Every font in the inspector is tagged with the writing systems it supports, and the same names appear under the specimen images. This article is the answer to that list: one section per writing system, saying what it is, which languages use it, and what its letters look like.
- For the concepts, read Language, script and writing system first: language ≠ script ≠ direction, and where the four-letter ISO 15924 codes come from;
- Only the scripts this site can recognise are listed. The test is letter coverage, described in How coverage is calculated — so this is “scripts you will meet in font files”, not “every script in the world”;
- For how many fonts support a given one, trust the library filter: the list moves with Unicode versions and syncs, so no counts are written into the text.
Grouping follows rough region and era. It is navigation, not definition: scripts cross regions, and one language can switch between several. The grey characters at the end of each entry are samples — whether you can see them depends on which fonts are installed. If nothing appears, this machine has no font for that script; the page is not broken.
Latin and Europe
Latin
The alphabet of most of western and northern Europe and the Americas, and the source of ASCII. English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Vietnamese (the most diacritics). A a B b C c
Cyrillic
The alphabet of the Slavic languages and of many languages across the former Soviet Union: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian, Mongolian, Kazakh and more. Native name Кириллица. А а Б б Ж ж
Greek
The alphabet of Greek, and the ancestor of both Latin and Cyrillic; the α β γ of mathematics come from here. Native name Ελληνικά. α β γ δ ε ζ
Georgian
One of the three alphabets used for Georgian (the upright asomtavruli and the round mkhedruli both live in this code block), in the Caucasus. ა ბ გ დ ე ვ
Armenian
Armenian, devised by Mesrop Mashtots in the 5th century and still in use; upper and lower case differ a great deal in shape. Ա Բ Գ Դ Ե Զ
Coptic
The last stage of Egyptian, written with Greek letters plus a handful taken from Demotic; today mostly liturgical, in the Coptic Church. Ⲁ ⲁ Ⲃ ⲃ Ⲅ ⲅ
Glagolitic
The oldest Slavic alphabet, made in the 9th century for missionary work; its strange round shapes were mostly replaced by Cyrillic, surviving in Croatia into the modern era. Ⰰ Ⰱ Ⰲ Ⰳ Ⰴ Ⰵ
Gothic
The alphabet Ulfilas made in the 4th century to translate the Bible, mixing Greek and Runic letters; it disappeared with the Gothic language. 𐌰 𐌱 𐌲 𐌳 𐌴 𐌵
Runic
The letters carved on stone and wood by early Germanic peoples in Scandinavia and Britain; each letter is a rune and is often used as a symbol today. ᚠ ᚡ ᚢ ᚣ ᚤ ᚥ
Ogham
Early inscriptions from Ireland and western Britain, cut as groups of notches along a stone edge and read upwards. ᚁ ᚂ ᚃ ᚄ ᚅ ᚆ
Old Italic
Etruscan and the other early alphabets of the Italian peninsula, close relatives of Latin. 𐌀 𐌁 𐌂 𐌃 𐌄 𐌅
Old Hungarian
Also called rovás: a right-to-left script used by Hungarians before they settled Europe, revived from the 20th century. 𐲀 𐲁 𐲂 𐲃 𐲄 𐲅
Old Permic
A 14th-century alphabet for Komi, laid out by letter shape rather than by sound — a rare, almost geometric design. 𐍐 𐍑 𐍒 𐍓 𐍔 𐍕
Caucasian Albanian
The alphabet of Caucasian Albanian (in today's Azerbaijan), used from the 5th to the 12th century and only deciphered again in the 20th century from surviving manuscripts. 𐔰 𐔱 𐔲 𐔳 𐔴 𐔵
Elbasan
An 18th-century alphabet for Albanian, named after the city it came from; it never displaced Latin. 𐔀 𐔁 𐔂 𐔃 𐔄 𐔅
Vithkuqi
Another 19th-century Albanian alphabet, equally unsuccessful — Albanian settled on Latin. 𐕰 𐕱 𐕲 𐕳 𐕴 𐕵
Todhri
An Albanian cursive script from the Ottoman period, added to Unicode only recently.
