Zhuang spelling of youx

Read it as youx: “lover,” “sweetheart,” “boyfriend,” or “girlfriend.” Zhuang is a Tai language spoken in southern China; Sawndip is its traditional, Chinese-character-based writing system. This glyph is one of several character spellings for youx.

How old is Sawndip?

Sawndip’s roots reach before the Tang dynasty. Sawndip adapted Chinese character forms to write Zhuang words. By the Song dynasty, records from Guangxi describe local logographs in legal documents. Songs, ritual texts, letters, and contracts are among the script’s documented uses. A Latin-based script for Standard Zhuang became official in 1957; a 2008 survey documented continued local use.