Yi Syllable Zhuop

ꍌ marks the Liangshan Yi syllable zhuop. In the standard Latin spelling for that syllable, final p marks the low-falling tone; it is not a final consonant. The label identifies pronunciation, not an English translation. A word’s meaning comes from surrounding Yi syllables.

The older Yi script, historically called Cuan or Wei, used signs for ideas rather than individual syllables. Local Yi traditions had different signs and writing directions, and Yi priests called bimo passed down manuscripts for religious, ritual, medical, and family-history use. One origin story credits Aki with devising the script during the Tang dynasty (618–907); the oldest surviving Yi inscription is on a bronze bell dated 1485.

The standardized Liangshan Yi syllabary was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 to improve literacy. It represents that variety, not every Yi variety.

Why does ꍌ look different?

A Yi-capable font draws it; missing support can leave a box. Supporting fonts can give ꍌ different-looking designs while encoding the same character.

Traditional Yi writing also varies by region in glyph shape and writing direction. Standardized Liangshan Yi normally runs left to right or sometimes vertically; its syllables do not typographically join or reshape one another.