Chữ Nôm character for son

It writes Vietnamese son in chữ Nôm: cinnabar red and rouge.

The Vietnamese word son can name cinnabar, a red mineral used as pigment, or rouge placed on the lips. In a Nôm passage, nearby words settle whether 𣘈 refers to pigment, cosmetics, or red in a literary image.

When did 𣘈 first appear?

As of 2026, no secure first-use date is known. Early evidence for the wider chữ Nôm writing tradition includes a stele dated 1173 and a disputed inscription dated 1313; neither date identifies the first use of 𣘈.

A Chữ Nôm corpus preserves 𣘈 in a literary line glossed as phấn son, or powder and rouge. A Hán-Nôm dictionary records mực son and lầu son, connecting the character with red writing pigment, cosmetics, and literary red imagery.

What does 𣘈 mean when someone sends it?

Read it as Vietnamese Nôm son; context supplies the exact sense. Alone, it is a fragmentary reference, so ask for the surrounding words. In a quotation, use them to choose between pigment, cosmetics, and literary red imagery.

With mực, the Vietnamese word for ink, it points to red writing pigment; phấn son refers to makeup, while lầu son evokes a vermilion palace.