used in loanwords with the letter ''[[pe (Persian letter)|pe]]'' as an alternative. Under the Persian influence, many Arabic dialects in the [[Persian Gulf]], as well as in [[Egyptian Arabic|Egypt]] and in some of the [[Maghreb]] under the Ottoman influence uses the letter ''pe'' to represent the sound {{IPA|/p/}} which is missing in [[Modern Standard Arabic]]. Not to be confused with the [[Turned g]]. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] [[Pi (letter)|Pi]] (Π), [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] [[P]]<!--but NOT F; the Latin F comes from Waw.-->, [[Glagolitic script|Glagolitic]] [[Ⱂ]],<ref>{{Citation| last=Schenker| first=Alexander M. |author-link=Alexander M. Schenker |title=The Dawn of Slavic: An Introduction to Slavic Philology |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |location=New Haven| pages=179|year=1995 |isbn=0-300-05846-2}}</ref> and [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] [[Pe (Cyrillic)|П]].

==Origins==
Pe is usually assumed to come from a pictogram of a "mouth" (in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''pe''; in Arabic, فا ''fah'').
<hiero>D21</hiero>

== Arabic fāʾ==
{{Infobox grapheme
| name = Fāʾ فاء
| letter = ف
| script = [[Arabic script]]
| type = [[Abjad]]
| language = [[Arabic language]]
| phonemes = {{IPA link|f}}
| alphanumber = 20
| number = 
| fam2 = 𐡐
| fam3 = 𐢘
| fam4 = ڡ
| direction = Right-to-left
| fam1 = 𐤐
}}The letter {{lang|ar|ف}} is named {{lang|ar|فاء}} ''{{Transliteration|ar|DIN|fāʾ}}'' {{IPA|/faːʔ/}}. It is written in several ways depending on its position in the word:
{{Arabic alphabet shapes|ف}}

In the process of developing from [[Proto-Semitic language|Proto-Semitic]], Proto-Semitic {{IPA|/p/}} [[sound change|became]] Arabic {{IPA|/f/}}, and this is reflected in the use of the letter representing {{IPA|/p/}} in other Semitic languages for {{IPA|/f/}} in Arabic.

Examples on usage in [[Modern Standard Arabic]]:
* ''{{Transliteration|ar|DIN|Fāʾ-[[harakat|fatḥah]]}}'' ({{lang|ar|فَـ}} {{IPA|/fa/}}) is a multi-function prefix most commonly equivalent to "so" or "so that." For example: {{lang|ar|نَكْتُب}} ''{{Transliteration|ar|DIN|naktub}}'' ("we write") → {{lang|ar|فَنَكْتُب}} ''{{Transliteration|ar|DIN|fanaktub}}'' ("so we write").

=== Maghrebi variant ===
In [[Maghrebi script]]s, the [[Arabic diacritics|i'ajami]] dot in ''{{Transliteration|ar|fāʼ}}'' has traditionally been written underneath (<big>{{lang|ar|ڢ}}</big>). Once the prevalent style, it is now mostly used in countries of the [[Maghreb]] in ceremonial situations or for writing Qur'an, with the exception of Libya and Algeria, which adopted the [[Mashriq]]i form (dot above). When the letter is isolated or word-final, it may sometimes become unpointed.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ The Maghrebi ''{{Transliteration|ar|DIN|fāʼ}}''
|Position in word:
!Isolated
!Final
!Medial
!Initial
|-
|Form of letter:
|style="font-size:300%;line-height:170%"|{{Script/Arabic|ڢ / ࢻ}}
|style="font-size:300%;line-height:170%"|{{Script/Arabic|ـڢ / ـࢻ}}
|style="font-size:300%;line-height:170%"|{{Script/Arabic|ـڢـ}}
|style="font-size:300%;line-height:170%"|{{Script/Arabic|ڢـ}}
|}

The Maghrebi alphabet, to write ''{{Transliteration|ar|[[qāf]]}}'' ({{lang|ar|ق}}), a letter that resembles ''{{Transliteration|ar|fā’}}'' ({{lang|ar|ف}}) in the initial and medial forms is used, but it is really a ''{{Transliteration|ar|qāf}}'' with a single dot ({{lang|ar|ڧ‎}}).

