Z

See also: z [U+007A LATIN SMALL LETTER Z], ʒ [U+0292 LATIN SMALL LETTER EZH], Ζ [U+0396 GREEK CAPITAL LETTER ZETA], ℤ [U+2124 DOUBLE-STRUCK CAPITAL Z], 乙 [U+4E59 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E59], ㆸ [U+31B8 BOPOMOFO LETTER GH], and Appendix:Variations of "z"

Z	U+005A, Z LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z

← Y
[U+0059]

Basic Latin

[ →
[U+005B]

Character variations

Ｚ	U+FF3A, Ｚ FULLWIDTH LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z

← Ｙ
[U+FF39]

Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms

［ →
[U+FF3B]

Languages (42)

Translingual • English

Afrikaans • Albanian • Azerbaijani • Basque • Catalan • Central Franconian • Central Mazahua • Chinese • Dutch • Esperanto • Estonian • Finnish • French • German • Heiltsuk • Hungarian • Ido • Italian • Kashubian • Latin • Latvian • Lower Sorbian • Malay • Navajo • Norwegian • Nupe • Polish • Portuguese • Romani • Romanian • Russian • Saanich • Silesian • Skolt Sami • Slovene • Spanish • Tagalog • Turkish • Ukrainian • Zulu

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English Wikipedia has an article on:

Z

Wikipedia

Etymology

From the Etruscan letter 𐌆 (z, “ze”), from the Ancient Greek letter Ζ (Z, “zeta”), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤆 (z, “zayin”), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓏭.

Letter

Z (lower case z)

The twenty-sixth and final letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

Symbol

Z

(metrology) zetta-
(physics) the impedance of an electrical circuit
(physics, computer graphics) the depth dimension in a 3D environment
(physics) atomic number
(biochemistry) IUPAC 1-letter abbreviation for either glutamine or glutamic acid
(time zones) Zulu time
1600Z

Derived terms

Base SI units derived from the prefix meaning zetta-

ZA
Zcd
ZK
Zkg
Zm
Zmol
Zs

Derived SI units derived from the prefix meaning zetta-

ZBq
ZC
ZF
ZGy
ZH
ZHz
ZJ
Zkat
Zlm
Zlx
ZN
ZΩ
ZPa
Zrad
ZS
ZSv
Zsr
ZT
ZV
ZW
ZWb

Gallery

Letter styles
Uppercase and lowercase versions of Z, in normal and italic type
Uppercase and lowercase Z in Fraktur

Pronunciation

Name of letter

(England, Wales, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, General Australian) IPA^(key): /zɛd/
(US) IPA^(key): /zi/
(Hong Kong, Scotland) IPA^(key): /(j)iˈzɛd/, /(j)ɪˈzɛd/, /(j)iˈsɛd/, /(j)ɪˈsɛd/ (from izzard)
Audio (UK): (file)
Audio (US): (file)
Rhymes: -ɛd, -iː

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z, plural Zs or Z's)

The twenty-sixth letter of the English alphabet, called zed or zee and written in the Latin script.

Derived terms

Noun

Z (plural Z's or Zs)

A member of Generation Z.
Synonyms: Generation Z, Generation Zer, Gen Z, Gen-Zer, Zer, zoomer

Alternative form: Zed
- 2017, Martha M. Ellis, Linda Garcia, Generation X Presidents Leading Community Colleges: New Challenges, New Leaders, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 10:
  Take that a step further for Millennials and Zs by crafting an e-mail subject header that does the same but with even fewer characters; […]
- 2020, Zerlina Maxwell, The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide, New York, N.Y.: Hachette Books, →ISBN:
  The current progressive movement—and certainly the Millennials and Zs—understand that the Hyde Amendment is discriminatory […]
- 2022, Morgen Witzel, editor, Post-Pandemic Leadership: Exploring Solutions to a Crisis, Routledge, →ISBN:
  The current global pandemic is almost certainly a formative moment for younger Millennials and Zs as they navigate through similar challenges.
(slang) Z-drug.
- 2013, Snap Capone (lyrics and music), “Lights Out”, in The Memoir‎, from 0:16:
  I can sell bricks, I don't need to rap
  Buj so peng it makes the fiends collapse
  Cook that coca into crack
  I was selling Zs while you was in your bed

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Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /zɛt/

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-sixth letter of the Afrikaans alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

Z (plural Z's, diminutive Z'tjie)

Z

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

Z (lower case z)

The thirty-fifth letter of the Albanian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Letter

Z upper case (lower case z)

The thirty-second letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /s̻eta/, [s̻e̞.t̪a]

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-seventh letter of the Basque alphabet, called zeta and written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈzɛ.tə]

IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈzɛ.ta]

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-sixth letter of the Catalan alphabet, called zeta and written in the Latin script.

