Tangut Ideograph 17713

𗜓 is a Tangut character; its word meaning needs context.

Scholars reconstruct its sound from manuscripts and pronunciation tables, writing it as śja in one system and śa² in another. These are technical sound notations, not English definitions; in the second system, ² marks Tone 2.

A lone 𗜓 is best read as a specimen of Tangut writing. Within a word or name, its neighbors help identify what it says. If someone sends it without context, ask what text or source it came from.

Is 𗜓 Chinese or Tangut?

It is Tangut, in a script shaped partly by Chinese models.

Tangut writing uses square forms and stroke types also found in Chinese writing, but it is a distinct script. A similar-looking Chinese character is not a translation of 𗜓.

What was Tangut writing used for?

It belonged to a state writing system used for administration, diplomacy and Buddhist texts.

The script was formally introduced around 1036, with its design credited to court official Yeli Renrong. It served government schools and records, diplomatic writing, Buddhist translations and printed books.

After the Tangut-led Western Xia state fell in 1227, Tangut writing continued for centuries. A pair of pillars inscribed with Buddhist sacred texts and erected in 1502 shows that later survival. Manuscript and dictionary work helped scholars reconstruct readings such as those above.