Zi (cuneiform)

The cuneiform zi sign is a common multi-use sign of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the 1350 BC Amarna letters, and other cuneiform texts. It also has a sumerogrammic usage for ZI in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The structure of the cuneiform sign is like its twin, Gi (cuneiform), .

Cuneiform for ze, zi, and ZI; digitized form.

Old Assyrian cuneiform for ze, zi, and ZI.

EA 26, fragment (Obverse).
(high-resolution expandable photo)
(Last flat-surface 5-lines on fragment (Para IV), lines 30–34.
(An Amarna letter that uses zi.)

The "zi" sign has the syllabic usage for ze and zi, and a Sumerogram usage for ZI. Alphabetically "zi" can be used for z ("z" can be interchanged with any "s"); and "zi"/"ze" can be used for i, or e. In Akkadian, all 4 vowels, a, e, i, u are interchangeable with each other.

Epic of Gilgamesh usage

The zi sign usage in the Epic of Gilgamesh is as follows: ze-(6 times); gi-(46), ZI-(32 times).[1]

References

Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Sign List, pp. 155-165, no. 084, p. 156, "zi".

Moran, William L. 1987, 1992. The Amarna Letters. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. 393 pages.(softcover, ISBN 0-8018-6715-0)
Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Parpola, Simo, Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, c 1997, Tablet I through Tablet XII, Index of Names, Sign List, and Glossary-(pp. 119–145), 165 pages.

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[1] Parpola, 1971. The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Sign List, pp. 155-165, no. 084, p. 156, "zi".