Tangut ideograph 18072

𘁲 is glossed “to comb” in a Tangut dictionary.

The Unicode Tangut source record links it to Li Fanwen’s 2008 dictionary entry L2008-5465. The entry glosses the word as “to comb”; the dictionary index gives the reconstructed reading za, an academic Latin-letter notation for an older sound.

In a Tangut sentence, context helps show how the word functions.

What was Tangut writing created for?

Tangut writing served the Western Xia state and its Tangut-language texts.

The Western Xia court ruled a Tangut state in what is now northwestern China. It commissioned a distinct script for state identity and Buddhist translation around 1036–1037; accounts differ over whether the ruler Li Yuanhao ordered it or the teacher Iri directed the work.

A manuscript from the ruined city of Khara-khoto, dated to the 12th or early 13th century, preserves secular writing; surviving Tangut texts also include Buddhist, legal, and official works. The script continued in Yuan- and Ming-period use after Western Xia fell; the latest known inscription is dated 1502. Tangut forms were visually and structurally influenced by Chinese and neighboring Khitan writing, but were made for the Tangut language. Historical pages ran top to bottom in columns ordered right to left; web text displays horizontally left to right as of 2026.

How can I type 𘁲?

Use a Tangut-specific input method or its dictionary lookup.

As of 2026, a Tangut input method documents dictionary-number, four-corner, component, Xuanpin, and Cangjie lookup. Four-corner and component methods use a character’s shape. For dictionary-number lookup, enter 5465, the index for this entry in Li Fanwen’s 2008 dictionary.

If the character appears as a square, the current font may lack Tangut coverage. Noto Serif Tangut is documented as a font with broad Tangut coverage as of 2026; another font may draw the character differently.