# W

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Twenty-third letter of the Latin alphabet

Not to be confused with [We (Cyrillic)](/source/We_(Cyrillic)).

This article is about the letter of the Latin alphabet. For other uses, see [W (disambiguation)](/source/W_(disambiguation)).

"Double U" redirects here. For the DJ, see [Double U (DJ)](/source/Double_U_(DJ)).

W W w Usage Writing system Latin script Type Alphabetic and logographic Sound values [w] [v] [β] [u] [uː] [ʊ] [ɔ] [ʋ] [ʕʷ] [ʙ] [◌ʷ] [ɣ] [f] In Unicode U+0057, U+0077 Alphabetical position 23 History Development Υ υ 𐌖 V W w Time period c. 600 CE to present Descendants • ʍ • ɯ ɰ • ₩ Sisters F Y U Ѵ У Ў Ұ Ү ו و ܘ וּ וֹ ࠅ 𐎆 𐡅 ወ વ ૂ ુ उ Other Associated graphs w(x) Writing direction Left-to-right This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

ISO basic Latin alphabet AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz v t e

**W** ([minuscule](/source/Letter_case): **w**) is the twenty-third [letter](/source/Letter_(alphabet)) of the [Latin alphabet](/source/Latin_alphabet), used in the [modern English alphabet](/source/English_alphabet), the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is [*double-u*](/source/English_alphabet#Letter_names),[in 1] plural *double-ues*.[1][2]

## Name

The name “double-u” reflects stages in the letter’s evolution when it was considered two of the same letter, a double U.

Some speakers shorten the name “double u” into “dub-u” (in [Southern American accents](/source/Southern_American_English), this may render as "[dubya](/source/Dubya)"[3]) or just “dub”; for example, [University of Wisconsin](/source/University_of_Wisconsin), [University of Washington](/source/University_of_Washington), [University of Wyoming](/source/University_of_Wyoming), [University of Waterloo](/source/University_of_Waterloo), [University of the Western Cape](/source/University_of_the_Western_Cape) and [University of Western Australia](/source/University_of_Western_Australia) are all known colloquially as “U Dub”, and the automobile company [Volkswagen](/source/Volkswagen), abbreviated “VW”, is sometimes pronounced “V-Dub”.[4]

In other [West Germanic languages](/source/West_Germanic_languages), its name is monosyllabic: German *We* /veː/ (vs. *Vau* /fa͜ʊ/ for *v*), Dutch *wee* /ʋeː/ (vs. *vee* /veː/ for *v*). In [Polish](/source/Polish_language) it is called *wu* /vu/ (vs. *fał* /faw/ or *we* /vɛ/ for *v*). In many languages, its name literally means “double v”: Portuguese *duplo vê*,[in 2] Spanish *doble ve* (though it can be spelled *uve doble*),[5][in 3] French *double vé*, [Icelandic](/source/Icelandic_language) *tvöfalt vaff*, [Czech](/source/Czech_language) *dvojité vé*, [Estonian](/source/Estonian_language) *kaksisvee*, [Finnish](/source/Finnish_language) *kaksois-vee*, etc.

## History

Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Waw Western Greek Upsilon Latin V Latin W

This 'w' was popular in italic calligraphy from the eighteenth century.[6][7][8]

The [classical Latin alphabet](/source/Latin_alphabet#Classical_Latin_alphabet), from which the modern European alphabets derived, did not have the "W" character. The "W" sounds were represented by the Latin letter "[V](/source/V)" (at the time, not yet distinct from "[U](/source/U)").

The sounds /[w](/source/Voiced_labial%E2%80%93velar_approximant)/ (spelled ⟨V⟩) and /[b](/source/Voiced_bilabial_plosive)/ (spelled ⟨B⟩) of [Classical Latin](/source/Classical_Latin) developed into the [voiced bilabial fricative](/source/Voiced_bilabial_fricative) /β/ between [vowels](/source/Vowel) in [Early Medieval Latin](/source/Vulgar_Latin). Therefore, ⟨V⟩ no longer adequately represented the [voiced labial-velar approximant](/source/Voiced_labial-velar_approximant) [sound](/source/Sound) /w/ of [Germanic phonology](/source/Common_Germanic).

A letter W appearing in the coat of arms of [Vyborg](/source/Vyborg)

The [Germanic](/source/German_language) /w/ phoneme was therefore written as ⟨VV⟩ or ⟨uu⟩ by the earliest writers of [Old English](/source/Old_English) and [Old High German](/source/Old_High_German) in the 7th or 8th centuries; ⟨[u](/source/U)⟩ and ⟨[v](/source/V)⟩ became distinct only by the [Early Modern period](/source/Early_Modern_period).[9] [Gothic](/source/Gothic_alphabet) (not [Latin-based](/source/Latin_alphabet)), by contrast, had simply used a letter based on the Greek [Υ](/source/Upsilon) for the same sound in the 4th century. The digraph ⟨VV⟩/⟨uu⟩ was also used in [Medieval Latin](/source/Medieval_Latin) to represent Germanic names, including Gothic ones like [Wamba](/source/Wamba%2C_Visigothic_king).

