What 𗶋 means
It is a Tangut character; its Unicode label is not a translation. “Tangut Ideograph-17D8B” is an inventory label built from the character’s Unicode number; it identifies the sign but does not give its Tangut word or sound.
Tangut history begins at the Western Xia (Xixia) court, where writing was developed for the Tangut language around 1036. The northwestern Chinese state used Tangut writing in government and private texts, Buddhist sutras (religious texts), stone inscriptions, and manuscripts.
How did Tangut writing change over time?
It outlasted Western Xia, then became a historical script. After the Mongols defeated Western Xia, Tangut writing remained in use under Yuan and Ming rule before falling out of use by the end of the Ming dynasty. Scholars rediscovered it in the late 19th century through surviving books, sutras, inscriptions, and manuscripts.
Historical accounts associate early work on the script with Li Deming and its standardization with his son Li Yuanhao. Tangut was an organized writing system, not a sign invented by one person.
Archival and scholarly; in casual chat, the character needs an explanation.
Treat its Unicode label as an identifier, not as a translated Tangut word.
Who writes 𗶋
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Related characters
3
Worth knowing
- A 2008 index to the Xia–Han dictionary lists 𗶋 as Tangut character 1782, a useful lookup handle when its code-point label is too generic.
- Tangut dictionaries do not share one sorting system: historical dictionaries sort by sound, while modern references often group characters by shared components (radicals) and stroke count.
Questions people ask
1Is 𗶋 a Chinese character?
No. It belongs to the Tangut script, a separate writing system for the Tangut language. A Chinese-like shape alone does not give it a Chinese reading.
More like this
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How to type or find 𗶋
- Search it as
- tangut · xixia · tangut character · xixia character · tangut dictionary · tangut 1782 · tangut font · tangut input
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
𗶋\17D8BCodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.