Glyphs

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“	The way to pronounce nether glyphs has been lost... So, pronunciations from our official language are used in their place	”
—Nanachi, to Mitty

Glyphs refer to all the collective glyphs encountered in the world of Made in Abyss. Throughout the series, various glyphs have been referred to as Nether Glyphs (奈落文字 (ネザーグリフ) , Nether Glyphs, Netherworld Characters^?), Pictographs or Beyond Glyphs (悠遠の文字 (ビヨンドグリフ) , Beyond Glyphs, Distant Characters^?).

Nether Glyphs

Nether Glyphs are a set of characters found in ruins throughout The Abyss.

Glyphs used by the people from the city of Orth are only a fraction of the Nether Glyphs, from which only the simpler ones have been taken and given a sound from the common language, these were once used by Delvers as codes. These deciphered, comparatively straightforward ideographs known as simplified characters came into use in Orth approximately 300 years ago.

Occasionally, they appear in the series and directly match the Japanese syllabic kana alphabets, as well as some kanji.

The use of glyphs in the anime staff credits have made it possible for fans to decipher a number of them, since symbols are matched with kana. There are some differences between different Made in Abyss media, but it is possible to read both manga and anime texts with a moderate understanding of Japanese.

Table of Orth city letters and corresponding Japanese romaji

Table of Nether Glyphs used in Orth and Pictograms mentioned by Sherumi and Menae

In the table above, the translation from Orth glyphs to katakana is presented, and below there are some examples of translated text. Written text is mostly used for illustrative purposes to create a mysterious look, though new information pertaining to the Unheard Bell, Uranaguapu, and the Turbinid-Dragon have been written in the anime's title cards.

All glyphs are strictly linked to the Japanese language.

Examples from the Anime

Example of Glyphs being used in the opening credits

The first appearance of runes in the anime

Lyza's letter: "waiting at the bottom"

Signature of Nanachi

Recycled book names: "Ibetsu kaishuu no kihan" or "Norm for Relic Retrieval"

"Ka e ra zu no mi ya ko no na so" or "Mysteries of the Capital of the Unreturned"

"Exploration notes of the Abyss"

An example of handwriting from the third movie

"Thanks for everything you do – From Prushka"

One of the largest texts are Riko's notes on Reg

1. Kaminoke (Hair)
2. Regu de kimami (Decided on Reg)
3. Kubi chotto nagai (Neck is a little long)
4. Oheso (belly button), Chinchin (childish term for penis)
5. Chotto kawatta beruto (Strange belt)
6. Herumetto (Helmet), kawaii (cute or tiny, in reference to "chinchin" in 4)
7. Harumetto no Kizu (Scratch in helmet)
8. Nande chinchin ga tsuiterun darou (Why is there a penis attached? Why does he have a penis?)
9. oshikko suru? (does it pee?)

Mitty's passing is confirmed by the indicating lamp which turns off

The lamps indicating life signals appear in the manga, anime, and in the second movie when Bondrewd notices Mitty's lamp has gone out. When transcript with English equivalent letters most of these names are: Isuke, Iroso, Pueru, Temuu, Hinika, Sumiko, Toran, Jitowa, Temu, Petora, Maruka, Kinshii, Kebihi, Shiyaroko, Susumu, Toimu, Shipube, Emupo, Iroso, Iitan. Some of these names are repeated multiple times.

Examples from the Manga

Pictographs in Distant Characters 1

Nanachi's portrait of Team Riko (labeled)

The simplified character for "netherworld" used in writing in Funeral Slips

Lyza's note describing a creature named "Uranaguapu"

Beyond Glyphs

Beyond Glyphs, or Distant Characters, are glyphs in drawing form with more than one meaning. Glyphs used in Orth are based on them and according to the interaction between Sherumi and Menae, the characters are seemingly unlimited in number and new kinds are still being found. They are considered to be separate from the Nether Glyphs used in Orth and are said to have a different grammar from the official language.

Examples

Beyond Glyphs in Distant Characters 2

Beyond Glyphs on Irumyuui's back

Beyond Glyphs taught to Faputa by Gaburoon

Beyond Glyphs shown by Elder Tribesman in the anime

Beyond Glyphs found in Ganja's camp; Irumyuui reads it as "ZOIGYUUSOushi METtsuOKORIjasu"

Beyond Glyphs with readings from the language of Iruburu

Trivia

• Ozen was able to tell Lyza's Letter was written by someone else since the script did not use the simplified character for 'netherworld' and instead is written in syllabic Nether Glyphs only.
• The Abyss Tribe may have tried to apply their own sounds to the ancient alphabet found on the island.