Yi syllable zzyr

A single ꋬ is one syllable, not a complete translation.

In standardized Nuosu writing, one Yi writing tradition, ꋬ represents the syllable conventionally romanized zzyr. Tone and neighboring syllables shape a word’s meaning, so ꋬ alone cannot be translated reliably. The Nuosu word ꋬꂻ means “peace”; a longer four-syllable phrase beginning with ꋬ is a greeting wishing happiness and health.

How did the Yi script develop?

It developed through local traditions, then gained a Liangshan standard.

Some scholars connect Yi writing to inscriptions from China’s ancient Western Han dynasty. Unicode’s account identifies an inscription on a bronze bell dated 1485 as the earliest surviving example; that is not a proven invention date. Connected Yi writing traditions are also discussed under older names such as Cuan and Wei.

Yi ritual specialists called bimo copied local forms for religious, magical, medical, and family-history texts. The forms varied in glyphs, readings, orientation, and punctuation. A Liangshan standard based on older Northern Yi forms was devised in 1974 and officially promulgated in 1980 to improve literacy; it later appeared in official documents, newspapers, literature, and ritual and epic texts. This standard is for Liangshan Yi, not every Yi community; as of 2026-09-12, no single writing system covers all Yi areas.