Z with stroke

Ƶ is used in the Latin version of the Karachay-Balkar latin alphabet to represent {{IPAblink|ʒ}}, with ⟨ж⟩ as the Cyrillic equivalent.

Ƶ was used in the Jaꞑalif alphabet (part of Uniform Turkic Alphabet) for the Tatar language in the first half of the 20th-century to represent a voiced postalveolar fricative (IPA: {{IPAblink|ʒ}}), now written ⟨j⟩.

Ƶ was used in the 1992 Latin Chechen spelling as voiced postalveolar fricative (IPA: {{IPAblink|ʒ}}). It was also used in a 1931 variant of the Karelian alphabet for the Tver dialect.

The 1931–1941 Mongolian Latin alphabet used Ƶ to represent Voiced postalveolar affricate (IPA: {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}).

It is used in Unifon, being the last letter representing the voiced alveolar fricative (IPA: /{{IPAlink|z}}/).

It was also used in the Latin script for the Abkhaz language representing the voiced retroflex fricative (IPA: {{IPAblink|ʐ}}). It represents the same sound in the Polish alphabet, remaining in active usage by some as an alternative for the letter Ż (called "Z with overdot"). However, only the latter glyph is considered standard and is taught in Polish schools to children.

It is sometimes used as the form for the standard Z to distinguish it from the numeral ⟨two 2⟩.

The Ƶ character is similar to the vertical form of the Wolfsangel (German for "wolf trap") heraldic charge from medieval Germany and eastern France.

The Wolfsangel symbol was an early 15th-century symbol of Germanic liberty and freedom that also appears as a mason's mark and was also used as a German medieval forestry boundary marker.{{Cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Akbar |author-link=Akbar Ahmed |title=Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration, and Identity |date=February 2018 |publisher=Brookings Institution |isbn=9780815727583 |page=77}} The Wolfsangel symbol uses the mostly, but not exclusively, reversed Ƶ character in both horizontal and vertical forms, and in heraldry, the vertical form is associated with a {{lang|de|Donnerkeil}} (or "thunderbolt").{{Cite book |last=Yenne |first=Bill |title=Hitler's Master of the Dark Arts: Himmler's Black Knights and the Occult Origins of the SS |date=October 2010 |publisher=Zenith Press |isbn=978-0760337783 |page=69}}

File:Wappen_Oestrich-Winkel.svg|Municipal arms of Oestrich-Winkel

File:DEU_Marpingen_COA.svg|Municipal arms of Marpingen

File:DEU_Eppelborn_1978_COA.svg|Municipal arms of Eppelborn

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In World War 2, the Wolfsangel symbol was appropriated into Nazi symbolism by both military and non-military groups and now remains listed as a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League database.{{Cite web |title=Wolfsangel: General Hate Symbols, Neo-Nazi Symbols |url=https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/wolfsangel |access-date=17 March 2022 |website=Anti-Defamation League}} In 2020, a trend started of Generation Z users of TikTok tattooing a "Generation Ƶ" symbol on their arm as "a symbol of unity in our generation but also as a sign of rebellion" (in the manner of the 15th-century Germanic peasant's revolts), however, the originator of the trend renounced it when the appropriation of the symbol by the Nazis was brought to her attention.{{Cite web |last=Greenspan |first=Rachel |date=22 September 2020 |title=TikTok users recommended a Nazi symbol as a Gen Z tattoo idea to represent 'rebellion' |url=https://www.insider.com/tiktok-users-nazi-symbol-tattoo-for-gen-z-wolfsangel-2020-9 |access-date=17 March 2022 |website=Insider}}

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Far-right movements in Ukraine like the former Social-National Assembly and the Azov Brigade have used a 90-degree rotated Ƶ symbol with an elongated center stroke for the political slogan "National Idea" ({{langx|uk|Ідея Нації}}), where the symbol is a combination of the letters ⟨N⟩ and ⟨I⟩. It closely resembles flipped (mirrored) Wolfsangel, however they deny any connection with Nazism, or with the Wolfsangel symbol.{{Cite web |date=1 March 2022 |title=Profile: Who are Ukraine's far-right Azov regiment? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment |access-date=2 May 2022 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}{{Cite news |last=Schipani |first=Andres |date=29 March 2022 |title='Don't confuse patriotism and Nazism': Ukraine's Azov forces face scrutiny |url=https://www.ft.com/content/7191ec30-9677-423d-873c-e72b64725c2d |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/JoTy4 |archive-date=2022-12-11 |access-date=2 May 2022 |work=Financial Times}} The symbol was placed over inverted Black Sun (symbol), which itself is another Nazi symbol.

File:Handwriting_italian.jpg.]]

Many people and regions often use Ƶ as a handwritten variant of ⟨Z⟩, especially with mathematicians, scientists, and engineers to avoid confusion with the numeral two ⟨2⟩.{{Cite web |title=Handwriting alphabet at DuckDuckGo |url=https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffsb&ia=images&q=handwriting+alphabet&iax=images}}{{Cite web |title=English Cursive Letters JPG file |url=https://www.printablee.com/postpic/2009/07/english-cursive-letters-alphabet_386071.jpg}}

File:Straz_plakietka.svg badge, general pattern]]

File:2023-10-23_18_41_24-File_Wólka_Żabna_znak_20230502_125044_03.jpg_-_Wikimedia_Commons_and_14_more_pag.png]]

In Polish, the character Ƶ is used as an allographic variant of the letter ⟨Ż⟩ (called "Z with overdot") although once used in Old Polish.

In Greek, the character Ƶ is a handwritten form of the letter Xi ⟨ξ⟩, where the horizontal stroke distinguishes it from Zeta ⟨ζ⟩.

Ƶ was sometimes used instead of ⟨Z⟩ to represent the zaire, a former currency of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In video games, Ƶ has been used as a fictional currency symbol, particularly in Japanese games where it can stand for zeni (Japanese for "money"). The Dragon Ball franchise, as well as Capcom games, use Ƶ in this way. It can also be found in the games EVE Online and Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, where it stands for, respectively, the "Interstellar Kredit" (ISK) and the "Osean Zollar".

File:Armanenrunor_i_cirkel_med_siffror_vector.svg and the 18th Gibor rune based on Ƶ]]

A 45-degree rotated Ƶ forms the basis of the Gibor rune, which is a pseudo-rune (i.e. not an actual ancient rune) invented in 1902 by the 19th-century Austrian mysticist and Germanic revivalist Guido von List, and features prominently in modern runic writing.

The Unicode standard specifies two codepoints:

• {{unichar|01B5|LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH STROKE}}
• {{unichar|01B6|LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH STROKE}}

• Bar (diacritic)
• Z (military symbol)

{{wiktionary|Ƶ}} {{Commons category|Ƶ}}

• [https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/09/27/tiktok-gen-z-tattoo-trend-looks-like-nazi-symbol/3529629001/ TikTok user has idea for a 'Gen Z tattoo,' then teens find out it looks like a Nazi symbol], USA Today (27 September 2020)

{{Latin script|Z|stroke|

}}

Z

Z-s