Deseret
A 19th-century alphabet for English devised by Mormon settlers and named after a word in the Book of Mormon; it was never adopted. 𐐀 𐐁 𐐂 𐐃 𐐄 𐐅
Shavian
A shorthand-like alphabet for English, designed in the 1950s with a bequest from George Bernard Shaw; it writes sounds rather than spellings. 𐑐 𐑑 𐑒 𐑓 𐑔 𐑕
Duployan
The shorthand system of Émile Duployan (19th-century France): flowing curves of even weight, with many later variants. 𛰀 𛰁 𛰂 𛰃 𛰄 𛰅
Linear A
The script of the Minoans on Crete in the 2nd millennium BCE — still undeciphered. It mixes syllabic and logographic signs. 𐘀 𐘁 𐘂 𐘃 𐘄 𐘅
Linear B
The syllabic script of Mycenaean Greek, deciphered by Michael Ventris in the 1950s — the classic case study in cracking an unknown script. 𐂀 𐂁 𐂂 𐂃 𐂄 𐂅
Cypriot
The syllabary used on Cyprus from the late Bronze Age into the classical period, recording a dialect of Greek. 𐠀 𐠁 𐠂 𐠃 𐠄 𐠅
Cypro Minoan
An older, undeciphered script from Cyprus related to Linear A, added to Unicode in 2021. 𒾐 𒾑
The Middle East and Central Asia
Egyptian Hieroglyphs
The hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt, from the 4th millennium BCE until the 4th century CE; because they could be written on papyrus and painted, they are one of the few scripts that carries pictures with it. The system mixes phonetic, logographic and determinative signs. 𓀀 𓀁 𓀂 𓀃 𓀄 𓀅
Cuneiform
The wedge script of Mesopotamia (Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian), pressed into wet clay — which is why every stroke is a little triangle. It was used for over three thousand years and borrowed by many languages. 𒀀 𒀁 𒀂 𒀃 𒀄 𒀅
Proto Cuneiform
The earlier stage of cuneiform, still closer to pictures and used mainly for accounting; its shapes look quite different from later cuneiform.
Arabic
Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Pashto, Uyghur and more. Written right to left, with letters that join and take four forms depending on position in the word (see Writing direction). ا ب ت ث ج ح
Hebrew
Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino. Right to left, letters do not join; vowels are normally left out and only written in scripture and teaching texts. א ב ג ד ה ו
Syriac
A descendant of Aramaic still used liturgically by several Syriac churches, in a number of different hands; also right-to-left and cursive. ܐ ܒ ܓ ܔ ܕ ܖ
Samaritan
The form of the old Hebrew alphabet preserved by the Samaritans — same ancestor as today's square Hebrew, different branch; used in their scriptures. ࠀ ࠁ ࠂ ࠃ ࠄ ࠅ
Thaana
The script of Dhivehi in the Maldives, written right to left, with vowels as marks on the consonants — an unusual design. ހ ށ ނ ރ ބ ޅ
Mandaic
The script of the Mandaean religion (Iraq, Iran): right to left, cursive; their spoken language is close to extinction. ࡀ ࡁ ࡂ ࡃ ࡄ ࡅ
Yezidi
An alphabet made for Kurdish by the Yazidi community, in two hands; added to Unicode in 2019. 𐺀 𐺁 𐺂 𐺃 𐺄 𐺅
Avestan
The script of the Zoroastrian scripture, the Avesta: many letters and elaborate forms, invented to record pronunciation precisely. 𐬀 𐬁 𐬂 𐬃 𐬄 𐬅
Imperial Aramaic
The administrative script of the Persian Empire and the lingua franca of the 1st-millennium Middle East; Hebrew, Arabic and Syriac all descend from it. 𐡀 𐡁 𐡂 𐡃 𐡄 𐡅
Phoenician
The trading script of the Levantine coast, ancestor of nearly every later alphabet (Greek, Latin, Cyrillic, Hebrew, Arabic…). 𐤀 𐤁 𐤂 𐤃 𐤄 𐤅
Palmyrene
The inscriptional script of Palmyra, the desert caravan city that grew rich on the Silk Road around the turn of the era. 𐡠 𐡡 𐡢 𐡣 𐡤 𐡥
