Khitan Small Script character 18B89

𘮉 belongs to Khitan Small Script, a writing system for the now-extinct Khitan language. A lone sign may record a sound or a whole word, so its role depends on the inscription. This writing system stood alongside the separate Khitan Large Script.

Text symbol

What 𘮉 means

Its role depends on the inscription. Khitan Small Script uses sound signs in blocks of two to eight to form words; other signs represent whole words and can stand alone. A single character does not show which role it plays without the surrounding text.

Was 925 the first surviving example?

No; around 925 is the traditional creation date. Traditional accounts credit Yelü Diela and report Uyghur-script influence. A 2026 study questions whether the script was established that early and identifies the 1051 tomb inscription for Wugulin Taishi as the earliest securely dated surviving Khitan Small Script text. Keep the creation account separate from the surviving inscription: they date different things.

The script was used during the Liao, Qara Khitai, and Jin eras. Most surviving texts are stone funerary inscriptions for Khitan royalty and aristocrats.

Part of the collection

𘬣

Khitan Small Script

Who writes 𘮉

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Questions people ask

Why does 𘮉 show as a box on some devices?

It is recent: Unicode added it in version 13.0 (2020), and phones and computers whose fonts are older than that have nothing to draw it with. The character itself is still correct and copies correctly.