Tangut ideograph 18218

A Tangut dictionary indexes 𘈘 under “times,” but that one-word gloss cannot settle how it reads in context. The Xixia script served Western Xia Buddhist and secular writing. If 𘈘 appears as a box, the font lacks the glyph.

Text symbol

What 𘈘 means

A Tangut dictionary indexes 𘈘 under “times.” Li Fanwen’s Tangut–Chinese dictionary lists entry 1760, and Unicode’s Tangut source map links this exact glyph to that entry. The gloss alone is not a full translation or proof of an arithmetic meaning.

The Xixia script was created in 1036 for Western Xia, a Tangut-led state in what is now northwestern China. It supported a written identity distinct from neighboring Song China and Buddhist works, including a canon; later translations included secular military texts. Its design drew on Chinese writing and earlier Khitan state scripts, but that broad influence does not establish a direct counterpart for 𘈘.

Is 𘈘 a Chinese character? No. It is Tangut writing, not a Chinese character or an emoji.

Why does 𘈘 show as a box? A font without Tangut coverage may show a missing-glyph box; the box is not another character.

Part of collections

𗀀

Tangut Characters List

𗼇

Tangut Script

Who writes 𘈘

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Questions people ask

Why does 𘈘 show as a box on some devices?

Not every system ships a font for the Tangut block. Where none is installed, the character shows as an empty box; adding a font such as Noto fixes it. The character itself is still correct and copies correctly.