Nüshu i5 character

𛆼 is a Nüshu syllable sign read i5 in Jiangyong speech. Nüshu, literally “women’s writing,” let local women write songs, letters, and wedding booklets. One sound can stand for several words, so context decides the translation.

Text symbol

What 𛆼 means

The Nüshu character 𛆼 reads i5; the sentence supplies its word. A Nüshu table pairs it with Chinese characters 一 (“one”), 以 (“use/by”), and 叶 (“leaf”).

Nüshu grew among women in Jiangyong County in Hunan, China. They adapted Chinese character shapes to write local speech syllable by syllable, when formal schooling in Chinese characters was limited. Women sang Nüshu songs while sewing together, exchanged letters with sworn sisters (close friends bound by a pledge), and gave brides sanzhaoshu, cloth booklets of good wishes three days after marriage. Some manuscript copies are dated to China’s late Ming or early Qing dynasties. A coin from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a rebel state in China (1851–1864), also bears a Nüshu motto about women as one family. Modern heritage work preserves Nüshu as a record of women’s lives.

Part of the collection

𛅰

Nüshu Script (Women's Writing)

Who writes 𛆼

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Questions people ask

Why does 𛆼 show as a box on some devices?

Not every system ships a font for the Nushu block. Where none is installed, the character shows as an empty box; adding a font such as Noto fixes it. The character itself is still correct and copies correctly.