Tangut character 187A1

A Tangut dictionary glosses it as “fault.” Its index records the reconstructed reading as dạ, a scholarly Latin transcription. A bare send will not reliably say whether you mean blame, an error, or an apology.

Tangut was the language of the Western Xia state (Xixia), whose distinct script appeared by the 11th century for official, literary, and Buddhist writing. Scholars discuss Chinese influence on the script, and possible Khitan influence. The earliest transmitted example cited in scholarship is an official 1072 document. Buddhist texts continued under the Yuan dynasty; Tangut writing persisted into the Ming dynasty and was obsolete by its end.