It is from this ⟨uu⟩ [digraph](/source/Digraph_(orthography)) that the modern name "double U" derives. The digraph was commonly used in the spelling of Old High German but only in the earliest texts in Old English, where the /w/ sound soon came to be represented by borrowing the [rune](/source/Rune) ⟨ᚹ⟩, adapted as the Latin letter [wynn](/source/Wynn): ⟨ƿ⟩. In early [Middle English](/source/Middle_English), following the 11th-century [Norman Conquest](/source/Norman_Conquest_of_England), ⟨uu⟩ regained popularity; by 1300, it had taken wynn's place in common use.

Scribal realisation of the digraph could look like a pair of Vs whose branches crossed in the middle: both forms (separate and crossed) appear, for instance, in the "running text" (in Latin) of the [Bayeux tapestry](/source/Bayeux_tapestry) in proper names such as EDVVARDVS and VVILLELMVS (or the same with crossed Vs). Another realisation (common in [italic](/source/Italic_type), [roundhand](/source/Roundhand), [kurrent](/source/Kurrent), [blackletter](/source/Blackletter), and other scripts) takes a form like an ⟨n⟩ whose rightmost branch curved around, as in a ⟨v⟩ (viz. w . {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {w}}.} )[6][7][in 4]

Thus, the shift from the digraph ⟨VV⟩ to the distinct ligature ⟨W⟩ was gradual and was only apparent in [abecedaria](/source/Abecedarium), explicit listings of all individual letters. It was probably considered a separate letter by the 14th century in both [Middle English](/source/Middle_English) and [Middle German](/source/Middle_Low_German) orthography. However, it remained an outsider, not really considered part of the Latin alphabet proper, as expressed by [Valentin Ickelshamer](/source/Valentin_Ickelshamer) in the 16th century, who complained that:

Poor *w* is so infamous and unknown that many barely know either its name or its shape, not those who aspire to being Latinists, as they have no need of it, nor do the Germans, not even the schoolmasters, know what to do with it or how to call it; some call it *we*, [... others] call it *uu*, [...] the [Swabians](/source/Swabians) call it *auwawau*[10]

In [Middle High German](/source/Middle_High_German) (and possibly already in late Old High German), the West Germanic phoneme /w/ became realized as [[v](/source/Voiced_labiodental_fricative)]; this is why, today, the German ⟨w⟩ represents that sound.

## Use in writing systems

Pronunciation of ⟨w⟩ by language Orthography Phonemes Standard Chinese (Pinyin) /w/ Cornish /ʊ/ (archaic), /w/ Dutch /ʋ/ English /w/ German /v/ Irish /w/ Indonesian /w/ Japanese (Hepburn) /w/ Kashubian /v/ Kokborok /ɔ/ Kurdish /w/ Low German /ʋ/ Lower Sorbian /v/ North Frisian /v/ Old Prussian /w/ (archaic) Polish /v/ Saterlandic /v/ Turkmen /β/ Upper Sorbian /β/ Walloon /w/ Welsh /ʊ/, /w/ West Frisian /v/, /w/ Wymysorys /v/ Zhuang /ɯ/

### English

English uses ⟨w⟩ to represent /w/. There are also a number of words beginning with a written ⟨w⟩ that is [silent](/source/Silent_letter) in most dialects before a (pronounced) ⟨r⟩, remaining from usage in [Old English](/source/Old_English_language) in which the ⟨w⟩ was pronounced: *wreak*, *wrap*, *wreck*, *wrench*, *wroth*, *wrinkle*, etc. Certain dialects of [Scottish English](/source/Scottish_English) still distinguish this digraph. ⟨w⟩ represents a vowel sound, /oʊ/, in the word [pwn](/source/Pwn), and in the Welsh loanwords [*cwm*](/source/Cwm_(landform)) and *[crwth](/source/Crwth)*, it retains the Welsh pronunciation, /ʊ/. ⟨w⟩ is also used in digraphs: ⟨aw⟩ /ɔː/, ⟨ew⟩ /(j)uː/, ⟨ow⟩ /aʊ, oʊ/, wherein it is usually an orthographic [allograph](/source/Allograph) of ⟨u⟩ in final positions. It is the [fifteenth most frequently used letter](/source/Letter_frequency) in the English language, with a frequency of about 2.56% in words.

