Yi Syllable Nbap

ꂀ is the Liangshan Yi syllable nbap.

Yi Pinyin is the standard Latin-letter spelling system for Yi syllables; final p marks a low-falling tone. The spelling identifies the reading, not an English translation.

A syllable can be looked up on its own, but its role in a Yi word or sentence comes from the surrounding text.

Is ꂀ Chinese or Yi?

ꂀ is a standardized syllable sign for the Liangshan dialect of Yi.

Older Yi writing, called Cuan or Wei in historical sources, varied from place to place. Its traditional signs appear not to derive from Han Chinese ideographs; the modern syllabary developed from older Yi forms, assigning a sign to each syllable.

One origin tradition credits Aki with devising the older Yi script during the Tang dynasty (618–907). Some Guizhou stone and bronze finds proposed as early Yi writing are dated to the Western Han, but their identification is disputed. The earliest surviving Yi-script example identified by the Unicode Standard is a bronze-bell inscription from 1485; paper and sheepskin manuscripts appear around 1500. For centuries, bimo (Yi ritual specialists) mainly transmitted local forms in religious, medical, and genealogical texts. A Liangshan standard was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 to support literacy; it is not universal across Yi varieties.

How do I type ꂀ in a Yi IME?

In Windows 11, type nbap in the Yi IME and choose ꂀ.

The Yi IME takes syllable spellings entered on Latin keys and offers Yi-character candidates. In Windows 11, Enter or Space accepts the first suggestion; other input tools may use different candidate controls.

A box usually means the active font cannot display Yi syllables. Use a Yi-capable font; Nuosu SIL 2.300 includes the standardized Yi syllable set.