Yi syllable hlur

Enter “hlur” as sound-based input in a Yi IME.

Windows’ Yi IME accepts sound-based entry with Latin keyboard keys and presents Yi-character candidates; choose the one labeled “hlur.” Microsoft’s instructions were updated in 2024.

What does ꆰ mean?

It identifies a Liangshan Yi syllable, not an English word.

The standard romanization writes the syllable as “hlur”; the lack of a final tone letter marks a level pitch in the middle range. A syllable can correspond to different words in context, so its romanized label alone is not a complete translation.

Traditional Yi writing, historically called Cuan or Wei, comprised many local ideographic traditions rather than one fixed script. One widespread account credits Aki with devising it during the Tang dynasty (618–907); the earliest surviving inscription cited in Unicode is on a bronze bell dated 1485. Bimo, or village priests, passed local forms down in religious, magical, medical, and genealogical manuscripts. To improve literacy, a standardized Liangshan form drawn from traditional signs was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980. It covers Liangshan Yi, not every Yi language or writing tradition. Its romanized syllable labels follow the Liangshan system introduced in 1956.