Glossary · Term · script

Clear script

1648 · 17th century · Also known as Todo bichig

The Clear script (todo bichig) is an alphabet created in 1648 by the Oirat monk Zaya Pandita, adapted from the traditional Mongolian script to write the Oirat language more exactly. It added marks that distinguished vowels and consonants left ambiguous by the older script. It was used by the Dzungars and the Kalmyks for religious and secular writing, remaining in use among the Kalmyks into the 1920s and among some Oirats in Xinjiang today.

Clear script
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APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Clear script. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/clear-script
MLA
“Clear script.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/clear-script. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Clear script.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/clear-script.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Clear script’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/clear-script (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