What is "zu"

Zu or ZU may refer to:

Zu is an Italian instrumental experimental music band from Rome.

Zu is a small genus of ribbonfishes with currently two recognized species:

• Zu cristatus ( Bonelli, 1819) (scalloped ribbonfish)
• Zu elongatus Heemstra & Kannemeyer, 1984 (taper-tail ribbonfish)

The scalloped ribbonfish is found around the oceans of the world in the tropical latitudes, but the taper-tail ribbonfish is limited to the southeast Atlantic.

Zu is the Mandarin pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname written in Chinese character. It is romanized Tsu in Wade–Giles. It is listed 249th in the Song dynasty classic text Hundred Family Surnames. It is not among the 300 most common surnames in China.

Cuneiform zu, (also sú, ṣú, and sumerogram ZU (capital letter majuscule)), is an uncommon-use sign in the 1350's BC Amarna letters, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and other cuneiform texts. Alphabetically, it could conceivably be used for letters z, s, ṣ, or u; however in the Amarna letters it used mostly for personal names or geographical names.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, sumerogram ZU, is used to spell the name of god Ninazu, (a name of god Tammuz, two times, Chapter XII, 28, 47). In the Epic, ZU is also used as a logogram, ZU.AB, for Akkadian language "apsû", English language "abyss"; it is used twice in Chapter VIII, and twice in Chapter XI, the Gilgamesh flood myth.