Tangut character 𗱿

No single English meaning is secure.

Li Fanwen’s Tangut–Chinese dictionary index lists the Chinese character 尚 as a gloss for it. A study of a Khara-Khoto household register—a record of households—translates one occurrence as “knot” but marks the meaning unclear. Treat “knot” as a tentative reading of that passage, not a settled definition.

𗱿 belongs in written Tangut words and documents. Tangut appears in Western Xia official records, Buddhist writings and translations, and literature, as well as in manuscripts and inscriptions. An isolated character may not give enough context to settle which gloss fits.

What does it mean if someone sends me 𗱿?

Treat it as a Tangut reference and ask what source they mean.

The dictionary gloss and the uncertain “knot” translation leave room for context; ask what word or passage the sender has in mind.

𗱿 is a text character drawn by a font. If a device lacks Tangut font coverage, it may appear as an empty box; that means the glyph did not render, not that the character is invalid.

Why does 𗱿 look Chinese?

Tangut writing was designed to resemble Chinese characters.

The Tangut script was created under the first Western Xia emperor around 1036. That dates the script’s creation, not the first surviving use of 𗱿. Script-building by the neighboring Khitan provided a regional model for a state-sponsored writing system.

Tangut was a separate script for a different language. The Western Xia used it for administration, legal records, a native Buddhist canon—a collection of Buddhist texts—translations, and literature.