| ꡄ ꡅ ꡆ ꡇ |
Transliteration : ca, cʽa, ja, ña
This scrap of paper shows four consecutive letters of the Phags-pa script, and may well have been made by a student practicing to write the letters of the Phags-pa script. The letters are neater than those in the student's practice piece discussed previously, so would not have been written by the same person.
| ... ꡄ ꡅ ꡆ ꡇ ꡈ ꡉ ꡊ ꡋ | ... ꡏ ꡐ ꡑ ꡒ ꡔ ꡕ ꡖ ꡗ | ... ꡜ ꡝ ꡞ ꡟ ꡠ ꡡ ꡢ ꡣ |
Transliteration : [ka, kʽa, ga, ŋa] ca, cʽa, ja, ña, ta, tʽa, da, na | [pa, pʽa, ba] ma, ʦa, ʦʽa, ʣa, ža, za, ·a, ya | [ra, la, ša, sa] ha, ʼa, i, u, e, o, qa, xa | [ė ?]
This scrap of paper shows the letters of the Phags-pa script written out in order, in a very untidy hand, and it is undoubtedly a student's practice piece. As it conspicuously omits the letters WA and FA which are not used for writing native Mongolian words (but which are used for writing both Chinese and Uighur), it was probably the work of a Mongolian student (however, the letters CA, NYA, TSA, DZA and ZHA are included, and they are not normally used for writing Mongolian either). There is some indistinct writing in a column to the right of the Phags-pa letters, but it is not clear what it says.
The creation of the New Mongolian Script (蒙古新字) is documented in the biography of its creator, the 'Phags-pa Lama (Blo-gros rGyal-mtshan བློ་གྲོས་རྒྱལ་མཚན་ 1235/1239-1280), in the History of the Yuan Dynasty (compiled 1369-1370) :
In the first year of the Zhongtong reign period (1260) the Emperor Shizu (Kublai Khan) ascended to the throne, and he invested the 'Phags-pa lama with a jade seal and the title of "National Preceptor". The Emperor commanded 'Phags-pa to create the New Mongolian Script, and when the letters had been devised 'Phags-pa submitted them to the Emperor. The number of words in the script is only somewhat over a thousand (i.e. 1000+ phonetic syllables representing all possible Chinese ideographs), and the total number of letters is forty-one. The way that the letters are joined together to form words is by means of a "locked vowel" (i.e. the inherant vowel "a"). When two, three or four letters are joined together to form a word, then they constitute a syllable. The important thing is to represent the sound of a word.
In the sixth year of the Zhiyuan reign period (1269) the script was promulgated throughout the empire by imperial command. The edict stated :
It is our opinion that writing is used to represent words, and words are used to record events. This has been the system from ancient times through to the present day. Our nation was founded in the North, and in those times our customs were as yet ancient and uncomplicated, and we had no time to create [our own script]. When we needed to write things down, then we used the Chinese or Uighur scripts in order to represent the language of this court. However, when we look at the Liao and Jin regimes, or other far distant countries, they all have their own scripts. Now the rule of the pen has come to replace the rule of the sword, but we yet lack a means of writing, which really is a failure in this dynasty's system of government. Therefore I expressly commanded the National Preceptor 'Phags-pa to create the New Mongolian Script, which could be used to transcribe all other scripts, in the hope that words may easily be used to express events. Henceforth all offical documents and imperial edicts will be written in the New Mongolian Script, together with a supplementary version of the text written in the local script.
Thereupon the 'Phags-pa lama was elevated to the title of The Great Precious Dharma King, and invested with another jade seal.
