Yi Radical Nzup

It is a dictionary marker for filing Yi syllable characters. It marks a recurring stroke pattern used to sort full Yi syllable characters in a dictionary or another index that does not use pronunciation. The label “nzup” refers to the closest-looking Yi syllable character; it is not the radical’s translation.

On its own, ꒴ is a technical reference mark, not a complete Yi word. Ordinary Yi writing uses syllable characters instead.

Where did Yi writing come from?

Yi writing is attested centuries before its modern Liangshan standard. Yi traditions credit a figure named Aki with creating the script, while the earliest surviving dated evidence is an inscription on a bronze bell from 1485.

Before standardization, village priests passed local Yi forms through religious, magical, medical, and genealogical texts. A standardized Liangshan form was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980; it later appeared in textbooks and newspapers and supported mother-tongue education. It standardizes one regional tradition, not every Yi writing tradition.

Yi radical sets borrowed the Han Chinese method of organizing dictionary lookup; this does not mean the Yi script descended from Chinese characters. Within the Yi radicals, ꒳ (Yi Radical Jo) is the heading for the group containing ꒴.