Etymology

/ts/ is from West Germanic stem-initial, geminated or post-sonorant *t.
For the origin of /z/, see S.

Pronunciation

(German-based) /ts/
(Dutch-based) /z/

Letter

Z

A letter in the German-based alphabet of Central Franconian.
A letter in the Dutch-based alphabet of Central Franconian.

Usage notes

/ts/ may also be represented by ts, tts, ds, dds, mostly when there is an intervening morpheme boundary.
In the Dutch-based spelling, /ts/ is always represented by ts (or ds). In the German-based spelling, /z/ is represented by s (see there).

Doubling of Z and use in the syllable coda

In the German-based spelling, doubling of z yields tz, which is used after short vowels. (As z is already a voiceless sound there is no change in coda position.)
In the Dutch-based spelling, z is doubled after short vowels if the syllable were otherwise open. Coda z is automatically replaced with s.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

Z (lower case z)

A letter of the Mazahua alphabet.

Wikipedia has an article on:

直達特快列車

Etymology 1

Derived from 直 (zhí, “straight”).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): zhí (zhi²)

(Zhuyin): ㄓˊ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zhí
  - Zhuyin: ㄓˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jhíh
  - Wade–Giles: chih²
  - Yale: jŕ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jyr
  - Palladius: чжи (čži)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵/

Symbol

Z

(Mainland China) A shorthand used to refer to direct express trains.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation 1

Mandarin
(Pinyin): zèi (zei⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄗㄟˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): ji⁶ set¹ / set¹
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): che̍t

(Teochew, Peng'im): rêh⁸
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶ze; ¹ze

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zèi
  - Zhuyin: ㄗㄟˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zèi
  - Wade–Giles: tsei⁴
  - Yale: dzèi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzey
  - Palladius: цзэй (czɛj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡seɪ̯⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: ji⁶ set¹ / set¹
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ji⁶ set⁷ / set⁷
  - Guangdong Romanization: yi⁶ séd¹ / séd¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiː²² sɛːt̚⁵/, /sɛːt̚⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: che̍t
  - Tâi-lô: tse̍t
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zet
  - IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sɛt̚⁴/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: rêh⁸
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: je̍h
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /d͡zeʔ⁴/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶ze; ¹ze
  - MiniDict: ze^去; ze^平
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³ze; ¹ze
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ze²³/, /ze⁵³/

Letter

Z

The twenty-sixth and last letter of the Latin alphabet.

Pronunciation 2

Mandarin
(Pinyin): zī, zê̄ (zi¹, zê¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄗ, ㄗㄝ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, common)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zī
  - Zhuyin: ㄗ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zih
  - Wade–Giles: tzŭ¹
  - Yale: dz̄
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzy
  - Palladius: цзы (czy)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, official)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zê̄
  - Zhuyin: ㄗㄝ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zê
  - Wade–Giles: tseh¹
  - Yale: dzē
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzè
  - Palladius: цзэй (czɛj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɛ⁵⁵/

Letter

Z

The twenty-sixth and last letter used in Pinyin.

Usage notes

《汉语拼音方案》 defines a standard pronunciation for each letter. However, these pronunciations are rarely used in education; another pronunciation is commonly used instead.
The pronunciation above are only used while referring to letters in Pinyin. They are not used in other context (such as English).

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /zɛt/
Audio: (file)

Letter

Z (capital, lowercase z)

the twenty-sixth and last letter of the Dutch alphabet

Adverb

Z

Abbreviation of zuid; south

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /zo/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /z/
Audio: (file)

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-eighth letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called zo and written in the Latin script.

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-first letter of the Estonian alphabet, called tsett and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

Used only in loanwords.

Etymology

The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on those of Swedish, German and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and Z for information on the development of the glyph itself.

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-fifth letter of the Finnish alphabet, called tseta or tset and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

Used only in loanwords. In more established loanwords replaced with ts.

Derived terms

compounds

Z-bosoni

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-sixth letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tsɛt/
Audio: (file)

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-sixth and last letter of the German alphabet.

Usage notes

Doubling of z generally yields tz, but zz is retained in loanwords (chiefly from Italian).
In German handwriting, <Z> very often receives an additional stroke in the middle: Ƶ. Lack of this stroke may even make the letter look "incomplete" to many language users. However, <Ƶ> is virtually never used in printing.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /t͜s/

Letter

Z (lower case z)

A letter of the Heiltsuk alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

(phoneme): IPA^(key): [ˈz]
(letter name): IPA^(key): [ˈzeː]

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The thirty-ninth letter of the Hungarian alphabet, called zé and written in the Latin script.

Declension

More information Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, front unrounded harmony), singular ...

