Yi syllable ssu

ꌾ writes one Liangshan Yi syllable, romanized ssu.

In the Liangshan standard, one character represents one syllable. ssu is a Latin-letter spelling used to label it, not an English translation; a missing final t, p, or x marks midlevel tone, a level pitch. To translate the syllable, you need its Yi-language word or sentence.

The modern standardized sign derives from older Yi ideographs, a traditional system of written signs. The earliest surviving example of Yi writing is an inscription on a bronze bell dated 1485; it documents that older tradition, not the exact modern shape of ꌾ.

Why was Yi script standardized?

To make literacy easier in the Liangshan dialect.

A Latin-letter spelling system for Liangshan Yi was introduced in 1956. A standardized form of the traditional script was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 to address local character variants and gaps between older writing and modern pronunciation.

Older local Yi writing was used in ritual, magical, medical, and genealogical manuscripts, often transmitted by village priests. The standard widened writing's role to literacy, official documents, newspapers, and literature. It serves Liangshan/Nuosu, not all Yi languages or writing traditions.