Tangut character 180B3

It means “between,” or “in the middle.” Specialists write its reconstructed reading as ¹zhaq₃ in technical romanization, not an ordinary spelling readers can sound out.

In 1036, Western Xia ruler Li Yuanhao ordered Tangut writing to build the state and distinguish it from Song China. A main purpose is thought to have been Buddhist scriptures in Tangut. Neighboring Khitan peoples had made two scripts about a century earlier, one largely based on Chinese; Tangut borrowed Chinese forms without deriving from Chinese writing.

Manuscripts from the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries and Mongol-period Buddhist collections preserve Tangut texts. Unicode’s reference glyph is not prescriptive, so fonts may draw 𘂳 differently without changing its identity.