Yi syllable Ddot

In standardized Nuosu Yi, ꅄ is the high-tone syllable spelled ddot.

ddot is the Yi Pinyin spelling: dd is a voiced d, and final t marks a high, level tone rather than another consonant. It sounds roughly like English “do,” with the d in “dog” and the o in “go”; 55 in the alternate transcription do55 describes its high, level pitch. Nuosu word lists gloss it as a cockspur—the hard spur on a rooster’s leg.

A bronze-bell inscription dated 1485 is among the earliest surviving examples of Yi writing. Older Yi writing varied among local traditions; bimo, Yi ritual specialists, passed down religious, magical, medical, and genealogical texts. The standardized Liangshan form reworked that writing to broaden literacy: it was devised in 1974, officially promulgated in 1980, and adopted in schools, publications, and daily written life. Its reading should not be projected onto every regional or historical Yi text.

How can I enter ꅄ?

A Yi-aware input method can enter the syllable as ddot.

Unicode-aware software can use U+A144 or \uA144; HTML uses ꅄ.

If it appears as a box, the active font lacks Yi glyph coverage. The text still contains ꅄ, even when that font cannot draw it.