### Other languages

In Europe languages with ⟨w⟩ in native words are in a central-western European zone between Cornwall and Poland: English, [German](/source/German_language), [Low German](/source/Low_German_language), [Dutch](/source/Dutch_language), [Frisian](/source/Frisian_languages), [Welsh](/source/Welsh_language), [Cornish](/source/Cornish_language), [Breton](/source/Breton_language), [Walloon](/source/Walloon_language), [Polish](/source/Polish_language), [Kashubian](/source/Kashubian_language), [Sorbian](/source/Sorbian_languages), [Wymysorys](/source/Wymysorys_language), [Resian](/source/Resian_dialect) and [Scandinavian dialects](/source/North_Germanic_languages). German, Polish, Wymysorys and Kashubian use it for the [voiced labiodental fricative](/source/Voiced_labiodental_fricative) /v/ (with Polish, related Kashubian and Wymysorys using [Ł](/source/%C5%81) for /w/, except in conservative and some eastern Polish speech, where Ł still represents the [dark L](/source/Dark_L) sound.), and Dutch uses it for /ʋ/. Unlike its use in other languages, the letter is used in [Welsh](/source/Welsh_language) and [Cornish](/source/Cornish_language) to represent the vowel /u/ as well as the related approximant consonant /w/.

A 1693 book printing that uses the "double u" alongside the modern letter; this was acceptable if printers did not have the letter in stock or the font had been made without it.

The following languages historically used ⟨w⟩ for /v/ in native words, but later replaced it by ⟨v⟩: [Swedish](/source/Swedish_language), [Finnish](/source/Finnish_language), [Czech](/source/Czech_language), [Slovak](/source/Slovak_language), [Latvian](/source/Latvian_language), [Lithuanian](/source/Lithuanian_language), [Estonian](/source/Estonian_language), [Ukrainian Łatynka](/source/Ukrainian_Latin_alphabet) and [Belarusian Łacinka](/source/Belarusian_Latin_alphabet). It is also used in modern systems of [Romanization of Belarusian](/source/Romanization_of_Belarusian) for the letter ⟨[ў](/source/%D0%8E)⟩, for example in the BGN/PCGN[11] system, in contrast to the letter ⟨[ŭ](/source/%C5%AC)⟩, which is used in the [Instruction on transliteration of Belarusian geographical names with letters of Latin script](/source/Instruction_on_transliteration_of_Belarusian_geographical_names_with_letters_of_Latin_script).

Titlepage of the first edition of the *Kalevala*, 1835

In Swedish and Finnish, traces of this old usage may still be found in proper names. In [Hungarian](/source/Hungarian_language) remains in some aristocratic surnames, e.g. [Wesselényi](/source/Wessel%C3%A9nyi_(disambiguation)).

Modern [German dialects](/source/German_dialects) generally have only [v] or [ʋ] for West Germanic /w/, but [w] or [β̞] is still heard allophonically for ⟨w⟩, especially in the clusters ⟨schw⟩, ⟨zw⟩, and ⟨qu⟩. Some Bavarian dialects preserve a "light" initial [w], such as in *wuoz* (Standard German *weiß* [vaɪs] '[I] know'). The Classical Latin [β] is heard in the Southern German greeting *Servus* ('hello' or 'goodbye').

In [Dutch](/source/Dutch_language), ⟨w⟩ became a [labiodental approximant](/source/Labiodental_approximant) /ʋ/ (with the exception of words with -⟨eeuw⟩, which have /eːβ/, or other diphthongs containing -⟨uw⟩). In many Dutch-speaking areas, such as [Flanders](/source/Flanders) and [Suriname](/source/Suriname), the /β/ pronunciation (or in some areas a /ɥ/ pronunciation, e.g. Belgian-Dutch *water* /'ɥaːtər/ "water", *wit* /ɥɪt/ "white", *eeuw* /eːɥ/ "century", etc.) is used at all times.

In [Finnish](/source/Finnish_alphabet), ⟨w⟩ is sometimes seen as a variant of ⟨v⟩ and not a separate letter, but it is a part of the official alphabet. It is, however, recognized and maintained in the spelling of some old names, reflecting an earlier German spelling standard, and in some modern loan words. In all cases, it is pronounced /ʋ/. The title of the first edition of the *[Kalevala](/source/Kalevala)* was spelled *Kalewala*.

In [Danish](/source/Danish_alphabet), [Norwegian](/source/Norwegian_alphabet) and [Swedish](/source/Swedish_alphabet), ⟨w⟩ is named double-v and not double-u. In these languages, the letter only exists in old names, loanwords and foreign words. (Foreign words are distinguished from loanwords by having a significantly lower level of integration in the language.) It is usually pronounced /v/, but in some words of English origin, it may be pronounced /w/.[12][13] The letter was officially introduced in the Danish and Swedish alphabets as late as 1980 and 2006, respectively, despite having been in use for much longer. It had been recognized since the conception of modern Norwegian with the earliest official orthography rules of 1907.[14] ⟨W⟩ was earlier seen as a variant of ⟨v⟩, and ⟨w⟩ as a letter (double-v) is still commonly replaced by ⟨v⟩ in speech (e.g. *WC* being pronounced as *VC*, *www* as *VVV*, *WHO* as *VHO*, etc.). The two letters were sorted as equals before ⟨w⟩ was officially recognized, and that practice is still recommended when sorting names in Sweden.[15] In modern slang, some native speakers may pronounce ⟨w⟩ more closely to the origin of the loanword than the official /v/ pronunciation.

