U05D9

U+05D9 is the Unicode code point for the Hebrew letter Yod, written as י in its standard glyph. It is the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numeric value of 10 in Hebrew gematria. In modern Hebrew, Yod represents the consonant sound /j/ as in yes, and it can also function as a mater lectionis to indicate vowels when combined with niqqud.

In Unicode and digital typography, U+05D9 is part of the Hebrew block, which ranges from U+0590 to U+05FF. The code point is encoded in a right-to-left writing system and has the general category of Letter (Lo). There is no distinct final form for Yod; unlike some Hebrew letters, its shape remains the same in all positions within a word.

Historically, the letter Yod derives from the Phoenician letter yodh and is part of the broader family of Semitic scripts. Through its descendants in Greek and other alphabets, it is linked to the development of several later alphabets used in the Mediterranean and Europe. In addition to its phonetic use, Yod appears in various religious and linguistic texts as part of the Hebrew writing system.

As a core component of the Hebrew script, U+05D9 is routinely used in encoding any text written in Hebrew, Yiddish written with Hebrew characters, and other languages that utilize the Hebrew script. It plays a fundamental role in spelling, numeration, and the orthographic conventions of these languages.