Tangut Ideograph-18584

“Bottom.”

Li Fanwen's Tangut dictionary indexes 𘖄 as L5161 under “bottom.” A separate scholarly index reconstructs its reading, written in Latin letters as “khə.” The number and gloss identify a dictionary entry, not a modern chat reaction.

Tangut is a historical language of northwestern China. Western Xia ruler Li Yuanhao had its script created around 1036 for a Buddhist canon (a collection of sacred Buddhist texts) and a distinct state identity. Its design was inspired by Chinese writing, but it is a separate script; Khitan rulers’ earlier scripts offered a political precedent. Tangut remained in use under Yuan and Ming rule after Western Xia fell to the Mongols, then became obsolete by the Ming’s end. An undated Khara-khoto manuscript, probably from the 12th or early 13th century, preserves a Tangut translation of a lost Chinese work.

Why does 𘖄 look like a box?

Your font may not contain the Tangut glyph.

The displayed shape comes from the active font. If it lacks Tangut coverage, 𘖄 can appear as an empty square; Tangut fonts may also draw different representative forms. Those differences affect appearance, not the character's identity or dictionary entry.