Tangut Character 𗂾

𗂾 is a Tangut character with the historical dictionary gloss “devil.” It belonged to Western Xia’s writing system, used for state affairs and Buddhist learning. The attested expression 𗂾𘍃 is glossed “sheep.”

Text symbol

What 𗂾 means

That historical gloss alone does not reveal a sender’s intent.

What was Tangut writing for?

It served Western Xia’s language and institutions.

Tangut script appeared in the eleventh century; scholarship highlights an official document dated 1072 as the earliest transmitted example. It served government, education, translation, and Buddhist printing.

A 1190 preface says Tangut and Chinese scripts looked different but shared an origin. Histories also compare Tangut with Khitan, a regional script, but these links do not show where 𗂾 came from. A 1502 inscription shows Tangut writing persisted after Western Xia fell.

Historical and scholarly; a blank box means your current font or app is not displaying the Tangut glyph.

Part of collections

𗀀

Tangut Characters List

𗼇

Tangut Script

Who writes 𗂾

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Combination ideas

Attested two-character expression glossed “sheep.”

Questions people ask

Why does 𗂾 show as a box on some devices?

Not every system ships a font for the Tangut block. Where none is installed, the character shows as an empty box; adding a font such as Noto fixes it. The character itself is still correct and copies correctly.