Ẹ, Ọ, and Ṣ — the dotted letters

Not optional decoration

Yorùbá writing distinguishes open and close vowels with a underdot: ẹ versus e, and ọ versus o. The letter ṣ (s with underdot) is a different sound from plain s. Treating “e” and “ẹ” as the same letter is like treating “b” and “p” as interchangeable in English.

These characters are part of everyday orthography in Nigeria and in diaspora teaching materials. Digital keyboards and fonts support them; learners benefit when apps refuse to strip them away.

Examples from the game

In the greetings theme you will meet forms such as ẹkáàrọ̀ and ẹṣé — both depend on dotted letters. Food, body, and home packs similarly use ọmọ, ọwọ́, and related shapes.

If your device’s keyboard makes underdots hard to type elsewhere, the puzzle board still trains recognition: you select the correct tiles instead of typing from scratch.

Tips for study outside the puzzle

When you copy a new word into notes, keep the underdots. A stripped form may help a search engine, but it will not help you read a menu, a hymn, or a children’s book in Yorùbá later.