中統元年，世祖即位，尊為國師，授以玉印。命制蒙古新字，字成上之。其字 僅千餘，其母凡四十有一。其相關紐而成字者，則有韻關之法；其以二合三合四合 而成字者，則有語韻之法；而大要則以諧聲為宗也。至元六年，詔頒行於天下。詔 曰：
朕惟字以書言，言以紀事，此古今之通制。我國家肇基朔方，俗尚簡古，未 遑制作，凡施用文字，因用漢楷及畏吾字，以達本朝之言。考諸遼、金，以及遐方 諸國，例各有字，今文治浸興，而字書有闕，於一代制度，實為未備。故特命國師 八思巴創為蒙古新字，譯寫一切文字，期於順言達事而已。自今以往，凡有璽書頒 降者，并用蒙古新字，仍各以其國字副之。
遂升號八思巴曰大寶法王，更賜玉印。
This tells us that the Phags-pa script comprised forty-one letters, but does not provide any further information on these letters. Fortunately there are two contemporary Chinese works that describe the Phags-pa script in more detail, and illustrate the forty-one original letters :
These two works both provide descriptions of several non-Chinese scripts, including a short section on the Phags-pa script, with a table of the forty-one Phags-pa letters and corresponding Chinese ideographs used to represent the letters' phonetic values. Although there are some differences between the two works, the main description of the Phags-pa script and the table of letters is virtually identical, and they clearly derive from a common source. There is also some correspondence between these descriptions and the account of the creation of the New Mongolian Script in the biography of the 'Phags-pa lama given above. It would seem probable that the original source for the descriptions of the Phags-pa script given by Shèng Xīmíng and Táo Zōngyí was the edict of 1269 that officially promulgated the new script.
惟我皇元兆基朔方，俗尚簡古，刻木為信，猶結繩也。既而頗用北庭字，書之羊革，猶竹簡也。蓋天將徼世以復古。奄有中夏，未遑於制作，乃詔國師拔思八采諸梵文創為國字，其母四十有三：
右借漢字釋音，並開口呼之。漢字母内則去ꡘ、ꡢ、ꡥ三字，增入ꡤ、ꡚ、ꡜ、ꡗ四字。切韻多本梵法，字勢方古嚴重。凡詔誥、表章、鴻文、大冊並以書焉。
Our Imperial Yuan dynasty was founded in the North, and in those times our customs were as yet ancient and uncomplicated. We carved notches in wood as a means of communication, in the same way that [the preliterate Chinese were supposed to have] tied knots in string [as a primitive means of communication]. Later we came to use the letters of the Beiting people (i.e. Uighurs), writing on sheep hides , which was analagous to the [ancient Chinese custom of writing on] bamboo slips. No doubt Heaven causes the world to return to the ancient ways. When we completely occupied China we had no time to create [our own script], and so I commanded the National Teacher 'Phags-pa to create a National Script after the model of the various Indic scripts. The number of letters [in the new script] are forty-three.*
The letters listed above are glossed with Chinese ideographs to show their pronunciation. The letters should be pronounced with an "open mouth" (this is a technical linguistic term for syllables without a "u" vowel or semi-vowel).
When used for writing Chinese then the three letters RA, QA and GGA are removed, and the four letters FA, SHA, HA and YA are added.
The method of putting the letters together to spell words is mostly based on the method used in Indic scripts. The appearance of the letters is square and ancient, solemn and imposing.
All edicts, memorials, official letters and proclamations are to be written in [the new script].
* Shūshǐ Huìyào states that there are 41 letters, and gives 41 letters; whereas Fǎshū Kǎo states there are 43 letters, but actually gives 42 letters. However the 38th letter in Fǎshū Kǎo is the same as the 39th letter and has the same Chinese gloss as the 37th letter, and so must be an erroneous interpolation, The correct number of letters is forty-one.
