Meitei script series
Meitei alphabets
ꯀ Kok ꯉ Ngou ꯁ Sam ꯊ Thou ꯂ Lai ꯋ Wai ꯃ Mit ꯌ Yang ꯄ Pa ꯍ Huk ꯅ Na ꯎ Un ꯆ Chil ꯏ Ee ꯇ Til ꯐ Pham ꯈ Khou ꯑ Atiya
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Meitei language series
Historical stages
Ancient Meitei Medieval Meitei Modern Meitei
Special registers
Amailon (liturgical) Classical Meitei Thougallon (royal court)
Historical dialects
Khuman (linguistics) Moirang (linguistics)
Living dialects
Imphal dialect Andro (Meitei dialect) Kakching dialect Khurkhul (Meitei dialect) Kwatha dialect Phayeng (Meitei dialect) Sekmai (Meitei dialect)
Geographical distribution
In Assam In Tripura In Bangladesh In Myanmar
Writing systems
Meitei script Meitei alphabet Naoriya Phulo script Bengali script
Others
Manipuri MIL Meitei literature Meitei grammar Meitei cinema
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Meitei alphabet, also known as Meetei alphabet or Kanglei alphabet,^[2] refers to the set of basic vowel and consonant letters used in writing the Meitei language. It is distinct from the broader Meitei script, which includes additional elements such as diacritic letters, numeral letters, and punctuation letters, while the alphabet itself is limited to the core phonemic letters. The Meitei alphabet is commonly described through three related structural frameworks: an ancient 18-letter system, an expanded 27-letter system based on phonological developments, and another distinct 35-letter arrangement organized in a standardized Indic-style ordering. These frameworks show different ways of classifying and teaching the underlying letter system of Meitei writing tradition.^[1][3]

Debates have emerged regarding the structure and authenticity of the Meitei script orthography. Different groups have advanced contrasting versions of the “authentic script,” each grounded in distinct historical and philosophical interpretations. One traditionalist system organizes letters according to a unique principle in which the script is structured in relation to parts of the human body. This anthropomorphic arrangement is associated with the conceptual representation of Taibangpanba Mapu, the supreme deity in traditional Meitei religion. In this system, the script is described as originally comprising 18 primary alphabets (eeyek eepee). The philosophical basis for this arrangement is found in the religious manuscript, Wakoklon Hilel Thilel Salai Amailon Pukok Puya, shortly known as the Wakoklon Puya. Over time, this system is further described as having been expanded into a set of 27 alphabets, through the addition of 9 letters (lom eeyek) that are regarded as developments or derivatives of earlier forms within the 27-letter system.^[1][2]

In contrast, another system aligns the script more closely with Sanskrit or other Indic writing traditions. This classification organizes approximately 35 letters according to principles of phonetics, specifically grouping them based on points of articulation in the vocal tract.^[1]

In addition to the 35-letter alphabet system of the Meitei writing tradition influenced by Sanskrit and other Indic scripts, there exists another 35-letter system, that can sometimes be confused with it. The traditional 27-letter system, consisting of 18 eeyek eepee alphabets and 9 lom eeyek alphabets, when combined with 8 additional lonsum characters, is also referred to as a 35-letter system.^[4] However, this configuration is distinct from what scholars generally describe as the standard 35-letter alphabet system.^[1]

Efforts to revive Meitei Mayek began in the early twentieth century as part of a cultural movement focused on restoring Manipur's literary and linguistic heritage. Between 1909 and 1941, several proposals were introduced to reconstruct the script's original letterforms. During this period, scholars examined the sequence of letters and their phonetic correspondences with the aim of establishing a sequence based on the linguistic characteristics of Meitei language. In 1959, the First State Level Conference proposed a standardized structure for Meitei Mayek based on historical records, giving priority to a letter sequence considered consistent with the language's linguistic features.^[5][2]

The first state-level conference on the Kanglei script was convened between 13 March 1958 and 15 February 1959. The conference brought together 17 experts to examine and standardize the script. Based on their deliberations, the committee recommended a set of 18 Kanglei alphabets, which are Kok, Sam, Lai, Mit, Pa, Na, Chil, Til, Khou, Ngou, Thou, Wai, Yang, Huk, Un, Ee, Pham, and Atiya, along with related writing conventions for adoption by the Government of Manipur (Report of the Meetei Mayek Expert Committee, 1958).^[2]

Government support for the revival of Meitei Mayek remained limited until the late 1970s and 1980s. In 1976, the Meitei Mayek Expert Committee was established to standardize the script. The committee proposed a 27-alphabet system consisting of 18 primary alphabets (eeyek eepee) preserved in historical manuscripts and 9 additional alphabets (lom eeyek) intended to represent the phonetic features of Meitei language.^[5][2]

The official introduction of Meitei Mayek into school curricula took place in 2005 following sustained advocacy by the MEELAL organization. The organization called for the replacement of the then used Bengali script with Meitei Mayek for written Meitei language and for its adoption in school textbooks. During the course of these protests, members of the organization burned the Manipur State Central Library, resulting in the destruction of more than 145,000 books. Subsequently, Meitei Mayek was introduced into the academic curriculum.^[5]

