# Nu

**Nu** ([Linear B](https://www.edgepedia.org/linear-b) syllable B055, written 𐀝) is a syllabic sign of the Linear B script with the phonetic value /nu/, one of the five signs in the script's n-series of consonant-plus-vowel syllables.<sup>[1](https://www.unicodecharacter.org/block/linear-b-syllabary)</sup> Linear B is a syllabic writing system used on Crete and parts of the nearby mainland to write the oldest recorded variety of the [Greek language](https://www.edgepedia.org/greek-language), [Mycenaean Greek](https://www.edgepedia.org/mycenaean-greek), from about 1450 bce until the end of the Mycenaean period around 1200 bce.<sup>[2](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/core-spec/chapter-8/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198908746.003.0005)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sign and value | Linear B Syllable B055, Unicode U+1001D 𐀝, value /nu/<sup>[1](https://www.unicodecharacter.org/block/linear-b-syllabary)</sup> |
| Series | One of five n-series signs: na (B006), ne (B024), ni (B030), no (B052), nu (B055)<sup>[1](https://www.unicodecharacter.org/block/linear-b-syllabary)</sup> |
| Script type | Syllabic; phonetic signs represent a consonant plus a vowel, or a vowel alone<sup>[2](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/core-spec/chapter-8/)</sup> |
| Language and period | Used for Mycenaean Greek, c. 1450–1200 bce<sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198908746.003.0005)</sup> |
| Sign inventory | 87 known syllabic signs, plus free variants, unidentified signs, numerals, and ideograms<sup>[2](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/core-spec/chapter-8/)</sup> |
| Linear A counterpart | A same-shaped sign in Linear A carries the proposed value nu, attested on 2 of 695 documents with a word list<sup>[4](https://www.lineara.eu/words/nu/)</sup> |

## Place in the syllabary

Linear B signs mostly represent open syllables of the type consonant plus vowel, and nu belongs to the row of signs sharing the consonant n with the five vowels a, e, i, o, and u.<sup>[2](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/core-spec/chapter-8/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://www.unicodecharacter.org/block/linear-b-syllabary)</sup> The script's phonetic inventory was not designed for Greek, which has consonant clusters and final consonants that a CV syllabary cannot write directly; scribes coped by omitting consonants, inserting vowels, or using approximating sequences.<sup>[5](https://didyeah.com/facts/mycenaean-scribes-used-syllables-not-alphabet-letters)</sup> Alongside the basic CV signs the syllabary includes a small number of extra signs for consonant plus semivowel plus vowel, such as nwa (B048), and the same sequence could alternatively be spelled out with separate signs, for example nu-wa.<sup>[1](https://www.unicodecharacter.org/block/linear-b-syllabary)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://mufi.info/mufi/pdfs/ALPHABETUM_v15_manual.pdf)</sup>

The syllabary as a whole is well established: of its 87 syllabic signs, 14 still have no sound values assigned, so nu belongs to the majority whose values are secure.<sup>[7](https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/31dc97fe-c2f4-4a51-b4e0-329526ceddb0)</sup> Its value was fixed during [Michael Ventris](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-ventris)'s decipherment of Linear B, announced with John Chadwick in a joint 1953 publication, which established that the script wrote Greek.<sup>[2](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/core-spec/chapter-8/)</sup>

## Use in texts

As a phonetic sign, nu served to spell names and vocabulary words on tablets that are overwhelmingly inventories of commodities and accounting records; the majority of known inscriptions are of this administrative and economic kind.<sup>[2](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/core-spec/chapter-8/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198908746.003.0005)</sup> The latest surviving tablets, which contain such spellings, date from the mid- to late thirteenth century BCE and predate Homeric Greek by some 700 years.<sup>[2](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/core-spec/chapter-8/)</sup>

## The Linear A counterpart

Linear B's graphic repertoire is largely derived from the earlier Cretan script [Linear A](https://www.edgepedia.org/linear-a), and many sign shapes are shared between the two systems.<sup>[8](https://academic.oup.com/book/58672/chapter/485388397)</sup> Because Linear A remains undeciphered, values assigned to its signs are proposals based on the Linear B sound for the same shape rather than established readings. The sign corresponding to nu is attested on only 2 of 695 Linear A documents with a word list, so its frequency in that script is low.<sup>[4](https://www.lineara.eu/words/nu/)</sup>

## Encoding

Nu is encoded in the Unicode Standard in the Linear B Syllabary block (U+10000–U+1007F) as U+1001D LINEAR B SYLLABLE B055 NU, using catalog numbers based on the Wingspread Convention documented by Bennett in 1964.<sup>[1](https://www.unicodecharacter.org/block/linear-b-syllabary)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/core-spec/chapter-8/)</sup>

## References

1. [Linear B Syllabary Unicode Block, unicodecharacter.org](https://www.unicodecharacter.org/block/linear-b-syllabary)
2. [The Unicode Standard, Version 16.0.0, Chapter 8: Linear B](https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode16.0.0/core-spec/chapter-8/)
3. [Willemijn Waal, "Closing the Gap: Writing in the Aegean from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age," in S. Ferrara (ed.), Writing from Invention to Decipherment, Oxford University Press, 2024](https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198908746.003.0005)
4. [nu, lineara.eu](https://www.lineara.eu/words/nu/)
5. [Why Mycenaean scribes used syllables, not alphabet letters, DidYeah](https://didyeah.com/facts/mycenaean-scribes-used-syllables-not-alphabet-letters)
6. [ALPHABETUM Unicode font manual, version 15.00, MUFI](https://mufi.info/mufi/pdfs/ALPHABETUM_v15_manual.pdf)
7. [The Undeciphered Signs of Linear B, University of Cambridge repository](https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/items/31dc97fe-c2f4-4a51-b4e0-329526ceddb0)
8. [Barbara Montecchi, "Design and Origins of Linear A Picture-Based Signs," in Writing from Invention to Decipherment, Oxford University Press, 2024](https://academic.oup.com/book/58672/chapter/485388397)

---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Languages and linguistics › Writing and notation systems › Mediterranean, Italic, and undeciphered ancient scripts*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license