The script operates as a syllabary, as each freestanding symbol represents a syllable, with graphemes for consonant and vowel sounds combined into syllable blocks (amabheqe), in a similar fashion to Hangeul. When the syllable being represented is not a syllabic nasal, these symbols are formed from a triangular or chevron-shaped grapheme representing the nucleus of the syllable, with the attached ongwaqa or consonant graphemes representing the onset of the syllable or its mode of articulation.^[7]​ Syllabic nasals are represented as circles that fill the whole ibheqe or syllable block.

The vowel graphemes (onkamisa) form the basis of each ibheqe or syllable block, as the nucleus of each syllable, with the ongwaqa or consonant graphemes positioned in and around them.

The direction of each ibheqe indicates the quality of the vowel for each of the seven vowel phonemes:

• Intombi, the upward facing triangle: /i/
• Isoka, the downward facing triangle: /a/
• Umkhonto, the upward facing chevron: /u/
• The leftward facing triangle: /ɛ/
• The rightward facing triangle: /ɔ/
• The leftward facing chevron: /e/
• The rightward facing chevron: /o/

There is an eighth "vowel" represented by the downward facing chevron, which is an empty vowel, represented with /∅/ on the table below, and is mostly used for foreign words to represent a standalone consonant, often as a syllable coda, which does not occur in siNtu languages. The sole exceptions are the syllabic Nasals, which have their own symbols, and the syllabic trill and lateral approximant, which attach to their non-syllabic counterparts.

Vowel lenght is not marked in this system, as it's stablished within the tone of the sentences and words themselves.

The apex of the triangle or chevron corresponds to vowel height or frontedness, with high vowels /i/ and /u/ pointing upwards and the low vowel /a/ pointing downwards. Likewise, the front vowels /ɛ/ and /e/ point leftwards and the back vowels /ɔ/ and /o/ point rightwards.

Vowel nasality is indicated with the ingungwanyana grapheme, which is a solid dot outside the triangle separated from the apex, as in the word phãsi below:

Consonants (ongwaqa) are composed of one or more graphemes. At least one of these indicates the place and manner of articulation. If more than one such consonant grapheme is superimposed, this represents a co-articulation, e.g. an affricate (formed of superimposed stop and fricative graphemes), or an onset cluster. Other overlaid dots and strokes indicate articulatory mode, whether that be voiced, prenasalised, implosive, ejective, modal voice, or a combination thereof.

The position of the consonant graphemes largely corresponds to the place of articulation:

• Labials and nasals are positioned outside the triangle at the apex.
• Alveolars are across the middle of the triangle from side to side.
• Velars and palatals are at the base.
• Laterals are outside the triangle on one side.
• Dentals are two lines across the triangle from side to side, parallel to each other.

The shape of the consonant grapheme corresponds to the manner of articulation:

• Curved lines indicate fricatives.
• Their straight line counterparts in the same positions indicate plosives.
• Approximants and trills are represented with two lines either parallel or at a right angle to each other, with a tap or flap being the latter arrangement, one line bisecting the other at its centrepoint without crossing it.
• Retroflex whistled consonants and postalveolar fricatives are represented as loops.
• Nasals are represented as circles at the apex of the triangle. Lines inside the circles distinguish the nasals from each other.
• Clicks are a bottomless hourglass shape.
• Affricates are spelled by placing both the corresponding stop and fricative graphemes in the triangle. Onset clusters use the same technique.
• Syllabic laterals and trills are represented with duplication of the ordinary lateral and trill graphemes.

Syllabic nasals or amaqanda are unique in that they occupy the entire ibheqe space as circles. They are distinguished from each other with lines inside them that operate according to the same principles as above.

These graphemes can combine with each other in an order in accordance with the phonotactics of siNtu languages, and they also can combine with the articulatory mode graphemes.

There are three graphemic markers of articulatory mode:

• Uphimbo, the voicing line, is a vertical line that runs from the apex of the triangle to the base (or inline with the ends of the chevron). This symbol modifies the phonation of the consonant.
• Lerothodi, the glottal action dot, is a dot that floats just above the base of the triangle, inside it. When an uphimbo is present, the dot can be moved sligthly to a side for visibility. This symbol modifies the airstream mechanism of the consonant.
• Ingungwana, the nasalization marker, is a circle that sits at the top of the triangle, touching its apex. This is distinct from the bilabial nasal /m/ (ingungu) that appears on its own, as this one occurs with other consonant graphemes. In this case, no additional lines need to be added to the ingungwana, as the place of articulation is given by them instead.

The table below displays how consonants are modified by these:

• Ditema (Ditema tsa Dinoko / Isibheqe Sohlamvu) at Omniglot
• Ditema tsa Dinoko at isibheqe.org.za

Plantilla:List of writing systems