The 18-alphabet system of the Meitei writing tradition, as described in the manuscript Wakoklon Hilel Thilel Salai Amailon Pukok Puya, written in the ancient Meitei language, presents a philosophical interpretation in which each letter is associated with a specific part of the human body or a natural concept. In this system, the letter kok resembles the head and also means “head”; sam resembles the hair parting and means “hair”; lai represents the forehead, derived as an abbreviation of laipak; mit resembles the eye and means “eye”; pa resembles the eyelid and denotes eyelid hair; na resembles the ear and means “ear”; chil is derived from the shape of the mouth; til is associated with the source of saliva in the mouth and is metaphorically linked to tillang; khou represents the chin, derived from khoudang; ngou represents the palate or roof of the mouth and also carries this meaning in the language; thou resembles the rib cage or chest, derived from thoupak; wai represents the heart; yang corresponds to the vertebral column; huk represents the seated posture of the entire human skeleton; un resembles human skin and is derived from unsha meaning skin; ii represents blood and also means blood; pham symbolizes a seat, metaphorically representing the body as the seat of the divine; and atiya represents the sky, which it also denotes in meaning.^{[1][6][7][8][9]}

Image(s)	Alphabet(s)	Representation(s)	Name(s)/Pronunciation(s)	Romanization	Meaning(s)[b][10][11][12][13]	Latin equivalent alphabets/sounds	IPA[14]
	ꯀ		ꯀꯣꯛ	kok	head or brain	K	/k/
	ꯁ		ꯁꯝ	sam/sham	hair	S	/s/
	ꯂ		ꯂꯥꯏ	lai	forehead	L	/l/
	ꯃ		ꯃꯤꯠ	mit/meet	eye	M	/m/
	ꯄ		ꯄꯥ	pā/paa	eyelash	P	/p/
	ꯅ		ꯅꯥ	nā/naa	ear	N	/n/
	ꯆ		ꯆꯤꯜ	chil/cheel	lips	Ch	/t͡ʃ/
	ꯇ		ꯇꯤꯜ	til/teel	saliva	T	/t/
	ꯈ		ꯈꯧ	khou	throat, palate, neck	Kh	/kʰ/
	ꯉ		ꯉꯧ	ngou	pharynx, larynx	Ng	/ŋ/
	ꯊ		ꯊꯧ	thou	breast, chest, ribs	Th	/tʰ/
	ꯋ		ꯋꯥꯏ	wai	navel, heart	W	/w/
	ꯌ		ꯌꯥꯡ	yang	backbone, vertebral column, spine	Y	/j/
	ꯍ		ꯍꯨꯛ	huk/hook	joint, articulation	H	/h/
	ꯎ		ꯎꯟ	un/oon	skin, hair follicle	U	/u(ː)/
	ꯏ		ꯏ	ee/i	blood	I or E	/i(ː)/
	ꯐ		ꯐꯝ	pham/fam	"anus" or "buttocks" or "seat" or "uterus" or "womb"	F or Ph	/pʰ/
	ꯑ		ꯑꯇꯤꯡꯉꯥ / ꯑꯇꯤꯌꯥ	atinga/atiya	"sky" or "immortality" or "heaven" or "eternity" or "divinity" or "celestial being" or "birth"	A	/ɐ/

The 27-alphabet system of the Meitei writing tradition comprises 18 primary alphabet letters (eeyek eepee) and 9 additional alphabet letters (lom eeyek). The arrangement of the primary letters is organized according to parts of the human body, with each letter associated with and named after a corresponding body part, such as kok (head), sam (hair parting), and lai (forehead). The nine additional letters were introduced later and are understood to be derived from specific primary letters. The overall structure and ordering of the alphabet are also interpreted in relation to Meitei religious and philosophical concepts, which inform both the system of classification and the naming of the characters.^[1][2]

The 35-alphabet system of the Meitei script is organized in a structured phonetic order that reflects the place and manner of articulation of sounds in human speech. The first five letters represent velar sounds, which are produced at the back of the mouth. The next five correspond to palatal sounds, articulated with the tongue raised against the roof of the mouth. This is followed by retroflex sounds, where the tongue is curled back, and then dental sounds, produced with the tip of the tongue touching the area just behind the teeth, similar to the tongue position in the pronunciation of the word “bath.” The fifth group consists of labial sounds, formed by bringing the lips together. The sixth set includes glides and liquids, which allow smooth transitions between sounds, while the seventh group contains fricatives, such as “s,” “sh,” and “h,” which are produced by forcing air through a narrow channel, often with audible friction. Aspirated forms also occur in this system, characterized by a stronger burst of air during pronunciation, though the distinction between aspirated and unaspirated consonants can sometimes be subtle in everyday speech. Each letter in this system is typically referred to by its phonemic value, such as ka, kha, ga, gha, and so on, reflecting the systematic and phonologically grounded nature of the Meitei script.^[1]

• Meetei Erol Eyek Loinasillol Apunba Lup
• Ancient Meitei language
• Medieval Meitei language
• Modern Meitei language

• Tavárez, David (2024-11-14). The Oxford Handbook of Ritual Language. Oxford University Press. pp. 550, 551. ISBN 978-0-19-269409-6.