What 𗯤 means
Li Fanwen’s Tangut index glosses this graph as “to cut.”
Entry 5446 gives “to cut” as an English gloss—a short dictionary translation. It is a Tangut gloss, not a Chinese reading. “Tangut Ideograph 17BE4” is an inventory label based on the code point; it does not translate the graph.
The Tangut script was created around 1036–1037 for the Western Xia state. Officials promoted it for state records, teaching, and translations. The earliest surviving example identified in historical studies is a 1072 official document sent to a military inspector in Guazhou. That dates surviving evidence for the script, not this individual graph’s first appearance.
Why does 𗯤 show as a box?
The font needs Tangut coverage.
A blank square or replacement mark means the active font or rendering path lacks Tangut support. A font with Tangut coverage can display the character. Fonts may draw the same graph differently, so U17BE4 is a surer way to identify it than a screenshot.
Tangut writing developed in a region where Chinese characters were used, and scholars compare its structure with earlier Khitan scripts. These are historical and structural connections: Tangut is a separate writing system.
A historical, specialist character; outside Tangut material, its dictionary gloss needs context.
Drift: Tangut writing continued in later inscriptions after the Western Xia state ended. A 1502 inscription is one dated example.
Who writes 𗯤
Loading…
Related characters
2
Questions people ask
1Why does 𗯤 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.
More like this
8
How to type or find 𗯤
- Search it as
- Tangut character · Tangut script · to cut · Western Xia · Tangut font
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
𗯤\17BE4Codes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.