Hatran
The inscriptional script of Hatra in northern Mesopotamia, a relative of Palmyrene. 𐣠 𐣡 𐣢 𐣣 𐣤 𐣥
Nabataean
The script of the Nabataeans around Petra — the direct ancestor of the Arabic alphabet. 𐢀 𐢁 𐢂 𐢃 𐢄 𐢅
Old South Arabian
The inscriptional script of the ancient kingdoms of Yemen, related to Ethiopic; written left to right. 𐩠 𐩡 𐩢 𐩣 𐩤 𐩥
Old North Arabian
Early inscriptions from northern Arabia, in the same family as Old South Arabian but a different branch. 𐪀 𐪁 𐪂 𐪃 𐪄 𐪅
Ugaritic
The cuneiform alphabet of Ugarit on the Syrian coast: wedges used to write letters rather than syllables, thirty signs, one of the world's earliest alphabets. 𐎀 𐎁 𐎂 𐎃 𐎄 𐎅
Old Persian
The inscriptional script of Darius I: part alphabet, part syllabary, and the latest and simplest form of cuneiform. 𐎠 𐎡 𐎢 𐎣 𐎤 𐎥
Inscriptional Parthian
The inscriptional script of the Parthian Empire, derived from Aramaic, written right to left. 𐭀 𐭁 𐭂 𐭃 𐭄 𐭅
Inscriptional Pahlavi
The inscriptional hand of Sasanian Persia, used for Middle Persian; the same script as the psalter form below, in a different hand. 𐭠 𐭡 𐭢 𐭣 𐭤 𐭥
Psalter Pahlavi
The book hand of Pahlavi, more cursive and harder to read; known mainly from a psalter fragment. 𐮀 𐮁 𐮂 𐮃 𐮄 𐮅
Manichaean
The script of Manichaean scripture, derived from Syriac, right to left, and written with considerable calligraphic care. 𐫀 𐫁 𐫂 𐫃 𐫄 𐫅
Sogdian
The script of the Sogdian merchants of the Silk Road, derived from Aramaic, right-to-left and cursive; Uyghur and Mongolian both descend from this branch. 𐼰 𐼱 𐼲 𐼳 𐼴 𐼵
Old Sogdian
The earlier form of Sogdian, with finer letter distinctions before it was simplified. 𐼀 𐼁 𐼂 𐼃 𐼄 𐼅
Chorasmian
The script of Khwarezm in Central Asia, in the same family as Sogdian; added to Unicode in 2020. 𐾰 𐾱 𐾲 𐾳 𐾴 𐾵
Old Turkic
The script of the Orkhon inscriptions (also called Turkic runes), including the 8th-century Kül Tigin stele; written right to left. 𐰀 𐰁 𐰂 𐰃 𐰄 𐰅
Old Uyghur
The script of the Uyghurs, derived from Sogdian and written vertically; Mongolian and Manchu evolved along this line. 𐽰 𐽱 𐽲 𐽳 𐽴 𐽵
Phags Pa
The “national script” Kublai Khan had Phags-pa create, intended as one alphabet for every language; it died with the Yuan dynasty. ꡀ ꡁ ꡂ ꡃ ꡄ ꡅ
Mongolian
Traditional Mongolian, derived from Old Uyghur and written vertically; letters take initial, medial and final forms. Still used in Inner Mongolia, alongside Cyrillic Mongolian. ᠠ ᠡ ᠢ ᠣ ᠤ ᠥ
Soyombo
A 17th-century Mongolian script whose letters are square, symmetrical and strictly vertical — heavily designed, like a banner; revived in recent decades. 𑩐 𑩜 𑩝 𑩞 𑩟 𑩠
Zanabazar Square
Another 17th-century vertical Mongolian script, devised by Zanabazar; closer to the Indic models, with fine curves. 𑨀 𑨋 𑨌 𑨍 𑨎 𑨏
Tifinagh
The script of the Berber languages of North Africa, especially Morocco: ancient in origin, revived for modern use, and very geometric. ⴰ ⴱ ⴲ ⴳ ⴴ ⴵ
Elymaic
The script of the kingdom of Elymais in south-western Iran, related to Pahlavi; added to Unicode in 2018. 𐿠 𐿡 𐿢 𐿣 𐿤 𐿥
Carian
The script of Caria in south-western Anatolia, mostly on tombstones and graffiti, partly readable today. 𐊠 𐊡 𐊢 𐊣 𐊤 𐊥
Lycian
The inscriptional script of Lycia in Anatolia, from the centuries when Greek letters were its neighbours. 𐊀 𐊁 𐊂 𐊃 𐊄 𐊅
Lydian
The script of the kingdom of Lydia in Anatolia, in the same family as Lycian. 𐤠 𐤡 𐤢 𐤣 𐤤 𐤥
Sidetic
A short-inscription script from Pamphylia in Anatolia, with only a few dozen characters; added to Unicode in 2023.
