Yi Syllable Ha

On SIL Yi keyboard 2.0’s desktop layout, type ha and press Space.

SIL Yi keyboard 2.0 uses Yi Pinyin on desktop; on mobile, tap h then a, with the second key supplying the vowel and tone.

What does ꉳ mean by itself?

ꉳ represents one Liangshan Yi syllable; context supplies its meaning.

Here ha is the Yi Pinyin spelling, a Latin-letter way to write the syllable’s sound rather than a translation. The Unicode Yi syllabary, a writing system whose characters represent syllables, covers the Liangshan dialect, not every Yi dialect.

Classical Yi and standardized Yi refer to different writing traditions. Classical Yi is a broad label for older writing, historically known as Cuan or Wei, which varied by region and used signs tied to meanings. One widespread origin account credits Aki with devising the traditional script during the Tang dynasty (618–907), though origin accounts differ. The oldest securely dated surviving example is the 1485 inscription on the bronze Chenghua Bell. Bimo, village religious specialists, passed down older texts on ritual, magic, medicine, and family histories. The Liangshan standard was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 to support literacy.