Baybayin Virama (Krus-Kudlit): How to End a Word on a Consonant
Updated: Oct 5
Every Baybayin consonant carries a built-in "a" sound. So how do you write a word like anak (child) or bayan (nation), which ends on a consonant? The answer is the virama.
What the virama does
The virama is a mark written below a consonant that cancels its vowel. ᜃ ka becomes ᜃ᜔ k. In Unicode it is called the Tagalog virama, and many writers call it the krus-kudlit because it is often drawn as a small cross.
A little history
In early Baybayin writing, final consonants were usually not written at all. Readers knew from context that a word written as "a-na" meant anak. In 1620, the Spanish friar Francisco López introduced a cross-shaped kudlit in a catechism so that final consonants could be shown. Many Tagalog writers at the time did not adopt it, but modern Baybayin writers use it widely because it makes words unambiguous.
How to use it
Write the consonant: ᜈ na.
Add the virama below it: ᜈ᜔ n.
Example: bayan = ᜊ ba + ᜌ ya + ᜈ᜔ n = ᜊᜌᜈ᜔
Example: anak = ᜀ a + ᜈ na + ᜃ᜔ k = ᜀᜈᜃ᜔
Kudlit vs virama
Kudlit above: e or i sound.
Kudlit below: o or u sound.
Virama (cross or slash below): no vowel at all.
Some styles draw the virama as a cross, others as a slash or a small line. Pick one style and stay consistent. Our kudlit and virama lesson has more examples.
Practice it
Try writing your name, which almost always ends on a consonant or needs one in the middle, with the Baybayin Translator, then trace each syllable on the Practice Writing page. To learn it with a teacher, join a Baybayin workshop.
See the virama in real designs on the Learn Baybayin Baybayin collection.
Learn it live, then wear it
The fastest way to really learn Baybayin is with a teacher and a group. In the Baybayin Workshop you will learn all 17 characters, the kudlit and the virama, and leave able to write your own name and the names of your family.
Baybayin Character Hoodie: all the characters on one hoodie
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