Anatolian Hieroglyphs
The hieroglyphic script of the Hittite empire, unrelated to Egyptian hieroglyphs; deciphered in the 20th century. 𔐀 𔐁 𔐂 𔐃 𔐄 𔐅
South Asia
Devanagari
Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Sanskrit and more — the most widely used script in India today. Every consonant carries an inherent a; other vowels are added as marks. अ आ इ ई उ ऊ
Bengali
Bengali and Assamese, in West Bengal and Bangladesh; related to Devanagari but far rounder. অ আ ই ঈ উ ঊ
Gurmukhi
The script of Punjabi and of the Sikh scriptures: few strokes, strongly cursive in feel. ਅ ਆ ਇ ਈ ਉ ਊ
Gujarati
Gujarati — Devanagari without the headline that runs along the top of the letters. અ આ ઇ ઈ ઉ ઊ
Oriya
Odia (Orissa, India), with shapes built almost entirely from arcs. ଅ ଆ ଇ ଈ ଉ ଊ
Tamil
Tamil (southern India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia): the most widely used script of the Dravidian family. அ ஆ இ ஈ உ ஊ
Telugu
Telugu (Andhra Pradesh): round forms and many ligatures. అ ఆ ఇ ఈ ఉ ఊ
Kannada
Kannada (Karnataka), related to Telugu and similar in shape. ಅ ಆ ಇ ಈ ಉ ಊ
Malayalam
Malayalam (Kerala): dense, finely drawn, with many conjuncts. അ ആ ഇ ഈ ഉ ഊ
Sinhala
Sinhala (Sri Lanka): round letters with little curls on top. අ ආ ඇ ඈ ඉ ඊ
Brahmi
The inscriptional script of the Mauryan empire in the 3rd century BCE, ancestor of almost every South Asian script (Devanagari, Tamil, Tibetan, Thai, Burmese all descend from it). 𑀃 𑀄 𑀅 𑀆 𑀇 𑀈
Kharoshthi
The right-to-left script of Gandhara (northern Pakistan, Afghanistan), the other great ancient Indian family beside Brahmi; common in Silk Road documents. 𐨀 𐨐 𐨑 𐨒 𐨓 𐨕
Kaithi
A historical North Indian script, still used for legal documents into the modern era; Gandhi once proposed it for wider use. 𑂃 𑂄 𑂅 𑂆 𑂇 𑂈
Sharada
A historical script of Kashmir and northern India, ancestor of several later local scripts. 𑆃 𑆄 𑆅 𑆆 𑆇 𑆈
Takri
A historical script of the Himalayan foothills (Himachal Pradesh), descended from Sharada. 𑚀 𑚁 𑚂 𑚃 𑚄 𑚅
Siddham
A mid-1st-millennium North Indian script that travelled with Buddhism to East Asia, influencing Japanese kana and Chinese Siddham studies. 𑖀 𑖁 𑖂 𑖃 𑖄 𑖅
Grantha
A historical script of Tamil Nadu, written on palm leaf and stone, used mainly for Sanskrit texts. 𑌅 𑌆 𑌇 𑌈 𑌉 𑌊
Tirhuta
The script of the Mithila region of Bihar, related to Modi; used for Sanskrit and Maithili. 𑒀 𑒁 𑒂 𑒃 𑒄 𑒅
Newa
The script of the Newar people of Nepal, plentiful in Kathmandu valley manuscripts and records. 𑐀 𑐁 𑐂 𑐃 𑐄 𑐅
Nandinagari
A historical South Indian script related to Devanagari, common on copper-plate grants. 𑦠 𑦡 𑦢 𑦣 𑦤 𑦥
Bhaiksuki
An 11th–12th century North Indian script with heavy tops and light bottoms, used mainly for Buddhist texts. 𑰀 𑰁 𑰂 𑰃 𑰄 𑰅
Modi
The historical script of the Marathi country, used for Marathi records from the 17th to the 19th century and revived after independence. 𑘀 𑘁 𑘂 𑘃 𑘄 𑘅
Dogra
The script of Dogri in the Jammu region, related to Takri. 𑠀 𑠁 𑠂 𑠃 𑠄 𑠅
Khudawadi
One of the scripts used for Sindhi, by Sindhis on the Indian side; in the same family as Modi. 𑊰 𑊱 𑊲 𑊳 𑊴 𑊵
Mahajani
A North Indian commercial hand, used for accounts and documents rather than scripture. 𑅐 𑅑 𑅒 𑅓 𑅔 𑅕
Multani
A commercial hand of southern Punjab, mostly for letters and ledgers. 𑊀 𑊁 𑊂 𑊃 𑊄 𑊅
Khojki
The script of the Ismaili communities of Sindh and Gujarat, closely tied to Sindhi literature. 𑈀 𑈁 𑈂 𑈃 𑈄 𑈅
Chakma
The script of the Chakma people in Bangladesh and north-eastern India, part of the Brahmic family. 𑄃 𑄄 𑄅 𑄆 𑄇 𑄈
Syloti Nagri
The script of the Sylhet region of Bangladesh, once endangered and now being revived. ꠀ ꠁ ꠃ ꠄ ꠅ ꠇ
Tulu Tigalari
A historical script for Tulu in southern India; added to Unicode in 2024.
