What 𘲨 means
The Unicode name is an ID, not its reading. Khitan small-script signs can represent words or sounds; sound signs often group in clusters of two to eight to spell a word.
In a Khitan small-script cluster, read left to right, then top to bottom; inscription columns run top to bottom, then right to left.
Why was the Khitan small script created?
To write Khitan. Around 925, Yelü Diela is credited with creating it, with inspiration from Uyghur writing despite few visible similarities.
It accompanied Khitan large script through Qara Khitai (Western Liao) and Jin. Stone memorials for royals and nobles are its main surviving texts. In 1191, the Jin court ended the history office’s exclusive use of Khitan writing; Jurchen scripts later adapted Khitan models.
Part of the collection
Who writes 𘲨
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Questions people ask
1Why does 𘲨 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 𘲨
- Search it as
- 𘲨 · 18ca8 · khitan small script · 契丹小字
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
𘲨\18CA8Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.