Khitan Small Script 18B4F

Daniel Kane’s 2009 character index reads 𘭏 as iáŋ. This is a reconstructed sound, not a translation or guaranteed modern pronunciation. Khitan also uses signs that stand for whole words.

How did Khitan Small Script develop?

It was created to write Khitan. Yelü Diela devised the small script around 925 from Chinese character forms; its sound system reportedly drew on the Uyghur script used by Turkic peoples farther west. Both Khitan scripts served under Liao, Qara Khitai, and Jin rule; Jurchen writers later adapted them for their own writing. A 2019 study dates surviving texts from 1053 to 1175; most are tomb inscriptions for royalty and aristocrats.