Tangut character 𗉹

Its reading is reconstructed; its English meaning is not settled.

A Tangut dictionary entry gives the reconstructed reading in scholarly Latin notation as bju¹ and cites the character in the Wénhǎi (“Sea of Writing”), a 12th-century Tangut reference work. As of 2026, that entry leaves its English gloss unresolved. Use a translation or the surrounding passage to establish the word.

Why was the Tangut script created?

It gave Western Xia a distinct state script for translation.

Li Yuanhao ordered the Tangut script in 1036 as a state project, giving Western Xia an official writing system distinct from Song China. A major aim was a Tangut Buddhist canon, and the script also carried Chinese classics, encyclopedias, military works, and translations from Tibetan.

Drawing on Chinese writing and following neighboring Khitan state-script projects, Tangut developed as a separate system. A manuscript from Khara-khoto probably dates to the 12th century or early 13th century. After Western Xia fell in 1227, Tangut stopped serving as a state script; surviving manuscripts were later studied alongside bilingual texts. This is the history of the script, not evidence of a later change in 𗉹’s meaning.

What does 𗉹 mean in a message?

Treat it as a historical character, not a standard reaction.

Specialists can use its reconstructed reading, but an unbriefed recipient will not know which Tangut word it represents. If you send it, include a transliteration or translation and the manuscript context.

Sent alone, the safest reading is “an unfamiliar Tangut character.” The glyph by itself does not reveal the historical word.