Tangut Ideograph-1763C

Use a Unicode-aware tool to enter this character.

If your usual input method lacks a Tangut layout, use your editor’s Unicode entry feature if available; the steps depend on the editor.

A missing-glyph box can appear when the active font lacks Tangut coverage; the text still contains 𗘼. This is a complete ideograph, not a combining mark. Tangut texts may be laid out vertically or horizontally.

What does 𗘼 mean?

Its dictionary gloss is “magnet” or “magnetic.” Li Fanwen’s Tangut–Chinese index pairs 𗘼 with Chinese 磁, the character used for “magnet” and “magnetic.”

The Tangut script was created around 1036 for state-building in the Western Xia (Xixia) kingdom, in what is now northwestern China. Compiling a Buddhist Canon, a large collection of Buddhist scriptures, was another major goal. Its forms drew inspiration from Chinese writing and neighboring Khitan script projects, while remaining a distinct writing system.

People used Tangut for government, religion, education, law, and literature. A manuscript fragment from the ruins of Khara-Khoto, an abandoned city, probably dates to the 12th or early 13th century. The script continued into later imperial periods, became obsolete, and was rediscovered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.