What 𗆸 means
The character’s exact English gloss is unclear.
The scholarly Tangut reading is written *bu²; this Latin notation is not an English translation or a cue to pronounce it as an English word. Unicode’s name, “Tangut Ideograph-171B8,” identifies the character, not its dictionary meaning.
Created in 1036 under Li Yuanhao, ruler of Western Xia, the Tangut-led state in northwest China, the script supported state identity and Buddhist scripture. It followed Khitan precedent; Chinese writing influenced its design but was not its source. Secular translations followed. A 1072 document and inscriptions from 1094, 1345, 1348 and 1502 trace use beyond the state’s fall in 1227.
Who writes 𗆸
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Related characters
1
Questions people ask
1Why does 𗆸 show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
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8
How to type or find 𗆸
- Search it as
- xixia · xixiawen · bu · 171b8
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
𗆸\171B8Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.