Yi Syllable Kep

It represents the Nuosu Yi syllable romanized as kep. It has no fixed English meaning on its own: the surrounding word supplies the meaning. In modern Liangshan Yi, ꈍ appears in ꈍꑋ (kep nyix, “several” or “how many”), ꈍꄮꇬ (kep te go, “when”), and ꈍꃅ (kep mu, “how”).

Yi writing grew from regional traditions, not one fixed system. It was kept mainly by bimo priests for religious, medical, and genealogical texts; the often-cited monumental example is a bronze bell dated 1485, though undated manuscripts may be older. A standardized Liangshan system was devised in 1974 and promulgated in 1980. That standard writes Nuosu, not every Yi variety, and is not a direct descendant of Han characters, so ꈍ is not a Chinese character.

How do I type ꈍ?

Use a Yi/Nuosu IME and choose the candidate. In Microsoft’s 2024 Windows documentation, the Yi IME lets you type the sounds on an ordinary keyboard, then pick the syllable; there is no one-key mapping for ꈍ. If you see a box, your font lacks Yi coverage. Copy it from the palette above when you only need this Yi syllable.