Meetei Mayek
The script of Meitei (Manipur, north-eastern India), ancient in origin and brought back into use in the 20th century. ꯀ ꯁ ꯂ ꯃ ꯄ ꯅ
Tolong Siki
A script for Kurukh in Jharkhand, India, devised by a schoolteacher in the 20th century.
Kirat Rai
A script used by the Kirat communities of eastern Nepal, standardised only recently.
Sunuwar
The script of the Sunuwar language in Nepal; added to Unicode in 2024.
Gurung Khema
The script of Gurung in Nepal; added to Unicode in 2024.
Ol Onal
A new script for the Oraon (Kurukh) community in West Bengal; added to Unicode in 2024.
Ol Chiki
The script of Santali in eastern India, invented in the early 20th century and geometric in shape. ᱚ ᱛ ᱜ ᱝ ᱞ ᱟ
Warang Citi
The Warang Chiti script for Ho in Jharkhand, India. 𑢠 𑢡 𑢢 𑢣 𑢤 𑢥
Saurashtra
A script from the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, with links to Tamil. ꢂ ꢃ ꢄ ꢅ ꢆ ꢇ
Masaram Gondi
A script for Gondi in central India; added to Unicode in 2018. 𑴀 𑴁 𑴂 𑴃 𑴄 𑴅
Gunjala Gondi
The script of another Gondi community, used alongside Masaram Gondi above. 𑵠 𑵡 𑵢 𑵣 𑵤 𑵥
Sora Sompeng
The script of the Sora language in Odisha, India, devised in the 20th century. 𑃐 𑃑 𑃒 𑃓 𑃔 𑃕
Nag Mundari
The script of Mundari in Jharkhand, India; added to Unicode in 2021. 𞓐 𞓑 𞓒 𞓓 𞓔 𞓕
Toto
A script devised for Toto in West Bengal, a language with only a few thousand speakers. 𞊐 𞊑 𞊒 𞊓 𞊔 𞊕
Lepcha
The script of Lepcha in Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan: tall, slanted letters written from the bottom up. ᰀ ᰁ ᰂ ᰃ ᰄ ᰅ
Limbu
The script of Limbu in eastern Nepal and Sikkim, brought back into use in the 20th century; vowel signs sit above, below and beside the letters. ᤀ ᤁ ᤂ ᤃ ᤄ ᤅ
Ahom
The script of the Ahom kingdom (Assam, 13th–19th century), for a Tai language; revived from the 20th century. 𑜀 𑜁 𑜂 𑜃 𑜄 𑜅
Wancho
The script of the Wancho (Konyak) language in Nagaland, India; added to Unicode in 2017. 𞋀 𞋁 𞋂 𞋃 𞋄 𞋅
Pau Cin Hau
A very simple script devised in the early 20th century by a religious leader in Manipur, India. 𑫀 𑫁 𑫂 𑫃 𑫄 𑫅
Dives Akuru
The historical script of Dhivehi in the Maldives, predecessor of today's Thaana. 𑤀 𑤁 𑤂 𑤃 𑤄 𑤅
Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Myanmar
Burmese (and Mon, Shan and others). The letters are rings and circles because scribes wrote on palm leaf, where straight lines split the leaf. က ခ ဂ ဃ င စ
Thai
Thai, evolved from a Brahmic script; vowels are written above, below, before and after the consonant, with tone marks stacked on top. ก ข ฃ ค ฅ ฆ
Lao
Lao, related to Thai and rounder, with fewer letters. ກ ຂ ຄ ຆ ງ ຈ
Khmer
Khmer (Cambodia), the ancestor of both Thai and Lao: ornate, with many conjuncts. ក ខ គ ឃ ង ច
Tai Tham
The Lanna / Tai Tham script of northern Thailand and Laos, used for Buddhist texts. ᨠ ᨡ ᨢ ᨣ ᨤ ᨥ
New Tai Lue
A 20th-century reworking of the old Tai Lue script, used in Xishuangbanna (Yunnan) and neighbouring areas. ᦀ ᦁ ᦂ ᦃ ᦄ ᦅ
Tai Viet
The script of the Tai Dam (Black Tai) in Vietnam and Laos. ꪀ ꪁ ꪂ ꪃ ꪄ ꪅ
Tai Le
The script of Shan in Myanmar, derived from Tai Tham. ᥐ ᥑ ᥒ ᥓ ᥔ ᥕ
Tai Yo
A new script for Tai Yo in Laos; added to Unicode in 2024.
