Lisu Letter U

It spells an explicit vowel after a Lisu consonant.

Most Lisu consonants carry an unwritten “ah” vowel, like the a in “father.” ꓴ supplies the “oo” vowel explicitly instead; a tone letter follows the whole syllable to mark pitch.

The script took shape in 1908–1914. Ba Thaw, a Karen evangelist, adapted Latin letters to record spoken Lisu; James Outram Fraser and Lisu pastors later revised it. Christian teaching, Bible translation, and hymns were early uses. Lisu letters adapt Latin capital forms, sometimes turned; unlike Latin, the script has no uppercase/lowercase pairs. In China, a New Lisu spelling system based on Pinyin, the Latin-letter spelling used for Mandarin, served government publications from 1959–1980. Fraser writing continued in Christian religious use, returned to official use in 1983, and China recognized it as the official Lisu writing system in 1992.

What if someone sends ꓴ alone?

Read it as a Lisu letter unless the sender gives context.

Alone, it does not reveal a full message. It may be a letter shown by itself or a fragment of Lisu text; ask what word or language it belongs to if the meaning matters.

How do I type ꓴ?

Use a Lisu input method; a font only displays it.

Choose a Lisu keyboard or input method for text entry. A font such as Lisu Bosa supplies glyphs, but it does not install a keyboard.

Lisu fonts have a narrower range of designs than Latin fonts and are typically monospaced. If ꓴ is missing or looks wrong, check font support before changing the character.