Multiple dialects of Swedish and Danish use the sound, however. In Denmark, notably in [Jutland](/source/Jutland), the northern half uses it extensively in [traditional dialect](/source/Jutlandic_dialect), and in multiple places in Sweden. It is used in southern Swedish; for example, the words "wesp" (wisp) and "wann" (water) are traditionally used in [Halland](/source/Halland).[16] In northern and western Sweden, there are also dialects with /w/. [Elfdalian](/source/Elfdalian) is a good example, which is one of many dialects where the [Old Norse difference](/source/Old_Norse_orthography) between v (/w/) and f (/v/ or /f/) is preserved. Thus, "warg" from Old Norse "vargr", but "åvå" from Old Norse "hafa".

In the alphabets of most modern Romance languages, ⟨w⟩ is used mostly in foreign names and words recently borrowed (Italian *il watt*, Spanish *el kiwi*). In Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, [w] is a non-syllabic variant of /u/, spelled ⟨u⟩. In French, ⟨w⟩ is also used mostly in foreign names and words recently borrowed such as *wagon* or *week*(*-*)*end*, but in the first case it is pronounced [v] (because of its German origin; except in Belgium, where it is pronounced [w]) and in the second [w]. In most northern French dialects, the former ⟨w⟩ turned finally to ⟨v⟩, but still exists as a remnant in the place-names of [Romance Flanders](/source/Romance_Flanders), [Picardie](/source/Picardie), [Artois](/source/Artois), [Champagne](/source/Champagne), [Romance Lorraine](/source/Lorraine) and sometimes elsewhere ([Normandy](/source/Normandy), [Île-de-France](/source/%C3%8Ele-de-France)), and in the surnames from the same regions. Walloon as it sounds conserves the ⟨w⟩ pronounced [w]. The digraph ⟨ou⟩ is used to render ⟨w⟩ in rare French words such as *ouest* "west" and to spell Arabic names transliterated *-wi* in English, but *-oui* in French (compare Arabic surname [Badawi](/source/Badawi) / Badaoui). In all these languages, as in Scandinavian languages mentioned above, the letter is named "double v" (French /dubləve/, Spanish /'dɔble 'uβe/) though in Belgium the name /we/ is also used.

In [Indonesian](/source/Indonesian_language), the letter "w" is called *wé*. The letter names in Indonesian are always the same with the sounds they produce, especially the consonants.

The [Japanese language](/source/Japanese_language) uses "W", pronounced *daburu*, as an ideogram meaning "double".[17] It is also used in internet slang to indicate laughter (like [LOL](/source/LOL#Commonly_used_equivalents_in_other_languages)), derived from the word *warau* (笑う, meaning "to laugh").

In [Italian](/source/Italian_language), while the letter ⟨w⟩ is not considered part of the standard [Italian alphabet](/source/Italian_alphabet), the character is often used in place of *[Viva](/source/Vive%2C_viva%2C_and_vivat)* ("hooray for..."), generally in the form in which the branches of the Vs cross in the middle, at least in [handwriting](/source/Handwriting) (in fact, it could be considered a [monogram](/source/Monogram)).[18] The same symbol written upside down indicates *abbasso* ("down with...").

In the [Kokborok language](/source/Kokborok), ⟨w⟩ represents the [open-mid back rounded vowel](/source/Open-mid_back_rounded_vowel) /ɔ/.

In Turkey, the use of the ⟨w⟩ was banned between 1928 and 2013[19][20] which was a problem for the [Kurdish population in Turkey](/source/Kurds_in_Turkey) as the ⟨w⟩ was a letter of the [Kurdish alphabet](/source/Kurdish_alphabets).[21] The use of the letter ⟨w⟩ in the word [Newroz](/source/Newroz_as_celebrated_by_Kurds), the Kurdish new year, was forbidden,[22] and names which included the letter were not able to be used.[19][23] In 2008, a court in [Gaziantep](/source/Gaziantep) reasoned the use of the letter ⟨w⟩ would incite civil unrest.[22]

In [Vietnamese](/source/Vietnamese_language), ⟨w⟩ is called **vê đúp** or *vê kép* (lit. 'double V'), from the French **double vé**. It is not included in the standard [Vietnamese alphabet](/source/Vietnamese_alphabet), but it is often used as a substitute for *qu-* in [literary dialect](/source/Literary_dialect) and very informal writing.[24][25] It's also commonly used for abbreviating *Ư* in formal documents, for example *Trung Ương* is abbreviated as TW[26] even in official documents and document ID number, derived from the [Vietnamese Telex input method](/source/Telex_(input_method)) that usually interpret a single "w" into Vietnamese character "ư".[27]

"W" is the 24th letter in the [Modern Filipino Alphabet](/source/Filipino_alphabet) and has its English name. However, in the old Filipino alphabet, [Abakada](/source/Abakada), it was the 19th letter and had the name "wah".[*[is that 'h' a glottal stop?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Cleanup)*][28]

In [Washo](/source/Washo_language), lower-case ⟨w⟩ represents a typical /w/ sound, while upper-case ⟨W⟩ represents a [voiceless](/source/Voicelessness) w sound, like the difference between English *weather* and *whether* for those who maintain the distinction.

