Yi syllable hli

It writes one syllable in Nuosu Yi. In the standard Liangshan writing system used for Nuosu, a Yi language, ꆙ represents the syllable romanized as hli. This bare form marks a steady, mid-pitched tone; final letters mark other tones. The word's meaning comes from the surrounding Nuosu text, so ꆙ alone has no fixed English-word translation.

Traditional Yi writing developed in several local forms and appears in religious, magical, medical, and genealogical texts. Early surviving examples include a bronze-bell inscription dated 1485. The Liangshan standard was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 to support literacy and regularize writing from older local forms.

That standard is one branch of a wider history: traditional Yi had regional repertoires and an independent writing tradition, not a script derived from Han characters. Modern Nuosu publications include official documents, newspapers, literature, and bilingual editions of ritual and epic texts.

How do I type ꆙ?

Use a Yi input method and select the syllable. Type the syllable's romanized spelling, choose the matching Yi character, then accept it. On Microsoft's Windows Yi IME, Enter or Space accepts a selected candidate; its guide was updated in 2024.

Why does ꆙ look different or show as a box?

A box usually means the font lacks Yi coverage. This text character is drawn by the active font, so another font may give it a different outline; a font without Yi glyphs may show a box or another placeholder. Traditional Yi writing also has regional differences in glyph shape and writing direction.