The palochka (Ӏ, "little stick" in Russian) is a Cyrillic letter used in Caucasian languages. In Circassian it marks ejective consonants, the famous sharp "popping" sounds. It entered the script in the late 1930s, originally as the digit 1, and lives in Unicode at U+04C0. You can copy it and hear it below.
Open any Circassian text and one letter jumps out: a bare vertical stroke, as in кӀ or щӀ. Meet the palochka, the most Caucasian letter of the Cyrillic alphabet.
What it is
Per Wikipedia, the palochka was introduced to the Cyrillic script in the late 1930s, and originally it was simply the digit 1; on Cyrillic keyboards it is still often typeset as the Roman numeral I. Unicode gives it two codes: U+04C0 for the capital form Ӏ and U+04CF for a rarer lower-case ӏ. In the official Kabardian alphabet, 10 of the 59 letters contain it (the app's course adds ЧӀ, an 11th); in the Adyghe alphabet, 13 of 66 do.
What it sounds like
Palochka marks glottalized, "ejective" consonants: short sounds released with a sharp burst that English does not have at all. Tap a letter to hear a native speaker say it:
How unusual these sounds really are, and why Circassian still only has three vowels: is Circassian the hardest language?
How to type it
Three honest options: type a capital I (Circassians do it every day, and the app understands it everywhere; its translator and AI tutor accept the digit 1 too), copy the real letter with the buttons above, or set up a Circassian keyboard on your phone. The full setup for iPhone and Android, including Gboard's Kabardian and Adyghe layouts, is in our guide to typing Circassian.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the palochka letter?
A letter of the Cyrillic script, Ӏ, used in Caucasian languages. It was introduced in the late 1930s, originally as the digit 1, and in Circassian it marks ejective ("glottalized") consonants, as in кӀ and пӀ.
How do I type the palochka?
On phones the simplest way is typing the Latin capital I, which the app understands everywhere; its translator and AI tutor accept the digit 1 too. You can also copy the real letter from this page or install a Circassian keyboard layout: our keyboard guide walks through every option.
What is the Unicode for palochka?
U+04C0 for the capital/caseless form Ӏ, and U+04CF for the rarer lower-case form ӏ. Both can be copied with one tap on this page.
Is the palochka the same as the letter I or the digit 1?
It looks the same, and in practice Circassians often type I (or, in some apps, 1) instead; the app's search understands the Latin I everywhere. Formally, though, palochka is its own Cyrillic letter with its own Unicode code points.
What does the palochka sound like?
On its own it marks a glottal stop; combined with other letters it makes ejective consonants, short sounds with a sharp burst. Tap the letters on this page to hear them, recorded by a native speaker.
Sources
- English Wikipedia, "Palochka" (revision 1380351211, read 15 October 2026): the 1930s introduction as the digit 1, the Roman-numeral-I typesetting on Cyrillic keyboards, U+04C0 and U+04CF, and that palochka marks glottal(ized) and pharyngeal(ized) consonants.
- Letter counts: the official alphabets (the same pinned data as this site's alphabet pages): 10 of the 59 Kabardian letters contain Ӏ and 13 of the 66 Adyghe letters do; the app's Kabardian course adds ЧӀ, an 11th. The letter recordings are a native speaker's, from the app.
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