### Other systems

In the [International Phonetic Alphabet](/source/International_Phonetic_Alphabet), ⟨w⟩ is used for the [voiced labial-velar approximant](/source/Voiced_labial-velar_approximant).

## Other uses

Main article: [W (disambiguation)](/source/W_(disambiguation))

- W is the symbol for the chemical element [tungsten](/source/Tungsten), after its German (and alternative English) name, *Wolfram*.[29]

- W is the [SI](/source/SI) symbol for the [watt](/source/Watt), the standard unit of power.

- *w* is also often used as a [variable](/source/Variable_(mathematics)) in mathematics, especially to represent a [complex number](/source/Complex_number) or a [vector](/source/Vector_space).

- Former U.S. president [George W. Bush](/source/George_W._Bush) was given the nickname "Dubya" after the colloquial pronunciation of his middle initial in [Texas](/source/Texas), where he spent much of his childhood.

- ***W*** stands for [work](/source/Work_(physics)) in physics.

## Related characters

### Ancestors, descendants and siblings

- 𐤅: [Semitic](/source/Phoenician_alphabet) letter [Waw](/source/Waw_(letter)), from which the following symbols originally derive:

- U: Latin letter [U](/source/U)

- V: Latin letter [V](/source/V)

- Ⱳ ⱳ: [W with hook](/source/W_with_hook)

- Ꝡ ꝡ: Ligature for the Latin letters [VY](/source/%EA%9D%A0)

- Ꟃ ꟃ: Anglicana W, used in [medieval English](/source/Middle_English) and [Cornish](/source/Cornish_language#Middle_Cornish)[30]

- [IPA](/source/International_Phonetic_Alphabet)-specific symbols related to W: [ʍ](/source/Voiceless_labial%E2%80%93velar_fricative) [ɯ](/source/Close_back_unrounded_vowel) [ɰ](/source/Voiced_velar_approximant) [ʷ](/source/Labialization)

- [Uralic Phonetic Alphabet](/source/Uralic_Phonetic_Alphabet)-specific symbols related to W:[31] U+1D21 ᴡ LATIN LETTER SMALL CAPITAL W and U+1D42 ᵂ MODIFIER LETTER CAPITAL W

- ʷ : Modifier letter small w is used in [Indo-European studies](/source/Indo-European_studies)[32]

- ꭩ : Modifier letter small turned w is used in linguistic transcriptions of [Scots](/source/Scots_language)[33]

- W with [diacritics](/source/Diacritic): [Ẃ ẃ](/source/Acute_accent) [Ẁ ẁ](/source/Grave_accent) [Ŵ ŵ](/source/Circumflex) [Ẅ ẅ](/source/Diaeresis_(diacritic)) [Ẇ ẇ Ẉ ẉ](/source/Dot_(diacritic)) [ẘ](/source/W%CC%8A)

- װ (double [vav](/source/Vav_(letter))): the [Yiddish](/source/Yiddish_language) and [Hebrew](/source/Modern_Hebrew) equivalent of W

- [Arabic](/source/Arabic_script) [و](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D9%88), has the same origin despite bearing little resemblance to W

### Ligatures and abbreviations

- ₩ : [Won sign](/source/Won_sign), capital letter W with double stroke

## Other representations

### Unicode

- U+0057 W LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W

- U+0077 w LATIN SMALL LETTER W

- U+FF37 Ｗ FULLWIDTH LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W

- U+FF57 ｗ FULLWIDTH LATIN SMALL LETTER W

- U+20A9 ₩ [WON SIGN](/source/%E2%82%A9)

### Other

NATO phonetic Morse code Whiskey ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ⓘ

Signal flag Flag semaphore American manual alphabet (ASL fingerspelling) British manual alphabet (BSL fingerspelling) Braille dots-2456 Unified English Braille

## See also

- [Digamma](/source/Digamma) (Ϝ), the archaic Greek letter for /w/

- [Voiced labio-velar approximant](/source/Voiced_labio-velar_approximant)

- [Wh](/source/Wh_(digraph))