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, front unrounded harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	Z	Z-k
accusative	Z-t	Z-ket
dative	Z-nek	Z-knek
instrumental	Z-vel	Z-kkel
causal-final	Z-ért	Z-kért
translative	Z-vé	Z-kké
terminative	Z-ig	Z-kig
essive-formal	Z-ként	Z-kként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	Z-ben	Z-kben
superessive	Z-n	Z-ken
adessive	Z-nél	Z-knél
illative	Z-be	Z-kbe
sublative	Z-re	Z-kre
allative	Z-hez	Z-khez
elative	Z-ből	Z-kből
delative	Z-ről	Z-kről
ablative	Z-től	Z-ktől
non-attributive possessive - singular	Z-é	Z-ké
non-attributive possessive - plural	Z-éi	Z-kéi

Close

More information Possessive forms of, possessor ...

Possessive forms of Z
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	Z-m	Z-im
2nd person sing.	Z-d	Z-id
3rd person sing.	Z-je	Z-i
1st person plural	Z-nk	Z-ink
2nd person plural	Z-tek	Z-itek
3rd person plural	Z-jük	Z-ik

Close

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

Z (lower case z)

The twenty-sixth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

(letter name) IPA^(key): ^*/ˈd͡zɛ.ta/, ^*/ˈd͡ze.ta/^[1]
- Rhymes: -ɛta, -eta
(phonemic realization) IPA^(key): ^*/t͡s/^*, ^*/d͡z/^*
- Z is spelt single stem-initially and after consonants. The pronunciation is not predictable and may be /t͡s/ or /d͡z/, though after -l- and -r- it is mostly /t͡s/. It is also spelt single post-vocalically before [j], where the pronunciation is mostly /tt͡s/.
- Between true vowels it is usually doubled as zz. The pronunciation, again, is not predictable and may be /tt͡s/ or /dd͡z/. Chiefly in learned words it may be spelt single, in which case it is predominantly /dd͡z/.

Letter

Z f or m (invariable, upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-first letter of the Italian alphabet, called zeta and written in the Latin script.

Symbol

Z

the letter zeta in the Greek alphabet

References

[1]
Z in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Etymology

The Kashubian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Kashubian alphabet article on Wikipedia for more, and Z for development of the glyph itself.

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The thirty-second letter of the Kashubian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology

The letter descended from the Old Italic letter 𐌆 (z) in the Old Latin period, but had long fell into native disuse by the Classical period, when it came back into use, transcribing the Ancient Greek letter Ζ (Z, “zeta”), which had formerly been transcribed S in initial position and SS in medial position. In writings of the Late Latin period, Z frequently takes the place of S and in the third and fourth centuries often represented word-initial prevocalic di.

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /z/, [z̪]

(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /d͡z/, [d̪͡z̪]

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-third letter of the Classical Latin alphabet, called zēta.

References

“Z, z”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Z in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1,700/1.
“Z, z” on page 2,125/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

Latvian Wikipedia has an article on:

Z

Wikipedia ^lv

Etymology

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [z]

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Letter

Z

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The thirty-second letter of the Latvian alphabet, called zē and written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

Z (lower case z)

The thirty-second letter of the Lower Sorbian alphabet, called zet and written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

(Name of letter) IPA^(key): [zɛt̚], [zɛk̚], [zi]
(Phoneme, Syllable initial) IPA^(key): [z]
(Phoneme, Syllable final) IPA^(key): [s]

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-sixth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Letter

Z (lower case z)

A letter of the Navajo alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Letter

Z (upper case Z, lower case z)

the 29th letter of the Norwegian alphabet

Usage notes

Only in loan words and foreign names. Also used in old inscriptions and texts instead of s.

Pronunciation

(phoneme): IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-ninth letter of the Nupe alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology

The Polish orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the history of Polish orthography article on Wikipedia for more, and Z for development of the glyph itself.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈzɛt/

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The thirtieth letter of the Polish alphabet, called zet and written in the Latin script.

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-sixth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

(International Standard) The thirtieth letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.
(Pan-Vlax) The thirty-first letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The thirty-first letter of the Romanian alphabet, called ze, zet, zed, or zî and written in the Latin script.

