Tangut Character 17C98

A Tangut dictionary groups this entry under “month.”

An English index to Li Fanwen’s Tangut dictionary lists entry 0863 under “month,” and a Unicode code chart maps 𗲘 to that entry. This records a Tangut vocabulary meaning; it does not guarantee a recipient will understand the character alone in a modern message.

Why does this Tangut character resemble Chinese writing?

Tangut writing drew on Chinese forms but served another language.

Western Xia ruler Li Yuanhao ordered a script for the Tangut language, which Yeli Renrong and other scholars devised. Its forms drew on Chinese characters, but the project aimed to set Western Xia’s written culture apart from Chinese.

In 1036, Tangut became the government-designated language. The script was used for official writing and translations of Buddhist texts and Chinese classics. Tangut inscriptions remained readable more than a century after Western Xia fell, before the language faded from ordinary use.