## References

### Informational notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Pronounced [/ˈdʌbəl.juː/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) [*DUH-bəl-yoo*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key) in formal situations, but colloquially often [/ˈdʌbəjuː/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) [*DUH-bə-yoo*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key), [/ˈdʌbjuː/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) [*DUH-bew*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key), [/ˈdʌbəjə/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) [*DUH-bə-yə*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key) or [/ˈdʌbjə/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) [*DUH-byə*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key), with a silent *l*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** In [Brazilian Portuguese](/source/Brazilian_Portuguese), it is *[dáblio](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/d%C3%A1blio#Portuguese)*, which is a loanword from the English *double-u*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** In [Latin American Spanish](/source/Latin_American_Spanish), it is *doble ve*, similar [regional variations](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/W#Spanish) exist in other Spanish-speaking countries.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Writing manuals that include it include [Edward Cocker](/source/Edward_Cocker)'s *[The Pen's Triumph](https://archive.org/details/penstriumphacop00cockgoog/page/n16/mode/2up)* of 1658 and engravings of the [roundhand](/source/Roundhand) calligraphy of Charles Snell and sometimes [George Bickham](/source/George_Bickham_the_Elder). See also [Florian Hardwig's gallery](https://twitter.com/hardwig/status/1262389827233865731) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200518171944/https://twitter.com/hardwig/status/1262389827233865731) May 18, 2020, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) of images of its use in the German-speaking countries.

### Citations

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** "W", *Oxford English Dictionary,* 2nd edition (1989); 'W", *Oxford English Dictionary,* 2nd edition (1989); *[Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Merriam-Webster%27s_Third_New_International_Dictionary_of_the_English_Language&action=edit&redlink=1), Unabridged* (1993) [Merriam Webster](/source/Merriam_Webster)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Brown & Kiddle (1870) *The institutes of grammar,* p. 19. *Double-ues* is the plural of the name of the letter; the plural of the letter itself is written W's, *W*s, w's, or *w*s.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-The_Bush_Tragedy_4-0)** Weisberg, Jacob (October 2008). [*The Bush tragedy*](https://archive.org/details/bushtragedy00weis). New York: Random House. p. [6](https://archive.org/details/bushtragedy00weis/page/6). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781400066780](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781400066780). dubya.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Volkswagen. ["VW Unpimp – Drop it like its hot"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060502184847/http://youtube.com/watch?v=qgEvy60bZYI). *YouTube*. Archived from [the original](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgEvy60bZYI) on May 2, 2006. Retrieved November 3, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Real Academia Española elimina la Ch y ll del alfabeto"](http://www.taringa.net/posts/noticias/7792488/Real-Academia-Espanola-elimina-la-Ch-y-ll-del-alfabeto.html). Taringa!. November 5, 2010. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20130603013419/http://www.taringa.net/posts/noticias/7792488/Real-Academia-Espanola-elimina-la-Ch-y-ll-del-alfabeto.html) from the original on June 3, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2011.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Flawed_Typefaces_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Flawed_Typefaces_9-1) [Shaw, Paul](/source/Paul_Shaw_(design_historian)). ["Flawed Typefaces"](https://www.paulshawletterdesign.com/2011/05/flawed-typefaces/). *Print magazine*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150623071023/http://www.paulshawletterdesign.com/2011/05/flawed-typefaces/) from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Berry_Roundhand_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Berry_Roundhand_10-1) Berry, John. ["A History: English round hand and 'The Universal Penman'"](https://blog.typekit.com/alternate/a-history-english-round-hand-and-the-universal-penman/). *Typekit*. Adobe Systems. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20201003034145/https://blog.typekit.com/alternate/a-history-english-round-hand-and-the-universal-penman/) from the original on October 3, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Caslon_IV_11-0)** Caslon, William IV (1816). [*Untitled fragment of a specimen book of printing types, c. 1816*](https://archive.org/details/ldpd_11344964_000/page/n3/mode/2up). London: William Caslon IV. Retrieved May 19, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Why is 'w' pronounced 'double u' rather than 'double v'? : Oxford Dictionaries Online"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160822083407/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/why-is-w-pronounced-double-u). Oxforddictionaries.com. Archived from [the original](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/why-is-w-pronounced-double-u) on August 22, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** "Arm w ist so unmer und unbekannt, dasz man schier weder seinen namen noch sein gestalt waiszt, die Lateiner wöllen sein nit, wie sy dann auch sein nit bedürffen, so wissen die Teütschen sonderlich die schülmaister noch nitt was sy mit im machen oder wie sy in nennen sollen, an ettlichen enden nennet man in we, die aber ein wenig latein haben gesehen, die nennen in mit zwaien unterschidlichen lauten u auff ainander, also uu ... die Schwaben nennen in auwawau, wiewol ich disen kauderwelschen namen also versteh, das es drey u sein, auff grob schwäbisch au genennet." cited after Grimm, *[Deutsches Wörterbuch](/source/Deutsches_W%C3%B6rterbuch)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_15-0)** ["Belarusian romanization (June 2019) (publishing.service.gov.uk)"](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/811510/ROMANIZATION_OF_BELARUSIAN.pdf) (PDF). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20211006223432/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/811510/ROMANIZATION_OF_BELARUSIAN.pdf) (PDF) from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["W, w - Gyldendal - Den Store Danske"](http://www.denstoredanske.dk/Sprog,_religion_og_filosofi/Sprog/Ortografi/w_W). *Den Store Danske*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170904141630/http://denstoredanske.dk/Sprog,_religion_og_filosofi/Sprog/Ortografi/w_W) from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Ordlista"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120824045619/https://www.svenskaakademien.se/svenska_spraket/svenska_akademiens_ordlista/saol_pa_natet/ordlista). Archived from [the original](http://www.svenskaakademien.se/svenska_spraket/svenska_akademiens_ordlista/saol_pa_natet/ordlista) on August 24, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2015., page 1098

