Yi Syllable Tux

It writes one syllable in the standardized Liangshan (Nuosu) Yi script. In Yi Pinyin, the syllable is spelled tux; its final x marks the secondary-high tone, a pitch pattern. The character gives one syllable, so its intended reading is clearest within the Yi word or phrase where it appears.

The Unicode Standard identifies a bronze-bell inscription dated 1485 as the earliest surviving example of Yi writing. Proposed evidence on pottery, stone, bronze, and bone is debated, so 1485 is not necessarily when Yi writing began. Traditional Yi texts were copied by bimo, ritual specialists, and included religious, magical, medical, and genealogical material.

The standardized Liangshan (Nuosu) form was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 to improve literacy. A 2024 Unicode proposal describes Sichuan Yi use in education, reference books, newspapers, public notices, fiction, subtitles, and religious life; running text usually has no spaces between words or syllables. Yi writing has regional traditions, and this Liangshan standard does not represent every Yi variety. Unicode describes traditional Yi characters as apparently not derived from Chinese Han characters, despite longstanding contact among writing traditions in southwest China.

How do I type ꄱ?

Enter its Yi Pinyin spelling in a Yi input method. As of 2026, Microsoft's Windows Yi IME turns typed Yi phonemes into a list of character candidates. Enter tux and select the matching syllable.

ꄱ is text, so its appearance depends on fonts. Without Yi coverage, a system may substitute a fallback font or show a missing-glyph box; neither changes the character stored in the text.