Tangut Ideograph 187CF

It means “a kind of insect” in historical Tangut.

The dictionary entry gives a word meaning, not a picture of an insect. A scholarly reconstruction transcribes its reading as ku, roughly “koo.” As of 2026, Tangut is not used as a living everyday language, so treat this as a reconstructed historical reading.

The Tangut script was created for Western Xia's government and cultural writing in 1036. It appears in official documents, Buddhist works, law codes, and literature; surviving evidence shows use as late as 1502. Those dates describe the script's history, not a separately dated origin for 𘟏.

Why does 𘟏 look Chinese?

Its strokes follow Chinese writing conventions, but it writes another language.

Tangut adapted visual conventions of Chinese writing to record a different language. A similar square style does not make 𘟏 a Chinese character or give it a Chinese reading.

Tangut writing continued in later manuscripts and inscriptions after Western Xia ended. The connection here is between writing systems, not proof that this character descends from a particular Chinese character.

Why does 𘟏 disappear on my screen?

The font needs Tangut coverage to draw its shape.

A font without Tangut glyphs may show an empty box or another missing-character mark. The text still contains 𘟏; the substitute is not its shape.

Tangut fonts preserve historical styles, and small stroke differences can distinguish characters. If those details matter, check the character in a Tangut-capable font rather than reading the fallback mark as the original.