Sumerian Addenda · Signs
breath
| Name | ZI |
|---|---|
| Reads | [zi] (fuller form zid) |
| Means | breath, life; true, righteous (zid) |
| Taught in | 10 · In those days |
Where it comes from
Zi is breath and life — and, as an adjective, “true, righteous”: the word behind every “true shepherd” and “true house” in the hymns. Literary texts often spell the fuller shape zid. What breathes true, is true — the meanings share one chest.
How to remember it
Breath is the proof of life and the test of truth: hold a blade of grass to the lips and see it move. Where a king is called true, this sign is doing the certifying.
In the wild
urn:nabu:cdli:p010019:reverse:3:3' ·
license: attribution. Name translations are approximate by
nature.
Piece by piece:
- dumu — son
- -zi — true
The god of the Inana-and-Dumuzi cycle, already wearing this sign on an Early Dynastic tablet. The name is read in 102’s chapter 10.