The dictionary uses 39 letters in this order:
a ă â b ƀ č d đ e ĕ ê g h i ĭ j dj k l m n ñ ng o ŏ ô ô̆ ơ ơ̆ p r s t u ŭ ư ư̆ w y
It is the same order as the Rhade dictionary, without ê̆, which Jorai does not use. Every marked letter is a letter of its own, and dj and ng each count as one letter.
The marks
- Breve (ă ĕ ĭ ŏ ŭ): a short vowel.
- Circumflex (â ê ô) and horn (ơ ư): different vowel sounds.
- Short ô̆, ơ̆ and ư̆: written with a breve on top of ô, ơ or ư.
- ƀ, č, đ and ñ: consonants of their own.
Letters that look alike
ŭ is not ư̆, and ŏ is not ơ̆. The dictionary keeps them apart because the Bible does, and because they can separate one word from another.
Other signs inside words
- Hʼ begins many women’s names, such as HʼRut. Names are not entries in this edition.
- A hyphen inside a word, as in pơ-ư or kơ-ŭ, shows that two vowel sounds meet and are not read as one. The dictionary keeps the hyphen in the headword.
Typing Jorai
Search does not need the marks, so any keyboard works. To type them, a Vietnamese keyboard covers most letters; ƀ, č, ñ and the breve on ô̆, ơ̆ and ư̆ may need a character picker.