Khitan l sign

It represents the consonant l in Khitan small script. A phonogram marks a speech sound; several usually form word clusters.

Why does the script look Chinese?

Chinese characters shaped its form; the Uyghur script influenced its sound system.

Traditional accounts date it to about 925, while a 2026 reassessment argues it was systematized later. The earliest surviving date is disputed: some place inscriptions in 983; the reassessment treats 1051 as the first securely dated example. It served government and cultural writing; inscribed grave stones preserve many texts. Jin rulers ended official use in 1191. Inscriptions found in 1922 revived study. The Jurchen people also based their writing on Khitan models. Its forms drew on Chinese characters; its sound system followed Uyghur writing used farther west.