Khitan Small Script Character 18BE1

Published readings disagree on the vowel. Reconstructions include êŋ, eng, ɛŋ, ɑŋ, iɑŋ, and uncertain əŋ. The final ŋ is the “ng” sound in “sing”; the preceding vowel changes across proposals. Treat these as scholarly readings, not an agreed everyday pronunciation. In Khitan Small Script, phonograms—sound signs—usually form clusters to spell a word, so one glyph alone may not show the full reading.

Why can 𘯡 look like 𘯢?

Some older BabelStone fonts reversed these glyphs. In versions released before 2023-07-14, BabelStone Khitan fonts mapped 𘯡 and 𘯢 to each other; version 13.008 fixed the problem. If the two appear switched, check the font release before treating them as alternate forms.

When did the small script take hold?

Traditional accounts place its creation around 925, but the date is disputed. They credit Yelü Diela, younger brother of the Khitan ruler of Liao, with its design. The Khitan people of northern China used it to write their language alongside a separate Khitan Large Script; “small” names a parallel system, not smaller type. The design is said to draw on Uyghur writing, though few visual similarities remain. Its phonetic clusters let writers spell Khitan words in groups of sounds.

A 2026 study argues that the script was systematized later, under Liao emperor Shengzong, and identifies the 1051 tomb inscription for Wugulin Taishi as the earliest securely dated surviving example. Most surviving texts are tomb inscriptions for Khitan royalty and aristocrats, with more on monuments and objects. The script appeared under the Liao, its western successor Qara Khitai, and the Jin. The Jurchen people who founded the Jin later adapted Khitan script traditions.