Draft Unicode Technical Note #63

Unihan Database Property “kTabooVariant”

Version	1
Authors	Ken LUNDE 小林剣 Roy WANG 王睿安 Eiso CHAN 陈永聪 TAO Yang 陶扬
Date	2026-09-15
This Version	https://www.unicode.org/notes/tn63/tn63-1.html
Previous Version	n/a
Latest Version	https://www.unicode.org/notes/tn63/

Summary

The kTabooVariant property—a provisional Unihan Database property that is expected to be introduced in Unicode Version 19.0—is intended to identify so-called “taboo” variants (避諱字/避讳字) of Han ideographs. This Unicode Technical Note serves to document the kTabooVariant property.

Status

This document is a Unicode Technical Note. Sole responsibility for its contents rests with the authors. Publication does not imply any endorsement by the Unicode Consortium.

For information on Unicode Technical Notes, including criteria for acceptance, see Unicode Technical Notes.

Contents

The body of this Unicode Technical Note is contained in the first two tables in the Description section below. Click here to view the draft kTabooVariant property data file whose contents correspond to the first table below.

Description

Taboo variants (避諱字/避讳字) of Han ideographs were used in ancient China and other regions whose writing systems included the Han script, which followed a core principle that involved indirectly writing an important historical figure’s name whereby the final stroke of a Han ideograph was generally omitted. Taboo variants were sometimes created by other means, such as by substituting with a homophone (同音字), by substituting with a synonym (同義字/同义字), or by omitting a Han ideograph altogether. The kTabooVariant property covers only taboo variants that resulted in the coining of a completely new Han ideograph, with the most common means being to omit the final stroke. Taboo variants may also be used as components, include substituted components, or include additional components.

The table below lists standard forms of Han ideographs and their taboo variants, along with the names of the corresponding important historical figures, their periods, and regions. The names of multiple important historical figures, along with their corresponding periods and regions, are separated with a semicolon. The “Standard Form” and “Taboo Variant” columns will be synchronized with the proposed provisional kTabooVariant property of the Unihan database. Standard forms that correspond to two or more taboo variants are highlighted in light cyan.

The table below includes additions that are included in one or more registered IVD collection, but are not included in the proposed provisional kTabooVariant property of the Unihan database:

The table below includes additions that are currently under consideration pending more investigation:

Modifications

The following summarizes modifications from the previous versions of this document:

1

• First version

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