Yi syllable Nde

It is one syllable within a larger Yi word. The Latin spelling “nde” labels this syllable in the standard romanization; it is not an English gloss. In Nuosu Yi, written words use sequences of syllables, so the surrounding syllables complete the word.

The Chenghua Bell inscriptions are among the oldest reliably dated surviving examples of Yi writing, from the 15th century. Bimo, Yi ritual specialists, preserved traditional forms in texts on scripture, legends, history, medicine, astrology, and genealogy. The standardized Liangshan script was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980, adapting older Northern Yi forms for schools, public documents, newspapers, and literature. It represents the Liangshan dialect; other Yi writing traditions may differ in character shapes and sound values.

Why does ꅠ show as a square?

The font may not contain Yi characters. Without a font that supports this character, the display may show a box or blank space; the underlying text still contains ꅠ. A font with Yi coverage is needed to display it.