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Aars, Jonathan; Hofgaard, Simon Wright (1907). [*Norske retskrivnings-regler med alfabetiske ordlister*](http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2006081600014#&struct=DIVP19) (in Norwegian). W. C. Fabritius & Sønner. pp. 19, 84. NBN 2006081600014. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220218163256/https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2006081600014#&struct=DIVP19) from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["Veckans språkråd 2006"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181014150649/http://www.spraknamnden.se/fragor/arkiv_sprakrad.htm#w) (in Swedish). July 5, 2007. Archived from [the original](http://www.spraknamnden.se/fragor/arkiv_sprakrad.htm#w) on October 14, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Peter, von Möller (1858). *Ordbok öfver Halländska landskapsmålet*. Lund: Berlingska boktryckeriet. p. 17.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** ["Let the pretending to be injured begin"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110721183954/http://no-sword.jp/blog/2006/06/let-pretending-to-be-injured-begin.html). No-sword.jp. June 10, 2006. Archived from [the original](http://no-sword.jp/blog/2006/06/let-pretending-to-be-injured-begin.html) on July 21, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Zingarelli_1945_1713_22-0)** Zingarelli, Nicola (1945). *Vocabolario della lingua italiana* (7 ed.). Bologna: Nicola Zanichelli. p. 1713.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_23-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_23-1) ["Ban on Kurdish letters to be lifted with democracy package - Turkey News"](https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ban-on-kurdish-letters-to-be-lifted-with-democracy-package-55254). *Hürriyet Daily News*. September 27, 2013. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220117020305/https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ban-on-kurdish-letters-to-be-lifted-with-democracy-package-55254) from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** Othmann, Ronya. ["Kolumne "Import Export": Bei X, Q, W ins Gefängnis"](https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/debatten/tuerkei-die-folgen-des-rassismus-gegenueber-kurden-17473152.html). *FAZ.NET* (in German). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0174-4909](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0174-4909). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220118182355/https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/debatten/tuerkei-die-folgen-des-rassismus-gegenueber-kurden-17473152.html) from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.

