Tangut Character 𗾽

It is a Tangut character with no single English gloss.

A comparative study writes one reconstructed Tangut form as *pọ² and pairs it with *pʰɣo, a word in the Japhug language meaning “flee.” That is a historical comparison, not a fixed translation of the character. In the Chinese–Tangut glossary Pearl in the Palm, 𗾽 marks the sound of Chinese 寶 in 寶瓶 (“precious vase”); there it is a pronunciation guide, not a translation.

Why does 𗾽 have different readings?

Different studies reconstruct Tangut forms in different ways.

Sofronov gives *mbọ and Gong gives *bọ, while the comparative table uses *pọ². These are scholarly reconstructions of an extinct language: the asterisk marks an inferred form, not a spelling preserved directly in a text.

Why was Tangut writing created?

It supported government, translation, and official writing.

Tangut was the language of the medieval Western Xia state. Around 1036, ruler Li Yuanhao oversaw the development of its script as part of state-building. Buddhist translation was a major aim; the writing system also served official documents and translations of Chinese and Tibetan works.

A surviving document dated around 1070/1071 may be the earliest known dated Tangut writing. A manuscript from Khara-Khoto probably dates to the 12th or early 13th century. Tangut followed the earlier Khitan example of creating a state script and drew on Chinese character-making for its visual design, but it was a distinct writing system.