帝師巴思八土波國人，法號曰：「皇天之下、一人之上、開教宣文、輔治大聖、至德普覺、眞智祐國、如意大寶法王、西天佛子、大元帝師」，共三十有八字。且夫有元肇基朔方，俗尚簡古，刻木為信，猶結繩也。既而頗用北庭字，書之羊革，猶竹簡也。及奄有中夏，受命巴思八采諸梵文創為國字，其功豈小補哉。
字之母，凡四十一：
右借漢字釋音，並開口呼之。漢字母内則去ꡘ、ꡢ、ꡥ三字，而增入ꡤ、ꡚ、ꡜ、ꡗ四字。切韻多本梵法，或一母獨成一字，或二三母揍成一字，如 ꡉꡦꡋ（天）、ꡈꡞ（地）、ꡔꡞꡋ（人）、ꡊꡟꡃ（東）、ꡛꡞ（西）、ꡋꡏ（南）、ꡎꡟꡞ（北）之類是也。但只一字具平、上、去三聲，而無入聲。入聲輕呼則同平聲矣。凡詔、誥、宣、敕、表、牋並以書寫，其書右行，其字方古嚴重。
按，宋鄭樵《七畧》序云：
七音之韻起自西域，流入中夏。梵僧欲以其教傳之天下，故為此書。雖重百譯之遠，一字不通之處，而音韻可傳。華僧從而定之以三十六為之母，重濁輕清，不失其倫，天地萬物之音備於此矣。雖鶴唳、風聲、雞鳴、狗吠、雷霆、驚天、蟁蝱、過耳皆可譯也，況人言乎。初得七音韻鑑一唱三歎。胡僧有此妙義，而儒者未之聞及乎。研究制字、考證諧聲然後知皇頡史籕/籀之書已具七音之作，先儒不得其傳耳。
據此則巴思八之制創，其所由來遠矣。詳具外域天竺條下。
The Imperial Preceptor 'Phags-pa was a Tibetan. His Buddhist title was "Beneath the Imperial Heavens only One Person Stands above Him, Opener of Religion and Propagator of Writing, Aid to the Great Sage, Extreme Virtue and Universal Awakening, True Wisdom and Protector of the Nation, Wishes Come True Great Precious Dharma King, Buddha of the Western Heaven, Imperial Preceptor of the Great Yuan dynasty", written with a total of thirty-eight ideographs.
As to the Yuan dynasty, it was founded in the North, and in those times its customs were as yet ancient and uncomplicated. They carved notches in wood as a means of communication, in the same way that [the preliterate Chinese were supposed to have] tied knots in string [as a primitive means of communication]. Later they came to use the letters of the Beiting people (i.e. Uighurs), writing on sheep hides , which was analagous to the [ancient Chinese custom of writing on] bamboo slips. When they had completely occupied China, 'Phags-pa was invested with the task of creating a National Script after the model of the various Indic scripts. How could his accomplishments not be considered of great importance ?
The number of letters [in the new script] are forty-one.
The letters listed above are glossed with Chinese ideographs to show their pronunciation. The letters should be pronounced with an "open mouth" (this is a technical linguistic term for syllables without a "u" vowel or semi-vowel).
When used for writing Chinese then the three letters RA, QA and GGA are removed, and the four letters FA, SHA, HA and YA are added.
The method of putting the letters together to spell words is mostly based on the method used in Indic scripts. Either one letter by itself represents a syllable, or two or three letters are joined together to form a syllable. For example tʽėn "Heaven", ti "Earth", žin "Mankind", duŋ "East", si "West", nam "South" and bui "North" are such examples. However, only a single syllable is used to represent the Level, Rising and falling tones, whilst there is no Entering tone at all. If the [ancient] Entering tone is [now] pronounced lightly, then it is the same as the Level tone.
All edicts, mandates, announcements, orders, memorials and official letters are written in [the new script]. The script is written in lines from left to right, and the appearance of the letters is square and ancient, solemn and imposing.
The table of Phags-pa letters given in the two works is presented below.
