Khitan Small Script Character 18B4A

In Word for Windows as of 2026, type 18B4A and press Alt+X. Leave off U+; if other hexadecimal characters come directly before the code, select only 18B4A first.

This method uses Word's Unicode hexadecimal conversion.

What does 𘭊 mean?

It records sound inside a Khitan word, not a whole word. One study transcribes it as <xo>, after earlier <xuo> and <ho> readings; the Latin letters are scholarly labels, not an exact pronunciation guide.

Phonograms like this usually join into word blocks, read left to right and then down; text runs in vertical columns from right to left. The Khitan small script wrote the Khitan language of northern China.

How did Khitan small script develop?

It was an official writing system for Khitan. Tradition dates its creation to about 925 and credits Yelü Diela, with Uyghur writing as inspiration. A 2026 study questions that date, argues for later systematization and identifies a 1051 epitaph as the oldest securely dated surviving example.

Khitan also used a large script; both served the Liao state. Small-script writing appears on epitaphs, monuments, tallies and letters. Jurchen rulers continued Khitan writing after Liao and adapted it into their own scripts; both Khitan systems drew on Chinese character forms.