Khitan Small Script Character-18C19

The number identifies it; it does not give its Khitan reading.

The script mixed word signs with sound signs, usually grouped to spell words. A 2024 Unicode description says many sound values remain unknown, so the sign's role must be established from a historical text.

When was Khitan Small Script created?

The traditional date is around 925, but the timeline is debated.

Traditional accounts credit Yelü Diela and report inspiration from the Uyghur script, another regional writing system. A 2026 reassessment argues it may have been organized for wider use later; it identifies a 1051 tomb inscription as the earliest surviving example with a reliable date. The small script wrote Khitan alongside the large script under Liao, Qara Khitai, and Jin rule; burial inscriptions for rulers and nobles are its main surviving record.