Yi Syllable Shuox

The glyph stands for one Nuosu syllable. Its standard romanized spelling is shuox; the final x marks the syllable's tone (its pitch pattern), while the surrounding word supplies its lexical meaning. Alone, the glyph has no single English-word translation.

Yi writing developed through regional traditions rather than from one inventor. Accounts of early Yi writing point to bronze and stone finds in Guizhou from the Western Han era; the earliest surviving paper texts date to around 1500. By the Ming period, regional Yi forms were used across Yunnan and Guizhou. Yi ritual specialists, called bimo, transmitted texts for ritual, genealogy, medicine, history, and literature.

The modern Liangshan standard was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 from traditional forms. It connects to other regional Yi scripts, which differed in shape, sound, writing direction, and use; Liangshan is not a universal standard for every Yi dialect. Textbooks and digital input also extend the script beyond its older manuscript tradition.

How do I type ꎯ?

Use a Yi input method and select its character candidate.

In the Windows Yi IME, switch to Yi, type shuox, then select ꎯ from the suggestions.

The SIL/Keyman Yi keyboard uses the same conversion pattern: type the romanized syllable and press Space.