Yi Syllable Vap

It writes a Liangshan Yi syllable; Yi Pinyin spells it “vap.”

Yi Pinyin is a Latin-letter system for writing Yi syllables. Approximate “vap” as “vah” with the pitch falling; final p marks the low-falling tone and is not pronounced. It gives the syllable, not an English translation; a word’s meaning comes from context.

Is ꃭ a Chinese character?

No; it is part of a Liangshan Yi syllabary. Traditional Yi writing includes local forms such as Nuosu, Nasu, Nisu, Sani, and Azhe; they share some signs but differ in shapes and inventories. Traditional Yi ideographs appear to have developed independently of Chinese characters, so a blocky look alone does not make ꃭ Chinese. This standardized syllabary is for Liangshan Yi, not every Yi variety.

One Yi origin tradition credits Aki with creating the writing system during the Tang dynasty. A bronze-bell inscription from 1485 is the oldest securely dated surviving example; it dates the writing tradition, not ꃭ’s exact syllable form.

Before standardization, bimo—ritual specialists trained to read and write—transmitted village manuscripts on ceremonies, medicine, magic, genealogies, history, astronomy, literature, and education. The Liangshan standard reshaped older writing into a syllabary to widen literacy; it was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980. When ritual practice revived in Liangshan in the early 1980s, public and scholarly discussion also reframed bimo traditions as “bimo culture,” alongside their religious role.

How do I type ꃭ?

On Windows, type vap in Yi input and select ꃭ.

Microsoft’s Yi input guide, documented on 2024-06-20, describes typing phonemes with English keys, then choosing the matching character from a candidate list. Add Yi under Settings > Time & language > Language & region, switch to Yi input, type vap, and select ꃭ.