according to their similarities in pronunciation and shape. For example, a uju arranges its 131 licit syllables in the following order:a, e, i; o, u, ū; na, ne, ni; no, nu, nū; ka, ga, ha; ko, go, ho; kū, gū, hū; ba, be, bi; bo, bu, bū; pa, pe, pi; po, pu, pū; sa, se, si; so, su, sū; ša, še, ši; šo, šu, šū; ta, da; te, de; ti, di; to, do; tu, du; la, le, li; lo, lu, lū; ma, me, mi; mo, mu, mū; ca, ce, ci; co, cu, cū; ja, je, ji; jo, ju, jū; ya, ye; yo, yu, yū; ke, ge, he; ki, gi, hi; ku, gu, hu; k'a, g'a, h'a; k'o, g'o, h'o; ra, re, ri; ro, ru, rū; fa, fe, fi; fo, fu, fū; wa, we; ts'a, ts'e, ts; ts'o, ts'u; dza, dze, dzi, dzo, dzu; ža, že, ži; žo, žu; sy, c'y, jy.In general, while syllables in the same row resemble each other phonetically and visually, syllables in the same group (as the semicolons separate) bear greater similarities. Punctuation The Manchu alphabet has two kinds of punctuation: two dots (), analogous to a period; and one dot (), analogous to a comma. However, with the exception of lists of nouns being reliably punctuated by single dots, punctuation in Manchu is inconsistent, and therefore not of much use as an aid to readability. The equivalent of the question mark in Manchu script consists of some special particles, written at the end of the question. Jurchen script The Jurchens of a millennium ago became the ancestors of the Manchus when Nurhaci united the Jianzhou Jurchens (1593–1618) and his son subsequently renamed the consolidated tribes as the "Manchu". Throughout this period, the Jurchen language evolved into what we know as the Manchu language. Its script has no relation to the Manchu alphabet, however. The Jurchen script was instead derived from the Khitan script, itself derived from Chinese characters. Unicode The Manchu alphabet is included in the Unicode block for Mongolian. See also Mongolian script Transliterations of Manchu Clear Script References Further reading External links Abkai — Unicode Manchu/Sibe/Daur Fonts and Keyboards Manchu alphabet Manchu script generator (Romanization → Manchu script (also for download)) ManchuFont — an OpenType font for Manchu writing Jurchen Script Alphabets Alphabet 1599 introductions Letters with final form