===Central Asian variant===
In the Arabic orthographies of [[Uyghur Arabic alphabet|Uyghur]], [[Kazakh alphabets#Arabic script|Kazakh]] and [[Kyrgyz alphabets#Arabic|Kyrgyz]], the letter ''{{Transliteration|ar|fā’}}'' has a [[descender]] in the final and isolated positions, much like the Maghrebi version of ''{{Transliteration|ar|qāf}}''.<ref name="L20289">{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20289-kazakh-kyrgyz-uyghur-annot.pdf|title=Request for glyph changes and annotations for Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Uyghur|access-date=2021-10-03|archive-date=2021-10-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015005258/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20289-kazakh-kyrgyz-uyghur-annot.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="L20293">{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20293-0641-issue.pdf|title=U+0641 information for Uyghur, Kazakh and Kyrgyz|access-date=2021-10-03|archive-date=2021-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003040138/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20293-0641-issue.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Arabic alphabet shapes|ڧ}}
Theoretically this shape could be approximated by using {{unichar|06A7|ARABIC LETTER QAF WITH DOT ABOVE|use=lang|use2=ug}}, but in practice {{unichar|0641|ARABIC LETTER FEH|use=lang|use2=ug}} is used in databases of these languages, and most commercial fonts for these languages give the codepoint of the usual Arabic ''{{Transliteration|ar|fā’}}'' a shape like {{lang|ar|ڧ‎}}.
[[File:KB Uyghur Arabic.png|class=skin-invert-image|thumb|right|500px|MS Windows Uyghur keyboard layout. On the key combination {{key press|Shift|F}}, {{unichar|06A7|use=lang|use2=ug}} on the "Legacy" keyboard layout is shown in pink, and {{unichar|0641|use=lang|use2=ug}} on the latest keyboard is shown in blue.]]
When the Uyghur [[keyboard layout]] for [[Microsoft Windows]] was first added in [[Windows Vista]] and [[Windows Server 2008]], the key combination {{key press|Shift|F}} resulted in {{unichar|06A7|use=lang|use2=ug}}.<ref name="kbdughr">{{cite web|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/globalization/keyboards/kbdughr|title=Uyghur (Legacy) Keyboard|access-date=2021-10-03|archive-date=2021-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003040151/https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/globalization/keyboards/kbdughr|url-status=live}}</ref> The Uyghur keyboard layout in [[Windows 7]] and [[Windows Server 2008 R2]] changed that key combination to give {{unichar|0641|use=lang|use2=ug}}.<ref name="kbdughr1">{{cite web|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/globalization/keyboards/kbdughr1|title=Uyghur Keyboard|access-date=2021-10-03|archive-date=2021-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003040150/https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/globalization/keyboards/kbdughr1|url-status=live}}</ref> On the newer systems, the old keyboard layout is still available under the name '''Uyghur (Legacy)'''.

== Diacriticized Arabic versions ==
Normally, the letter {{lang|ar|ف}} ''{{Transliteration|ar|fāʼ}}'' renders {{IPA|/f/}} sound, but may also be used some names and [[loanword]]s where it can render {{IPA|/v/}}, might be arabized as {{IPA|/f/}} in accordance to its spelling, e.g., {{lang|ar|يُونِيلِفِر}} ([[Unilever]]). It may be used interchangeably with the modified letter {{lang|ar|[[ڤ]]}} - ''{{Transliteration|ar|ve}}'' (with 3 dots above) in this case. The letter fāʾ with three dots above is no longer used in Persian, as the {{IPAblink|β}}-sound changed to {{IPAblink|b}}, e.g. archaic {{lang|fa|زڤان}} {{IPA|/zaβɑn/}} > {{lang|fa|زبان}} {{IPA|/zæbɒn/}} 'language'<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/persian-language-1-early-new-persian |title=PERSIAN LANGUAGE i. Early New Persian |work=Iranica Online |access-date=18 March 2019 }}</ref>

The character is mapped in [[Unicode]] under position U+06A4.{{Arabic alphabet shapes|ڤ}}

=== Maghrebi variant ===
The [[Maghrebi script|Maghrebi style]], used in Northwestern Africa, the dots moved underneath (Unicode U+06A5), because it is based on the other style of {{Transliteration|ar|ALA|fāʼ}} (<big>{{script/Arabic|ڢ}}</big>):{{Arabic alphabet shapes|ڥ}}