| Phags-pa Letter | Letter Name | Transcription | Chinese Gloss (Sanskrit Letter) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ꡀ | KA | k | 葛 gé *kɑt (ka क) | |
| ꡁ | KHA | kʽ | 渴 kě *kʻɑt (kha ख) | |
| ꡂ | GA | g | �� *ŋɑt (ga ग) | |
| ꡃ | NGA | ŋ | 誐 é *ŋɑ (ṅa ङ) | |
| ꡄ | CA | c | 者 zhě *tɕĭa | |
| ꡅ | CHA | cʽ | 車 chē *tɕ'ĭa | Gloss is missing in Shūshǐ Huìyào |
| ꡆ | JA | j | 遮 zhē *tɕĭa | |
| ꡇ | NYA | ñ | 倪 ní *ŋiei (ña ञ) | |
| ꡈ | TA | t | 怛 dá *tɑt (ta त) | |
| ꡉ | THA | tʽ | 撻 tà *tʻɑt (tha थ) | |
| ꡊ | DA | d | 達 dá *dɑt (dha ध) | The expected gloss would be 捺 nà *nɑt (da द). |
| ꡋ | NA | n | 那 nà *nɑ (na न) | Gloss is missing in Shūshǐ Huìyào |
| ꡌ | PA | p | 鉢 bō *pɑt (pa प) | |
| ꡍ | PHA | pʽ | 癹 bá *buɑt (pha फ) | |
| ꡎ | BA | b | 末 mò *muɑt (ba ब) | |
| ꡏ | MA | m | 麻 má *ma (ma भ) | |
| ꡐ | TSA | ʦ | 拶 zā *tsɑt (ca च) | |
| ꡑ | TSHA | ʦʽ | 擦 cā *tʃ'æt (cha छ) | Gloss is missing in Shūshǐ Huìyào, and 擦 is erroneously written as 捺 nà in Fǎshū Kǎo. |
| ꡒ | DZA | ʣ | 惹 rě *ɽĭa (ja ज) | |
| ꡓ | WA | w | 嚩 pó *bak (va व) | |
| ꡔ | ZHA | ž | 若 ruò *ɽĭak | |
| ꡕ | ZA | z | 薩 sà *sɑt (sa स) | |
| ꡖ | -A | · | 阿 ā *ɑ (ā आ) | |
| ꡗ | YA | y | 耶 yé *jĭa (ya य) | |
| ꡘ | RA | r | 囉 luó *lɑ (ra र) | |
| ꡙ | LA | l | 羅 luó *lɑ (la ल) | |
| ꡚ | SHA | š | 設 shè *ɕĭɛt (śa श) | |
| ꡛ | SA | s | 沙 shā *ʃa (ṣa ष) | |
| ꡜ | HA | h | 訶 hē *xɑ (ha ह) | |
| ꡝ | 'A | ʼ | 啞 yǎ *a | |
| ꡞ | I | i | 伊 yī *i (e ए) | |
| ꡟ | U | u | 鄔 wū *u (o ओ) | |
| ꡠ | E | e | 翳 yì *iei (ī ई) | |
| ꡡ | O | o | 污 wū *u (ū ऊ) | |
| ꡢ | QA | q | 遐 xiá *ɣa | Annotated "breathe heavily" 重呼 in Fǎshū Kǎo and "breathe lightly" 輕呼 Shūshǐ Huìyào |
| ꡣ | XA | x | 霞 xiá *ɣa | |
| ꡤ | FA | f | 法 fǎ *pĭwɐp | |
| ꡥ | GGA | ɣ | 惡 è *ɑk | |
| ꡦ | EE | ė | 也 yě *jĭa | |
| ꡧ | W | ʷ | 咼 wāi *kʻuɑ | |
| ꡨ | Y | ʸ | 耶 yé *jĭa | Annotated "breathe lightly" 輕呼 |
The Chinese glosses for the Phags-pa letters are followed by their modern pinyin reading as well as the reconstructed Tang/Song dynasty pronunciation given in Guō Xīliáng 郭錫良, Hànzì Gǔyīn Shǒucè 漢字古音手册 (Beijing, 1991). The glosses are not very useful, as all but a few of them are simply borrowed from the description of the Sanskrit script given elsewhere in Fǎshū Kǎo and Shūshǐ Huìyào, where they are used to gloss the pronunciation of Sanskrit (Lantsa) letters, The corresponding Sanskrit letters are given in parentheses after the Chinese gloss in the table above. This indirectly maps most of the forty-one Phags-pa letters to their corresponding Sanskrit letters, but does not necessarily tell us what the intended pronunciation of each letter was, especially as the glosses for these Sanskrit letters do not reflect Yuan dynasty Chinese. Indeed some of the glosses, such as those for the letters GA, DA and BA, do not seem to represent standard Chinese pronunciation from any period of time, and would be misleading at best if used as a guide to these letters' pronunciations.
