Yi Radical Ssi

It groups Yi signs for lookup; it does not name an idea.

A Yi radical is a written element used to group signs in the standardized Liangshan Yi system, also called the Nuosu script. Here, “ssi” is a label borrowed from the closest-looking Yi syllable; it does not translate the radical.

Evidence for the wider Yi writing tradition includes inscriptions on pottery, stone, and bronze from more than a millennium ago; paper texts survive from at least the late Ming. Those traces document Yi writing, not the origin date of this exact mark.

Why was the Yi script written?

It preserved ritual, medical, and other specialist knowledge.

Traditional Yi writing was kept by bimo, Yi ritual specialists, in manuscripts passed from teacher to student. This describes the script’s written life; it does not make ꒕ itself a ritual sign.

A standard Liangshan Yi form was devised in 1974 and officially introduced in 1980 to support literacy. Its radicals drew on the Han character lookup system, a way of grouping written signs; that design link does not make ꒕ a Chinese character.

What does it mean if someone sends ꒕?

As of 2026, no standard chat reading is documented.

If it arrives alone, ask the sender what they intended; the mark does not identify a mood or reaction on its own.