Cuneiform Sign Bi

𒁉 has several readings; the text around it decides. In Sumerian transliteration, bi or be₂ can represent a syllable or an ending attached to a word, meaning “its” or “this,” depending on the phrase. KAŠ is a Sumerian word sign for “beer”; in Akkadian, it is read šikāru, the Akkadian word for beer.

Scholars write sound and grammatical readings in lower case, such as bi, and word signs in capitals, such as KAŠ. The subscript in be₂ distinguishes that reading in scholarly spelling.

How did this sign travel across languages?

𒁉 belongs to a script that grew from early record-keeping. The cuneiform writing system is first attested at Uruk in the Uruk IV period, around 3500–3200 BCE, in records used to manage goods and quantities. It began largely with signs for words, then developed syllabic spellings that could represent spoken language.

Readings of this sign shift across languages and scribal traditions. A Babylonian edition of the Epic of Gilgamesh lists values including bi, bé, pí, gaš, kaš and KAŠ. In the Amarna letters—diplomatic messages exchanged in the mid-14th century BCE—BI supplies the opening syllable in pitati, a word for Egyptian archers.

What if someone sends 𒁉 alone?

By itself, 𒁉 does not identify one word. In a chat, it is best read as a sign sample or a reference to cuneiform. Without a language, period or transliteration, “bi,” “its,” “this” and “beer” are all too specific; ask what text or sign list the sender means.

Cuneiform fonts can draw the same encoded sign with different wedge shapes to reflect historical styles; a font without it may show an empty box or fallback glyph. A changed drawing does not change which Unicode character is encoded.