All except one of the letters in this table are found in actual Yuan dynasty Phags-pa texts and inscriptions, and from the evidence of the extant Yuan dynasty Phags-pa texts and inscriptions it seems that these forty-one letters represent a comprehensive list of the letters devised by the 'Phags-pa lama. Only one set of Phags-pa inscriptions dating from the Yuan dynasty include letters outside of the list of letters in Fǎshū Kǎo and Shūshǐ Huìyào. That is the transliteration of the Sanskrit texts Uṣṇīṣavijaya-dhāraṇī and Tathāgatahṛdaya-dhāraṇī engraved in large Phags-pa letters on the East and West walls respectively of the "Cloud Platform" 雲台 at Juyong Guan 居庸關 at the Great Wall north-west of Beijing, dated 1345. Uniquely these two inscriptions inlcude a set of reversed letters used for representing certain Sanskrit letters, as well as the Candrabindu sign, also used for transliterating Sanskrit. It may be assumed that these additional letters were only devised when they were found to be needed in order to write Sanskrit in the new script, and were not part of the original set of letters created by the 'Phags-pa lama.
The only problematic letter in this table is the letter GGA, which resembles a Tibetan letter GA, but is not found in any extant Phags-pa texts other than the list of letters in Fǎshū Kǎo and Shūshǐ Huìyào, as well as the list of seal script forms given in Měnggǔ Zìyùn 蒙古字韻. This letter is grouped together with the three letters QA, XA and FA that supplement the thirty Tibetan consonants, and so presumably also represents a sound not represented by the original thirty Tibetan letters. It is my belief that the letter GGA represents a glotal stop for use in writing Persian (i.e. the letter 'ayn ع). As no Persian Phags-pa texts still exist, this would explain why the letter GGA has not yet been found in use outside of this list.
Both Fǎshū Kǎo and Shūshǐ Huìyào note that "when used for writing Chinese the three letters RA, QA and GGA are removed, and the four letters FA, SHA, HA and YA are added". The first half of this statement is quite straight forward : the three letters RA, QA and GGA represent sounds that did not occur in Yuan dynasty Chinese, and so are not used for writing Chinese. This concurs with the evidence of extant Chinese Phags-pa texts and inscriptions, which do not use these three letters, but do use all of the other thirty-eight letters in the table.
On the surface the second half of the statement would seem to mean that the four letters FA, SHA, HA and YA are only used for writing Chinese, but this is obviously not the case as Mongolian Phags-pa texts make use of the letters SHA, HA and YA. The explanation is that the four additonal letters actually refer to the variant forms of the letters FA, SHA, HA and YA that are found in the Chinese rhyming dictionary Měnggǔ Zìyùn 蒙古字韻 to represent historic differences between initial consonants that had merged together in the standard Yuan dynasty Northern Chinese dialect (Old Mandarin) :
As far as I can tell Měnggǔ Zìyùn is the only work that uses variant forms of the letters FA, SHA, HA and YA to represent historic phonetic values. No other Yuan dynasty Chinese Phags-pa inscription or text that I have examined seems to use variant forms of the letters FA, SHA, HA and YA to systematically differentiate historical phonetic differences between initial consonants. That is to say, although the two variant forms of the letter HA, for example, may be found (sometimes one text uses one form and another text uses the other form, or they may be found together in the same text), they do not seem to be used in a way that suggests they represent different sounds, either modern or historical.
It is possible that variant forms of the letters FA, SHA, HA and YA were devised by the author of Měnggǔ Zìyùn (the only extant version was revised and edited by Zhū Zōngwén 朱宗文 in 1308) to represent historical phonetic differences, but that they never caught on in practical use, both because the variant forms of the letters were too similar to be easily differentiated, and also because the Old Mandarin dialect spoken during the Yuan dynasty no longer differentiated the historical phonetic differences that these variant forms were supposed to represent, and so there was little point in using them.
