Tangut Character 17164

It can mean sorrowful or puzzled, depending on the text.

Tangut dictionaries gloss 𗅤 as “sorrowful” and “puzzled, confused.” These are related shades in a word's meaning, not separate settings for the character.

A 12th-century Tangut homophone dictionary records 𗅤. A homophone dictionary groups words with the same pronunciation; surviving Tangut books also include Buddhist texts, literature, and translations.

Why was the Tangut script created?

It gave Western Xia a written identity and supported a Buddhist canon.

Western Xia commissioned Tangut writing to establish an independent written identity, with a Tangut-language Buddhist canon among its major goals. Surviving books also carried Chinese and Tibetan translations, so the script's cultural role extended beyond religion.

Neighboring Khitan states also created scripts of their own, placing Tangut within a wider pattern of states developing distinct written traditions.

Is 𗅤 Chinese, or Tangut?

It is Tangut, a separate language and writing system.

Tangut writing drew on the appearance and character-building principles of Chinese writing, but the two scripts are not mutually readable. A Chinese reader cannot infer a Tangut character's meaning from its resemblance to Chinese characters.

A dictionary analyzes 𗅤 as two structural parts arranged from left to right: 𘠐 and 𘪁. They show how the character is built, not separate translations of its meaning.