Yi syllable chuox

It represents one syllable in Liangshan Yi, a variety of the Yi language. The standard romanization, a spelling system using Latin letters, writes it chuox. The final x marks the secondary-high tone, a pitch category; it marks tone, not a consonant sound.

In a Yi word or sentence, surrounding text provides context. Sent alone to someone who does not read Yi, it gives no dependable clue about the sender's mood.

Why was Liangshan Yi writing standardized?

The standard was created to support literacy in the Liangshan Yi variety. Traditional Yi writing, historically also called Cuan or Wei, varied by locality and used signs associated with words or meanings. In traditional Yi writing, ritual and literary texts covered religion, legends, history, medicine, astrology, and family records; village priests passed many down through generations. One origin tradition credits a person named Aki with devising about 1,840 signs during China's Tang dynasty (618–907). The earliest surviving inscription is on a bronze bell dated 1485.

The standardized Liangshan form was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 to improve literacy. It adapted older Yi writing into a syllabary, with one sign for each possible syllable in that variety. The standard is specific to Liangshan Yi; other Yi varieties and local writing traditions are not all represented by it.