Zhuang Sawndip form for rauq

It means “a rake” or “to rake.”

Sawndip writes Zhuang, a language spoken mainly in Guangxi. It borrows Chinese characters for sound or meaning and builds new forms from their parts; rauq is read in Zhuang.

Why are there other Sawndip forms?

In 2024, Sawndip still had no standard spelling.

Several other forms of rauq are recorded.

Tang-era Chinese stone inscriptions from Guangxi, dated 682 and 697, document character writing; the 697 inscription includes unusual forms whose link to Sawndip is debated. Some date the script to the Tang or earlier; a comparison with Vietnam’s Chinese-derived chữ Nôm writing system places it no earlier than the 12th century. By 2024, a modified Latin alphabet was standard Zhuang’s main writing system, while Sawndip remained in use.