Khitan Small Script Character 18B8A

𘮊 is a sign in Khitan Small Script, the Khitan language’s writing system. Its Unicode label identifies a code point, not a translation. The writing tradition lasted across the Liao, Qara Khitai (Western Liao), and Jin periods and later influenced Jurchen scripts.

Text symbol

What 𘮊 means

Not reliably; its role depends on the word and inscription.

Khitan Small Script uses phonograms—signs for sounds—that often cluster into a word, and logograms—signs for whole words—that may stand alone. A single glyph does not always represent a complete spoken word.

Traditional histories credit Khitan court prince Yelü Diela with devising the script around 925. A 2026 study argues it was systematized later, under Liao emperor Shengzong, possibly to aid rule over a multiethnic empire; the earliest securely dated surviving text is a 1051 tomb inscription. The forms draw on Chinese character models, while Uyghur writing reportedly inspired the sound-based design. Later Jurchen scripts adapted Khitan writing traditions.

Part of the collection

𘬣

Khitan Small Script

Who writes 𘮊

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Questions people ask

Why does 𘮊 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.