What 𘮛 means
Its Unicode name is an index, not a reading.
Khitan small script, or Qidan xiaozi, combines word signs (logograms) and sound signs (phonograms), often in clusters of two to eight. Its sequential Unicode name is only an index, not a reading. Original inscriptions run in vertical columns from right to left; digital layouts need cluster-aware rendering. Unicode 17.0 reports that many phonetic values remain unknown.
Why was Khitan small script developed?
It took shape around 925 to write Khitan.
Accounts credit Yelü Diela with its creation. It served the Liao, Western Liao, and Jin dynasties. A 2017 catalogue of surviving monuments opens with Yelü Zongjiao's 1053 epitaph. Many surviving texts are tomb inscriptions for Khitan royalty and aristocrats; the script also appears on monuments and objects. Khitan scripts drew on Chinese-character structures; neighboring Jurchen writing adapted Khitan models.
Part of the collection
Who writes 𘮛
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Questions people ask
1Why does 𘮛 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.
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How to type or find 𘮛
- Search it as
- qidan xiaozi · 契丹小字 · kitan script · khitan character
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
𘮛\18B9BCodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.