Kayah Li
The script of the Kayah on the Myanmar–Thailand border, its letters like little blocks. ꤊ ꤋ ꤌ ꤍ ꤎ ꤏ
Pahawh Hmong
One of the Hmong scripts: consonants and vowels are written in separate positions rather than in a single line, which is unlike most alphabets. 𖬀 𖬁 𖬂 𖬃 𖬄 𖬅
Nyiakeng Puachue Hmong
Another Hmong script, created in the late 20th century; added to Unicode in 2019. 𞄀 𞄁 𞄂 𞄃 𞄄 𞄅
Miao
The Pollard script, devised by a missionary in the early 20th century for the A-Hmao dialect of Miao in north-east Yunnan; still used by Miao Christians. 𖼀 𖼁 𖼂 𖼃 𖼄 𖼅
Javanese
Javanese, with highly decorative letters, traditionally used for literature and court documents. ꦄ ꦅ ꦆ ꦇ ꦈ ꦉ
Balinese
Balinese, related to Javanese, used mainly for religious texts. ᬅ ᬆ ᬇ ᬈ ᬉ ᬊ
Sundanese
The script of Sundanese (West Java), out of use after the 19th century and partly revived since. ᮃ ᮄ ᮅ ᮆ ᮇ ᮈ
Buginese
The script of Bugis in South Sulawesi, best known from long handwritten manuscripts. ᨀ ᨁ ᨂ ᨃ ᨄ ᨅ
Rejang
The script of Rejang in Sumatra, in the same family as Buginese. ꤰ ꤱ ꤲ ꤳ ꤴ ꤵ
Batak
The script of the Batak of Sumatra, written on bamboo and bark, from the bottom upwards. ᯀ ᯁ ᯂ ᯃ ᯄ ᯅ
Cham
The script of the Cham of central Vietnam, with links to South Indian scripts. ꨀ ꨁ ꨂ ꨃ ꨄ ꨅ
Makasar
The script of Makasar in South Sulawesi, a neighbour of Buginese. 𑻠 𑻡 𑻢 𑻣 𑻤 𑻥
Kawi
The script of Java between roughly the 8th and 16th centuries (the Majapahit era), written on palm leaf and stone; ancestor of Javanese and Balinese. Added to Unicode in 2022. 𑼂 𑼄 𑼅 𑼆 𑼇 𑼈
Tangsa
A script for the Tangsa language of north-eastern India and Myanmar; added to Unicode in 2021. 𖩰 𖩱 𖩲 𖩳 𖩴 𖩵
Hanifi Rohingya
A script for Rohingya in Rakhine, Myanmar, created in the late 20th century; written right to left. 𐴀 𐴁 𐴂 𐴃 𐴄 𐴅
Mro
The script of the Mru language on the Bangladesh–Myanmar border, its letters shaped like little triangles. 𖩀 𖩁 𖩂 𖩃 𖩄 𖩅
Tagalog
One of the pre-colonial scripts of the Philippines, used for Tagalog; now promoted as national heritage. ᜀ ᜁ ᜂ ᜃ ᜄ ᜅ
Hanunoo
The script of Hanunoo on Mindoro in the Philippines, one of the same island group. ᜠ ᜡ ᜢ ᜣ ᜤ ᜥ
Buhid
The script of Buhid in the Philippines, much used in poetry. ᝀ ᝁ ᝂ ᝃ ᝄ ᝅ
East Asia
Chinese (Simplified)
The Han character forms used in mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia, with fewer strokes; an enormous shared character set with no alphabet layer at all. Native name 简体中文. 一 丁 七 万 丈 三
Chinese (Traditional)
The Han character forms of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, keeping more of the traditional shapes. The gap from simplified is not only “more strokes”: some characters are different code points (see Language, script and writing system). Native name 繁體中文. 一 丁 七 丈 三 上
Japanese (kana)
The two Japanese syllabaries (hiragana and katakana), one sign per syllable; a single page mixes kanji, hiragana and katakana. Native name 日本語. あ い う え お か
Korean (Hangul)
