IJ

ij is a digraph used in Dutch and Afrikaans, formed by the letters i and j. In modern spelling it is typically treated as a two-letter sequence rather than a single letter, though historically some sources described it as a ligature or a separate letter. The digraph commonly represents a front, closing diphthong that is largely equivalent to the sound written as ei in Dutch.

In standard Dutch pronunciation, ij is commonly associated with the diphthong pronounced roughly as a long “ay” sound, similar to the English word “eye.” It appears in many everyday words, for example hij (he), zij (she or they), bij (by/at), vrij (free), and rij (row or ride). The same or very similar sound is often written with ei, so ij and ei can reflect the same phoneme in different spellings.

Orthography and typography note that the digraph can be written as two ordinary letters, i and j. In typography, there are historic ligature forms: the capital ligature IJ and the small ligature ij, encoded in Unicode as U+0132 and U+0133, respectively. In practice, many fonts render ij as two separate characters, but ligatures are supported in some typefaces and contexts.

Other languages and usage: Afrikaans uses the same ij digraph and pronunciation in many words. The digraph also appears in some loanwords and proper names in other languages, but its prominence is strongest in Dutch and Afrikaans orthography.

See also: ei, Dutch alphabet, Latin ligature IJ.