Khitan Small Script Character 18BE4

The isolated sign’s label is not a translation. The code-point name “Character-18BE4” is an identifier, not a Khitan word or sound. A 1053 Khitan epitaph records 𘯤 after 𘬭 in a proper name; the documented reading belongs to that cluster.

Khitan Small Script uses sound-signs and word-signs. Sound-signs usually form clusters of two to eight characters for a word; word-signs can stand alone. Without its inscription, this glyph is not enough to identify a whole word.

Why was Khitan Small Script made?

Khitan Small Script was devised about 925 by Yelü Diela to write Khitan. Alongside Khitan Large Script, it was used through the Liao, Qara Khitai (Western Liao), and Jin eras. Surviving texts are chiefly funerary stone inscriptions, with examples on monuments, bronze mirrors, and tallies. A Jin edict ended official use in 1191.

Its forms drew on Chinese character shapes; its creation is said to have been inspired by Uyghur script, though the two have few visible similarities. The Jurchen later modeled their large and small scripts on Khitan scripts. These links connect writing traditions; they do not show that this exact sign was copied from another character.