Yi syllable zur

ꊧ is the Yi syllable romanized as zur. Its meaning depends on the word it belongs to; a Nuosu grammar gives zur bop for “origin” or “source.”

In standard Liangshan romanization, the final r belongs to the vowel spelling ur, not a separate consonant. With no final t, x or p, this form has mid-level tone: the voice stays at a steady middle pitch.

Yi writing had local forms before standardization

Yi writing grew through local traditions rather than one uniform script. Local bimo—ritual specialists—preserved distinct forms for religious, magical, medical, and family-history texts. A bronze-bell inscription dated 1485 is among the surviving evidence; claims for earlier stone, bronze, and pottery examples remain debated. The standardized Liangshan form was devised in 1974 and promulgated in 1980 for one Yi dialect, giving literacy and digital writing a consistent form.