| Phags-pa | Chinese | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Transliteration | Phags-pa Syllable | Character | Pinyin |
| bui | ꡎꡟꡞ | 北 | běi |
| duŋ | ꡊꡟꡃ | 東 | dōng |
| nam | ꡋꡏ | 南 | nán |
| si | ꡛꡞ | 西 | xī |
| ti | ꡈꡞ | 地 | dì |
| tʽėn | ꡉꡦꡋ | 天 | tiān |
| žin | ꡔꡞꡋ | 人 | rén |
| Post | Text | Language | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shushi Huiyao and Fashu Kao | Shūshǐ Huìyào 書史會要 Fǎshū Kǎo 法書考 |
Chinese | 1334/1376 | Description of the Phags-pa script |
| Codepoint | Character | Character Name | Transliteration | Language usage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BabelStone | Poppe | Murata | Junast & Yang | ||||
| A840 | ꡀ | PHAGS-PA LETTER KA | k | k | k | k | Mongolian Chinese Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A841 | ꡁ | PHAGS-PA LETTER KHA | kʽ | kʽ | kʽ | kʽ | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A842 | ꡂ | PHAGS-PA LETTER GA | g | g | g | g | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A843 | ꡃ | PHAGS-PA LETTER NGA | ŋ | ŋ | ŋ | ŋ | Mongolian Chinese Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A844 | ꡄ | PHAGS-PA LETTER CA | c | č | č | tš | Chinese Tibetan |
| A845 | ꡅ | PHAGS-PA LETTER CHA | cʽ | čʽ | čʽ | tšʽ | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan |
| A846 | ꡆ | PHAGS-PA LETTER JA | j | ǰ | ǰ | dž | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan |
| A847 | ꡇ | PHAGS-PA LETTER NYA | ñ | ň | Chinese Tibetan Sanskrit | ||
| A848 | ꡈ | PHAGS-PA LETTER TA | t | t | t | t | Mongolian Chinese Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A849 | ꡉ | PHAGS-PA LETTER THA | tʽ | tʽ | tʽ | tʽ | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A84A | ꡊ | PHAGS-PA LETTER DA | d | d | d | d | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A84B | ꡋ | PHAGS-PA LETTER NA | n | n | n | n | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A84C | ꡌ | PHAGS-PA LETTER PA | p | p | p | p | Mongolian Chinese Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A84D | ꡍ | PHAGS-PA LETTER PHA | pʽ | pʽ | pʽ | Chinese Tibetan Sanskrit | |
| A84E | ꡎ | PHAGS-PA LETTER BA | b | b | b | b | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A84F | ꡏ | PHAGS-PA LETTER MA | m | m | m | m | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A850 | ꡐ | PHAGS-PA LETTER TSA | ʦ | c | ts | Chinese Tibetan Sanskrit | |
| A851 | ꡑ | PHAGS-PA LETTER TSHA | ʦʽ | cʽ | cʽ | tsʽ | Mongolian Chinese Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A852 | ꡒ | PHAGS-PA LETTER DZA | ʣ | j | j | dz | Chinese Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A853 | ꡓ | PHAGS-PA LETTER WA | w | v | v | w | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A854 | ꡔ | PHAGS-PA LETTER ZHA | ž | ž | ž | ž | Chinese Tibetan |
| A855 | ꡕ | PHAGS-PA LETTER ZA | z | z | z | z | Mongolian Chinese Tibetan |
| A856 | ꡖ | PHAGS-PA LETTER SMALL A | · | · | · | · | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A857 | ꡗ | PHAGS-PA LETTER YA | y | y | y | j | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A858 | ꡘ | PHAGS-PA LETTER RA | r | r | r | Mongolian Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit | |
| A859 | ꡙ | PHAGS-PA LETTER LA | l | l | l | l | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A85A | ꡚ | PHAGS-PA LETTER SHA | š | š | š | š₁ | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A85B | ꡛ | PHAGS-PA LETTER SA | s | s | s | s | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A85C | ꡜ | PHAGS-PA LETTER HA | h | h | h | h | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A85D | ꡝ | PHAGS-PA LETTER A | ʼ | ʼ | ʼ | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit | |
