Tangut ideograph 1822D

It names a Tangut word for “god.”

The recorded scholarly reading is [ꞏu]. The brackets mark a reconstructed pronunciation of the Tangut word, not an English translation or part of the character.

Why was the Tangut script created?

It served a Tangut state and its religious writing.

Historical accounts place the script’s creation in 1036–1037 under Li Yuanhao, ruler of Western Xia. It served state writing and a Tangut Buddhist canon, a collection of Buddhist texts. Its forms drew visual influence from Chinese writing. The project also followed an earlier example set by the Khitan, a people with their own state scripts; Tangut remained a distinct script and language.

A manuscript from Khara-Khoto, a site preserving Tangut writings, probably dates from the 12th or early 13th century and contains a Tangut translation of Chinese material.

What does 𘈭 mean when someone sends it?

Outside a Tangut text, it needs context.

As of 2026, Tangut is extinct: it is no longer spoken as a living language. In a modern message, 𘈭 is best read as a specialist historical reference unless the sender explains it; beside a font or Unicode test, it can identify the character being checked.