Yi syllable Fo

It represents the Nuosu syllable fo at midlevel tone.

In Liangshan romanization, fo has no final tone letter; final t, x, and p mark other tones. The romanization labels the syllable's sound, not the meaning of the Yi word around it.

Yi writing has distinct regional traditions, not a single script. The earliest dated Yi writing that survives reliably comes from the 15th century: inscriptions on the Chenghua Bell, an inscribed bell. Older origins remain debated, and undated manuscripts may be earlier. Until modern times, bimo (Yi ritual specialists and priests) largely kept writing for religious, magical, medical, genealogical, and other specialist texts. A Liangshan standard was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 to support literacy. It targets Nuosu, the Liangshan variety; other Yi communities keep distinct traditions. Some Chinese sources call the broader tradition Cuan; traditional Yi characters are not considered direct descendants of Han (Chinese) characters.

Why does ꃖ look like a box?

A font with Yi coverage is needed to display it.

Its shape comes from the selected font. A font without Yi coverage can show a missing-glyph box or fallback mark. Standardized Liangshan Yi generally runs left to right; some traditional regional forms also ran right to left or vertically, with different glyph inventories.

How can I type ꃖ on Windows?

Use a Yi input method to convert the phonetic entry.

On Windows, add the Yi input method, type the Latin phonemes, then select the matching Yi character from the suggestions. A regular Latin keyboard enters those letters only; it does not convert them to ꃖ by itself.