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1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_26-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_26-1) ["Refugee Review Tribunal Australia"](https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4b6fe30ad.pdf) (PDF). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220218163251/https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4b6fe30ad.pdf) (PDF) from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-27)** Ataman, Ferda (October 14, 2009). ["Zweijähriger Kurde wird wegen Vornamens staatenlos"](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/buchstaben-als-politikum-zweijaehriger-kurde-wird-wegen-vornamens-staatenlos/1616212.html). *[Der Tagesspiegel](/source/Der_Tagesspiegel)* (in German). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1865-2263](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1865-2263). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220118184043/https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/buchstaben-als-politikum-zweijaehriger-kurde-wird-wegen-vornamens-staatenlos/1616212.html) from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-28)** Nhật My (May 19, 2009). ["Ngôn ngữ thời @ của teen"](http://vnexpress.net/tin-tuc/thoi-su/ngon-ngu-thoi-cua-teen-2131526.html). *[VnExpress](/source/VnExpress)* (in Vietnamese). FPT Group. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140416180245/http://vnexpress.net/tin-tuc/thoi-su/ngon-ngu-thoi-cua-teen-2131526.html) from the original on April 16, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-29)** Trần Tư Bình (November 30, 2013). ["Viết tắt chữ Việt trong ngôn ngữ @"](https://vietpali.sourceforge.net/binh/VietTatChuVietTrongNgonNgu-ACong.htm). *Chim Việt Cành Nam* (in Vietnamese) (53). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140228190514/http://vietpali.sourceforge.net/binh/VietTatChuVietTrongNgonNgu-ACong.htm) from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-30)** ["Từ viết tắt: Trung ương"](https://web.archive.org/web/20171107222502/http://wcag.dongnai.gov.vn/_layouts/mobile/dispform.aspx?List=c55e1211-325f-4687-84c6-990157dfe5f2&View=c3f190ca-4f63-4476-aa51-7375d3286805&ID=4). *wcag.dongnai.gov.vn*. Archived from [the original](http://wcag.dongnai.gov.vn/_layouts/mobile/dispform.aspx?List=c55e1211-325f-4687-84c6-990157dfe5f2&View=c3f190ca-4f63-4476-aa51-7375d3286805&ID=4) on November 7, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-31)** VIỆT NAM, ĐẢNG CỘNG SẢN. ["Hệ thống văn bản"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170703231413/http://dangcongsan.vn/he-thong-van-ban.html). *dangcongsan.vn* (in Vietnamese). Archived from [the original](http://dangcongsan.vn/he-thong-van-ban.html) on July 3, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-32)** "W, w, pronounced: wah". *English, Leo James Tagalog-English Dictionary*. 1990., page 1556.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-33)** Commodity Research Bureau (September 14, 2006). [*The CRB Commodity Yearbook 2006 with CD-ROM*](https://books.google.com/books?id=GmzxkvNhxnIC&q=w+symbol+for+tungsten&pg=PA289). John Wiley & Sons. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780470083949](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780470083949). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220218163251/https://books.google.com/books?id=GmzxkvNhxnIC&q=w+symbol+for+tungsten&pg=PA289) from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2017 – via Google Books.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-34)** [Everson, Michael](/source/Michael_Everson) (July 26, 2017). ["L2/17-238: Proposal to add LATIN LETTER ANGLICANA W to the UCS"](https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17238-n4838-anglicana-w.pdf) (PDF). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200131222128/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17238-n4838-anglicana-w.pdf) (PDF) from the original on January 31, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-35)** [Everson, Michael](/source/Michael_Everson); et al. (March 20, 2002). ["L2/02-141: Uralic Phonetic Alphabet characters for the UCS"](https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02141-n2419-uralic-phonetic.pdf) (PDF). *Unicode.org*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20180219081033/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02141-n2419-uralic-phonetic.pdf) (PDF) from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-36)** Anderson, Deborah; Everson, Michael (June 7, 2004). ["L2/04-191: Proposal to encode six Indo-Europeanist phonetic characters in the UCS"](https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2004/04191-n2788-laryngeals.pdf) (PDF). *Unicode.org*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20171011014402/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2004/04191-n2788-laryngeals.pdf) (PDF) from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-l219075_37-0)** Everson, Michael (May 5, 2019). ["L2/19-075R: Proposal to add six phonetic characters for Scots to the UCS"](https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2019/19075r-n5036-scots-phonetics.pdf) (PDF). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190613190054/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2019/19075r-n5036-scots-phonetics.pdf) (PDF) from the original on June 13, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2020.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [W](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/W).

Look up ***[W](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/W)*** or ***[w](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/w)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

v t e Latin script History Spread Romanization Roman numerals Ligatures Alphabets (list) Classical Latin alphabet ISO basic Latin alphabet Phonetic alphabets International Phonetic Alphabet X-SAMPA Spelling alphabet Letters (list) Letters of the ISO basic Latin alphabet Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz Additional Latin letters Æ æ Ɑ ɑ Ʌ ʌ Ꞵ ꞵ Ð ð Ɛ ɛ Ə ə Ǝ ə Ɣ ɣ Ƣ ƣ Ɩ ɩ Ɥ ɥ Ꟛ ꟛ Ŋ ŋ Œ œ Ɔ ɔ Ɤ ɤ Kʼ ĸ Ʀ ʀ ẞ ß Ʃ ʃ Ɯ ɯ Ʊ ʊ Ꞷ ꞷ Ʋ ʋ Ƿ ƿ Ȝ ȝ ϴ θ Ʒ ʒ Ƹ ƹ Þ þ Ȣ ȣ Ꭓ ꭓ Ɂ ʔ ɂ ꟎ ʕ ꟏ ǀ ǁ ǂ ǃ ʘ ʻ ʼ Ꞌ ꞌ Ƨ ƨ Ꜫ ꜫ Ꜭ ꜭ Ƽ ƽ Ƅ ƅ 7 Letter W with diacritics Ẃẃ Ẁẁ Ŵŵ Ẅẅ Ẇẇ Ẉẉ Ꟃꟃ W̊ẘ Ⱳⱳ Multigraphs Digraphs Ch Dz Dž Gh IJ Lj Ll Ly Nh Nj Ny Sh Sz Th Trigraphs dzs eau Tetragraphs ough Keyboard layouts (list) QWERTY QWERTZ AZERTY Dvorak Colemak BÉPO Neo Historical standards ISO/IEC 646 Western Latin character sets Current standards Unicode DIN 91379: Unicode subset for Europe Lists Precomposed Latin characters in Unicode Letters used in mathematics, science, and engineering List of typographical symbols and punctuation marks Diacritics Palaeography

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [W](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.