=== Other similar letters ===

{| class="wikitable" style="line-height:1.6;text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col" | Code point
! scope="col" | Isolated
! scope="col" | Final
! scope="col" | Medial
! scope="col" | Initial
! scope="col" | [[Unicode]] character name (or descriptive synonyms used in the JoiningType and JoiningGroup datatables)
|-
| [[ف|U+0641]] {{Arabic alphabet shapes|noheaders=1|ف}} |style="text-align:left"| '''ARABIC LETTER FEH'''
|-
| [[ڡ|U+06A1]] {{Arabic alphabet shapes|noheaders=1|ڡ}} |style="text-align:left"| ARABIC LETTER DOTLESS FEH
|-
| [[ڢ|U+06A2]] {{Arabic alphabet shapes|noheaders=1|ڢ}} |style="text-align:left"| ARABIC LETTER FEH WITH DOT MOVED BELOW 
|-
| [[ڣ|U+06A3]] {{Arabic alphabet shapes|noheaders=1|ڣ}} |style="text-align:left"| ARABIC LETTER FEH WITH DOT BELOW
|-
| [[ڤ|U+06A4]] {{Arabic alphabet shapes|noheaders=1|ڤ}} |style="text-align:left"| ARABIC LETTER FEH WITH 3 DOTS ABOVE = VEH
|-
| [[ڥ|U+06A5]] {{Arabic alphabet shapes|noheaders=1|ڥ}} |style="text-align:left"| ARABIC LETTER FEH WITH 3 DOTS BELOW = MAGHRIBI VEH
|-
| [[ڦ|U+06A6]] {{Arabic alphabet shapes|noheaders=1|ڦ}} |style="text-align:left"| ARABIC LETTER FEH WITH 4 DOTS ABOVE = PEHEH
|-
| [[ݠ|U+0760]] {{Arabic alphabet shapes|noheaders=1|ݠ}} |style="text-align:left"| ARABIC LETTER FEH WITH 2 DOTS BELOW
|-
| [[ݡ|U+0761]] {{Arabic alphabet shapes|noheaders=1|ݡ}} |style="text-align:left"| ARABIC LETTER FEH WITH 3 DOTS POINTING UPWARDS BELOW
|-
| [[ࢤ|U+08A4]] {{Arabic alphabet shapes|noheaders=1|ࢤ}} |style="text-align:left"| ARABIC LETTER FEH WITH DOT BELOW AND THREE DOTS ABOVE

|-
| [[ࢻ|U+08BB]] {{Arabic alphabet shapes|noheaders=1|ࢻ}} |style="text-align:left"| ARABIC LETTER AFRICAN FEH

|}

==Hebrew pe==
The Hebrew spelling is <big>{{lang|he|פֵּא}}</big>. It is also romanized '''pei''' or '''pey''', especially when used in [[Yiddish alphabet|Yiddish]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Daniels|first=Peter T.|title=The World's Writing Systems|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ospMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA736|year=1996|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-507993-7|page=736}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Kahn|first=Lily|title=Colloquial Yiddish: The Complete Course for Beginners|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pn61aXjJLpUC&pg=PA3|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-96779-5|page=3}}</ref>

{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center;"
|+[[Orthography|Orthographic]] variants
!rowspan=2|position in word
!colspan=3|Various print fonts
!rowspan=2|[[Cursive Hebrew|Cursive<br/>Hebrew]]
!rowspan=2|[[Rashi script|Rashi<br/>script]]
|-
!Serif!! [[Sans-serif]] !! [[Monospaced]]
|-
|non final
|<span style="font:30pt 'Times New Roman', 'SBL Hebrew', David, Narkisim, 'New Peninim MT', 'Taamey Frank CLM', serif;">פ</span>
|<span style="font:28pt Arial, 'DejaVu Sans Condensed', 'DejaVu Sans', Tahoma, 'Noto Sans Hebrew', Alef, sans-serif">פ</span>
|<span style="font:30pt 'Courier New', 'Miriam Fixed', 'Miriam Mono CLM', FreeMono, monospace;">פ</span>
|[[File:Hebrew letter Pe handwriting.svg|class=skin-invert-image|28px]]
|[[File:Pe-nonfinal (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg|class=skin-invert-image|40px]]
|-
|final
|<span style="font:30pt 'Times New Roman', 'SBL Hebrew', David, Narkisim, 'New Peninim MT', 'Taamey Frank CLM', serif;">ף</span>
|<span style="font:28pt Arial, 'DejaVu Sans Condensed', 'DejaVu Sans', Tahoma, 'Noto Sans Hebrew', Alef, sans-serif">ף</span>
|<span style="font:30pt 'Courier New', 'Miriam Fixed', 'Miriam Mono CLM', FreeMono, monospace;">ף</span>
|[[File:Hebrew letter Pe-final handwriting.svg|class=skin-invert-image|24px]]
|[[File:Pe-final (Rashi-script - Hebrew letter).svg|class=skin-invert-image|40px]]
|}

=== Variations on written form/pronunciation ===
{{Main|Modern Hebrew phonology|Hebrew alphabet#Ancient Hebrew}}
The letter Pe is one of the six letters which can receive a [[Dagesh|Dagesh Kal]]. The six are [[Bet (letter)|Bet]], [[Gimel]], [[Daleth]], [[Kaph]], Pe, and [[Taw (letter)|Tav]].

