Yi syllable hxiex

ꉋ writes one Nuosu Yi syllable, not an English word. Yi Pinyin, the Latin-letter spelling system used for Nuosu, writes it as hxiex; the final x marks its secondary-high tone, a pitch distinction in Yi speech. The surrounding text shows how the syllable contributes to a word.

Objects said to carry Yi writing from the Western Han dynasty are debated; the earliest securely dated surviving example is a bronze bell from 1485. Traditional Yi writing varied by region in its signs, inventory, and direction. It served religious, magical, medical, and family-history writing, often preserved by village ritual specialists.

The modern Liangshan form was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 to support literacy in that dialect. Traditional Yi characters are not derived from Chinese characters; the modern syllabary standardizes local Yi forms for Liangshan, not every Yi dialect.

How do I type ꉋ with a Yi keyboard?

Type hxiex in a Yi input method, then choose its candidate. Microsoft's Windows Yi IME instructions, updated 2024-06-20, describe typing phonetic spellings on a Latin keyboard and selecting a Yi character from the candidate list. For this syllable, enter hxiex and select ꉋ.

Typing and display are separate. The character needs a font with Yi Syllables coverage; Nuosu SIL and Noto Sans Yi are documented options. A missing-glyph box points to font coverage.

Standardized Yi text usually runs left to right without spaces between words or syllables. Traditional local materials can use other directions, so direction alone does not mean the character has changed.