Yi Syllable Xie

It is one Liangshan Yi syllable; surrounding words supply its meaning.

Standard Liangshan spelling writes it in Latin letters as xie. Final t, x, or p mark other tones, so this form has a mid-level, even pitch. The spelling gives a reading, not an English translation; a complete Yi word or sentence supplies its meaning.

Yi writing's origins remain debated. Some scholars count inscriptions on pottery, stone, bronze and bone as early Yi evidence; the earliest surviving paper Yi texts date to around 1500. Traditional Yi signs form a distinct writing tradition, not simply variants of Han Chinese characters. Traditional Yi writing served religious, magical, medical and genealogical purposes; local bimo (ritual specialists) passed it on from teacher to student. A standardized Liangshan form was devised in 1974 and promulgated in 1980 to support literacy. It was not intended to unify all Yi dialects.

How do I type ꑣ?

Use the Windows Yi input method and select its xie candidate.

Microsoft's Yi IME instructions, last updated 2024-06-20, describe this sequence: add Yi input in Windows, type the syllable with Latin-letter keys, choose the matching character from the candidates, then confirm with Enter or Space. Here xie is the Latin-letter input label, not an English translation.

If ꑣ appears as a square, the active font likely lacks Yi glyph coverage. Choose a font that supports standardized Yi syllables; a font gap changes the display, not the character.