Tangut Character for Cat

It represents the Tangut word for “cat.” Tangut was the language of Western Xia, a state in northwestern China. The word came from Chinese 貓; the loan is linguistic, not a Chinese glyph variant.

Western Xia used Tangut in the 11th century for official records and Buddhist translations. The earliest surviving Tangut document dates to 1072; an inscription from 1502 shows that the script remained in use after the state fell in 1227.

Tangut is a distinct script influenced by Chinese writing; scholars debate whether Khitan models also contributed. If you see a blank box, the selected font lacks Tangut coverage.