M facts for kids
Quick facts for kids M |
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| M m | |||
| (See below) | |||
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| Usage | |||
| Writing system | Latin script | ||
| Type | Alphabetic and Logographic | ||
| Language of origin | Latin language | ||
| Phonetic usage | [] [] [] [] |
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| Unicode value | U+004D, U+006D |
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| Alphabetical position | 13 Numerical value: 1000 |
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| History | |||
| Development |
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| Time period | ~-700 to present | ||
| Descendants | • ₥ • ™ • ℠ • ᴟ • ꬺ • ꟽ ɯ ɰ • ꟿ • ᛗ |
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| Sisters | М Ӎ מ ם م ܡ מּ ﬦ  Ⰿ ࠌ 𐌼 |
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| Variations | (See below) | ||
| Other | |||
| Other letters commonly used with | m(x) | ||
| Associated numbers | 1000 | ||
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| ISO basic Latin alphabet |
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| AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxYyZz |
M, or m, is the thirteenth letter in the Latin alphabet. It is used in the modern English alphabet and in many other languages around the world. Its name in English is em (pronounced like the letter "M"), and its plural is ems.
Contents
The History of the Letter M
The letter M has a long history. It comes from an ancient Phoenician letter called Mem. Later, the Greeks adopted it and called it Mu (Μ, μ). The Romans then took it from the Greeks, and it became the letter M we know today.
You can see how the letter changed over time:
| Egyptian hieroglyph "n" | Phoenician Mem |
Etruscan M | Greek Mu |
Latin M |
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What M Means in Different Areas
The letter M is used in many ways to mean different things.
M in Calendars and Money
- In calendars, M can stand for Monday. It can also mean the months "March" or "May".
- In money, a capital M often means million. For example, $25M means twenty-five million dollars.
M in Measurements and Numbers
- The lowercase m is the official short form for metre (or meter). This is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI).
- However, m can also be used as a short form for mile.
- In Roman numerals, the capital M means one thousand.
M in Movies and Characters
- M is the name of a 1930 German movie. It was directed by Fritz Lang. There was also a remake of this movie in 1951.
- M (James Bond) is a character in the James Bond books and movies. M is the head of the secret service where James Bond works.
How M is Used in Writing
The letter m usually makes a "mmm" sound, like when you say "mom" or "milk." This sound is made by pressing your lips together.
In English, the letter m can sometimes act like a vowel. This happens in words like spasm or in word endings like -ism. This is called a syllabic consonant.
In the Washo language, a small m (m) makes the usual "mmm" sound. A big M (M) makes a similar sound, but without using your voice.
Other Uses of M
- M (mega) is a Unit prefix. It means one million times something. For example, a megabyte is one million bytes.
- m (milli) is another unit prefix. It means one-thousandth of something. For example, a millimeter is one-thousandth of a meter.
- M is used as the short form for molarity. This is a way to measure how much of a substance is dissolved in a liquid.
- M often means "male" or "masculine." It is often used with F, which means "female" or "feminine."
- In writing, an em dash is a punctuation mark. Its width is about the same as the width of a capital letter M.
Images for kids
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Styled letter M in the coat of arms of Miehikkälä
See also
In Spanish: M para niños