====Variant forms of Pe/Fe====
[[File:Double Pe.png|class=skin-invert-image|thumb|right|upright=0.65|Pe Kefulah / Double Pe (Pe within a Pe)]]
A notable variation on the letter Pe is the Pe Kefulah (Doubled Pe), also known as the Pei Lefufah (Wrapped Pe). The Pe Kefulah is written as a small Pe scribed within a larger Pe. This atypical letter appears in Torah scrolls (most often Yemenite Torahs<ref>{{Cite book |title=Introduction to the Tiberian Masorah |last=Yeivin |first=Israel |publisher=SBL Press |year=1985 |location=Atlanta |pages=47–48}}</ref> but is also present in Sephardic and Ashkenazi Torahs), manuscripts, and some modern printed Hebrew Bibles. When the Pe is written in the form of a Doubled Pe, this adds a layer of deeper meaning to the Biblical text.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thompson |first1=Deborah B. |title=Teaching Otiot Meshunot from Scribal Biblical Hebrew Texts |journal=Hebrew Higher Education |date=2019 |volume=21 |pages=50–64 |url=https://www.dropbox.com/s/uh4c73q8vsp86ck/HHE%2021%20-%20Thompson%20-%20Article.pdf?dl=0 |access-date=2 September 2019 |archive-date=31 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531100347/https://www.dropbox.com/s/uh4c73q8vsp86ck/HHE%2021%20-%20Thompson%20-%20Article.pdf?dl=0 |url-status=live }}</ref> This letter variation can appear on the final and non-final forms of the Pe.

There are two orthographic variants of this letter which indicate a different pronunciation:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!! colspan=1 | Name
!! colspan=1 | Symbol
!! colspan=1 | [[help:IPA|IPA]]
!! colspan=1 | [[Transliteration]]
!! colspan=1 | as in the English word
|-
| Pe
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">פּ</span>}}  
| align="center" | {{IPA|/p/}}
| align="center" | p
| align="center" | pan
|-
| Fe
| align=center | {{Script/Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">פ</span>}}  
| align="center" | {{IPA|/f/}}
| align="center" | f
| align="center" | fan
|-
|}

====Pe with the dagesh====
When the Pe has a "dot" in its center, known as a [[dagesh]], it represents a [[voiceless bilabial plosive]], {{IPA|/p/}}. There are various rules in [[Hebrew grammar]] that stipulate when and why a dagesh is used.

====Fe====
When Pe appears ''without'' the dagesh dot in its center ('''{{lang|he|פ}}'''), then it usually represents a [[voiceless labiodental fricative]] {{IPA|/f/}}.

====Final form of Pe/Fe====
At the end of words, the letter's written form changes to a ''Pe/Fe Sophit'' (Final Pe/Fe): {{lang|he|ף}}.

When a word in modern Hebrew borrowed from another language ends with {{IPA|/p/}}, the non-final form is used (e.g. {{lang|he|ּפִילִיפ}} {{IPA|/ˈfilip/}} "Philip"), while borrowings ending in {{IPA|/f/}} still use the Pe Sofit (e.g. {{lang|he|כֵּיף}} {{IPA|/kef/}} "fun", from Arabic). This is because native Hebrew words, which always use the final form at the end, cannot end in {{IPA|/p/}}.

=== Significance ===
In [[gematria]], Pe represents the number 80. Its final form represents 800 but this is rarely used, [[Tav (letter)|Tav]] written twice (400+400) being used instead.

==Syriac pe==
{{Arabic alphabet shapes|ܦ‎}}

==Character encodings==

{{charmap
|05E4|name1=Hebrew Letter Pe
|05E3|name2=Hebrew Letter Final Pe
|0641|name3=Arabic Letter Feh
|0726|name4=Syriac Letter Pe
|0810|name5=Samaritan Letter Pi
}}

{{charmap
|10394|name1=Ugaritic Letter Pu
|10850|name2=Imperial Aramaic Letter Pe
|10910|name3=Phoenician Letter Pe
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Pe (letter)}}
{{Arabic language}}
{{Hebrew language}}
{{Northwest Semitic abjad}}

[[als:פ]]

[[Category:Phoenician alphabet]]
[[Category:Arabic letters|Faʼ]]
[[Category:Hebrew letters]]
[[Category:Urdu letters|Fe]]
[[Category:Letters with final form]]

[[ar:ف]]
[[arc:ܦܐ]]
[[de:Pe]]
[[fr:Pe (lettre)]]
[[he:פ]]
[[kk:ف]]
[[nl:Pee]]
[[ru:Пе (буква еврейского алфавита)]]
[[fi:Pe (kirjain)]]