Khitan Small Script Character 18CBA

It represents a whole word.

Its reconstructed reading is ñair (also nair); a character index translates this sign as “day.”

When was Khitan Small Script created?

Tradition dates its creation to around 925.

Traditional histories name Yelü Diela as its creator. A 2026 study instead argues it was systematized under Emperor Shengzong; the oldest securely dated surviving inscription is a 1051 gravestone.

Chinese characters shaped it; Uyghur writing reportedly inspired its sound-based spelling. It was separate from Khitan Large Script, but both influenced Jurchen scripts. Use continued through the Qara Khitai realm and Jin dynasty until the Jin court abolished both scripts in 1191.