Etymology

Sense 2 was derived from запад (zapad, “west”). The Z sign was initially used for vehicles targeted towards southeastern Ukraine, in a manner similar to invasion stripes used by the Allies in World War II. Later popularized by the Russian government on social media as a rallying symbol.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [zɛt]

Symbol

Z (lower case z)

the Roman letter Z, z
Synonym: зет (zɛt)
(The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) (politics) A symbol representing support for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Synonyms: (all derogatory) полусва́стика (polusvástika), но́вая сва́стика (nóvaja svástika), зва́стика (zvástika), зи́га (zíga)
- #ZаМир, #ZаПобеду (hashtags using Z by Russian nationalists in support for war against Ukraine)
  #ZaMir, #ZaPobedu
  "for peace", "for victory"
- ZOV (a symbol combining V and O, more symbols used on Russian tanks, used by the Russian government and some online users in support for war against Ukraine)
  ZOV (may also be interpreted as зов, or "call forth [to war]")
- Zалупа, роZZия, zвери, Zло, Zомби, пиZдец (derisive online slang terms mocking Russian nationalists)
  Zalupa, roZZija, zveri, Zlo, Zombi, piZdec
  "dickhead", "RuZZia", "beaZts", "evil", "Zombie", "fucked up"

Usage notes

Russian nationalists replace instances of the Cyrillic letter З (Z) and less commonly С (S) with Z in some words and usernames, and their opponents also use Latin Z's in Russian words to mock them.

Derived terms

Z-бло́гер (Z-blóger, “a Z-blogger, a blogger who supports the invasion of Ukraine”)
Z-ме́рч (Z-mérč, “Z-merch, merchandise glorifying the invasion of Ukraine”)
Z-те́хника (Z-téxnika, “Z-techniques, techniques used during the invasion”)
Z-патрио́т (Z-patriót, “a Z-patriot, fanatical Russian nationalist who supports the invasion of Ukraine”)
зе́тник (zétnik, “a vatnik who uses the Z symbol, a supporter of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine”), зэ́тник (zɛ́tnik)
зиговать (zigovatʹ, “to use a Nazi salute”), zиговать (zigovatʹ, “to support the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine”)
zва́стика (zvástika)
zомби (zombi, “a zombie, a fanatical Russian nationalist who supports the invasion of Ukraine”)
РоZZия (RoZZija, “RuZZia, Russia as the aggressor during the invasion of Ukraine”)
ру́ZZкий мир (rúZZkij mir)

Descendants

⇒ English: zwastika (internet slang, usage of Z by Russian nationalists)
⇒ English: Ruzzia (internet slang, Russia being militarised during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine)
⇒ Ukrainian: Z (a symbol used by Ukrainians to mock Russia)

Letter

Z

The thirty-eighth letter of the Saanich alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology

The Silesian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Silesian language article on Wikipedia for more, and Z for development of the glyph itself.

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The thirty-second letter of the Silesian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

Z (lower case z)

The thirty-third letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Letter

Z (capital, lowercase z)

The twenty-fourth letter of the Slovene alphabet, written in the Latin script.
The thirty-fourth letter of the Slovene alphabet (Resian), written in the Latin script.
The twenty-fifth letter of the Slovene alphabet (Natisone Valley dialect), written in the Latin script.

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

the 27th letter of the Spanish alphabet

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish Z. Each pronunciation has a different source:

Filipino alphabet pronunciation is influenced by English Z.
Abecedario pronunciation is from Spanish Z.

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog)
- IPA^(key): /ˈzi/ [ˈzi] (letter name, Filipino alphabet)
  - IPA^(key): (more native-sounding) /ˈsi/ [ˈsi] (letter name, Filipino alphabet)
  - Rhymes: -i
- IPA^(key): /ˈzeta/ [ˈzɛː.t̪ɐ] (letter name, Abecedario)
  - IPA^(key): (more native-sounding) /ˈseta/ [ˈsɛː.t̪ɐ] (letter name, Abecedario)
  - Rhymes: -eta
- IPA^(key): /z/ [z] (phoneme)
  - IPA^(key): (more native-sounding) /s/ [s] (phoneme)

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z, Baybayin spelling ᜐᜒ)

The twenty-eighth letter of the Tagalog alphabet (the Filipino alphabet), called zi and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

This letter is mostly used only in proper nouns, unadapted loanwords, or Spanish-based spellings.
Some purists of Tagalog replace Z in words with S.

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z, Baybayin spelling ᜐᜒᜆ)

(historical) The twenty-eighth letter of the Tagalog alphabet (the Abecedario), called zeta and written in the Latin script.

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-ninth letter of the Turkish alphabet, called ze and written in the Latin script.

Etymology

Originated from Russian usage of the letter Z as a military symbol, as well as a symbol of support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine (see Z).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [zɛt]

Symbol

Z (lower case z)

the Roman letter Z, z
Synonym: зет (zet)
(The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) (politics) a symbol indicating that the user, or the person tagged with it, supports the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
- РоZZія (derisive online slang term mocking Russian nationalists)
  RoZZija
  "RuZZia"

Usage notes

Often used by Ukrainian Internet users and politicians to mock or deride Russians following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Derived terms

РоZZі́я (RoZZíja)

Letter

Z (upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-sixth letter of the Zulu alphabet, written in the Latin script.