| A85E | ꡞ | PHAGS-PA LETTER I | i | i | i | i | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A85F | ꡟ | PHAGS-PA LETTER U | u | u | u | u | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A860 | ꡠ | PHAGS-PA LETTER E | e | ė | ė | e | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A861 | ꡡ | PHAGS-PA LETTER O | o | o | o | o | Mongolian Chinese Uighur Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A862 | ꡢ | PHAGS-PA LETTER QA | q | q | q | Mongolian Uighur | |
| A863 | ꡣ | PHAGS-PA LETTER XA | x | ɣ | ɣ | ɣ | Mongolian Chinese |
| A864 | ꡤ | PHAGS-PA LETTER FA | f | ħu̯ | Chinese Uighur | ||
| A865 | ꡥ | PHAGS-PA LETTER GGA | ɣ | ||||
| A866 | ꡦ | PHAGS-PA LETTER EE | ė | e | e | ė | Mongolian Chinese Uighur |
| A867 | ꡧ | PHAGS-PA SUBJOINED LETTER WA | ʷ | u̯ | u̯ | u̯ | Chinese Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A868 | ꡨ | PHAGS-PA SUBJOINED LETTER YA | ʸ | ʸ | y | i̯ | Chinese Tibetan Sanskrit |
| A869 | ꡩ | PHAGS-PA LETTER TTA | ṭ | ṭ | Sanskrit | ||
| A86A | ꡪ | PHAGS-PA LETTER TTHA | ṭʽ | ṭʽ | Sanskrit | ||
| A86B | ꡫ | PHAGS-PA LETTER DDA | ḍ | ḍ | Sanskrit | ||
| A86C | ꡬ | PHAGS-PA LETTER NNA | ṇ | ṇ | Sanskrit | ||
| A86D | ꡭ | PHAGS-PA LETTER ALTERNATE YA | yʹ | j | Chinese | ||
| A86E | ꡮ | PHAGS-PA LETTER VOICELESS SHA | šʹ | š₂ | Chinese | ||
| A86F | ꡯ | PHAGS-PA LETTER VOICED HA | hʹ | ħ | Chinese | ||
| A870 | ꡰ | PHAGS-PA LETTER ASPIRATED FA | fʹ | hu̯ | Chinese | ||
| A871 | ꡱ | PHAGS-PA SUBJOINED LETTER RA | ʳ | r | Tibetan Sanskrit | ||
| A872 | ꡲ | PHAGS-PA SUPERFIXED LETTER RA | ʀ | Tibetan | |||
| A873 | ꡳ | PHAGS-PA LETTER CANDRABINDU | ^ | ṁ | Sanskrit | ||
| A874 | ꡴ | PHAGS-PA SINGLE HEAD MARK | @ | Tibetan | |||
| A875 | ꡵ | PHAGS-PA DOUBLE HEAD MARK | @@ | Tibetan | |||
| A876 | ꡶ | PHAGS-PA MARK SHAD | / | Tibetan | |||
| A877 | ꡷ | PHAGS-PA MARK DOUBLE SHAD | // | Tibetan | |||
Notes
1. If the Phags-pa characters (in the second column) display as boxes, then please install the BabelStone Phags-pa Book font. If viewing with Internet Explorer the characters should be oriented correctly, but with Firefox or Chrome the characters will be disoriented horizontally. This is because Phags-pa is a vertically-oriented script, but Firefox and Chrome do not currently support vertical text layout.
2. If some of the transliteration letters are displayed as boxes on your system, then please install the Charis SIL font or Doulos SIL font.
3. The column labelled "BabelStone" shows the transliteration system used on this site.
4. The middle dot character used for U+A856 in all transliteration systems is here represented with U+00B7 MIDDLE DOT, but as this is a punctuation mark it is not really suitable for use as a transliteration letter. It is possible that a Latin Letter Middle Dot character will be encoded in the future.
5. Junast and Yang use a short-stemmed letter j and a long-stemmed letter j for U+A857 and U+A86D respectively. At present this distinction is not representable using Unicode.
Junast 照那斯图 and Yáng Nǎisī 杨耐思. Měnggǔ Zìyùn Jiàoběn 蒙古字韵校本. Beijing : Minzu Chubanshe 民族出版社, 1987.
Murata Jiro 村田治郎 (ed.), Chü-Yung-Kuan 居庸關 (The Buddhist Arch of the Fourteenth Century A.D. at the Pass of the Great Wall Northwest of Peking). Kyoto : Kyoto University Faculty of Engineering 京都大學工學部, 1957.
Poppe, Nicholas. The Mongolian Monuments in ḤP'AGS-PA Script. Translated and edited by John R. Krueger. Wiesbaden : Otto Harrassowitz, 1957.
