Yi Syllable Miep

It marks one syllable in the standardized Liangshan script. Yi Pinyin for “miep” is a Latin-letter spelling of the syllable, not an English translation. In Nuosu, surrounding words establish how that syllable fits into a word or sentence.

The origin of the Yi script predates modern standardization, but its earlier history remains debated. A bronze-bell inscription is dated 1485, and the earliest surviving texts on sheepskin and paper are placed around 1500. In Nuosu mythology, Aki is credited with creating the script; this is an origin story, not proof of one historical inventor. Historically, ritual specialists—people who performed ceremonies—used Yi texts to preserve religious, magical, medical, and genealogical material.

Liangshan Yi standardization gave one dialect a shared written form: the modern form was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 for literacy and public use. It does not represent every Yi variety.

How do I type ꂴ?

Use Yi Pinyin in a Yi input method, then select the syllable. Yi Pinyin spells syllables with Latin letters; enter “miep” in a Yi input method editor (IME) or conversion tool, then choose the matching character.

As of 2026, Microsoft's Windows documentation describes a built-in Yi IME for an ordinary 101–105-key keyboard. SIL's downloadable Yi keyboard layout covers Yi syllables, but not Yi radicals.

Why is ꂴ missing in my font?

A missing glyph in a Yi font can leave the character blank or boxed. ꂴ is text drawn by a font, so a device without Yi coverage may show a blank or missing-glyph box. The Nuosu SIL font includes standardized Yi syllables; a Yi-capable font can restore the display without changing the character stored in the text.