Hangul: letters are packed into a square per syllable, so what looks like a character is really a spelling. Native name 한국어. 가 나 다 라 마 바
Yi
The syllabary of the Yi language of south-west China (Sichuan, Yunnan), one sign per syllable; local variants were numerous until they were standardised. ꀀ ꀁ ꀂ ꀃ ꀄ ꀅ
Tibetan
The script of Tibetan (and Dzongkha, Sikkimese and others), evolved from an Indian script in the 7th century; vowels sit above and below the consonants, and consonants stack. ཀ ཁ ག གྷ ང ཅ
Marchen
A script found in Bön scriptures in Tibet and Bhutan: written vertically, with long thin letters. Added to Unicode in 2016. 𑱲 𑱳 𑱴 𑱵 𑱶 𑱷
Nushu
A script passed between women in Jiangyong, Hunan: fine slanted strokes, recording the local Chinese dialect. 𛅰 𛅱 𛅲 𛅳 𛅴 𛅵
Tangut
The script of the Western Xia (1038–1227): it borrows the strokes and structural logic of Han characters but invents everything else, over six thousand characters. It died with the dynasty and was only read again in modern times. 𗀀 𗀁 𗀂 𗀃 𗀄 𗀅
Khitan Small Script
The Khitan script of the Liao dynasty: syllable blocks assembled from smaller “primitives”; essentially deciphered only in 2021. 𘬀 𘬁 𘬂 𘬃 𘬄 𘬅
Jurchen
The script of the Jin dynasty, partly borrowed from Khitan and Han; essentially unused today.
Seal
This id covers a whole Unicode block of signs recently found on seals and engraved marks — not all deciphered, and their relation to oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions is still debated.
Lisu
The script of Lisu (Yunnan, Myanmar, Thailand), devised by missionaries in the early 20th century; many letters are upside-down capitals. ꓐ ꓑ ꓒ ꓓ ꓔ ꓕ
Africa
Ethiopic
Amharic, Tigrinya and others in Ethiopia: one sign per syllable, with consonants in vowel families; related to Old South Arabian. ሀ ሁ ሂ ሃ ሄ ህ
Nko
A script for the Manding languages of West Africa (Guinea, Mali), created in 1949 and written right to left. ߊ ߋ ߌ ߍ ߎ ߏ
Vai
The syllabary of the Vai language in Liberia, in use since the 19th century and still current. ꔀ ꔁ ꔂ ꔃ ꔄ ꔅ
Mende Kikakui
A syllabary for Mende in Sierra Leone, created in the early 20th century, written right to left. 𞠀 𞠁 𞠂 𞠃 𞠄 𞠅
Bassa Vah
The script of Bassa in Liberia, created in the 19th century and revived in recent years. 𖫐 𖫑 𖫒 𖫓 𖫔 𖫕
Medefaidrin
The script of an Ibibio-related church language in Nigeria, created in the 1920s. 𖹀 𖹁 𖹂 𖹃 𖹄 𖹅
Adlam
The script of Fulani in West Africa, created in the 1980s: right to left and cursive. Promoted in Guinea and elsewhere since 2008. 𞤀 𞤁 𞤂 𞤃 𞤄 𞤅
Osmanya
A script for Somali, created in the 1920s; it competed with Latin and lost. 𐒀 𐒁 𐒂 𐒃 𐒄 𐒅
Beria Erfe
A script for Zaghawa (Beria) in Chad and Sudan; added to Unicode in 2024.
Meroitic Hieroglyphs
The hieroglyphic script of the kingdom of Kush (today's Sudan): shapes borrowed from Egyptian hieroglyphs but a system of its own. 𐦀 𐦁 𐦂 𐦃 𐦄 𐦅
Meroitic Cursive
The cursive form of the same script, far more common, mostly on potsherds and stone. 𐦠 𐦡 𐦢 𐦣 𐦤 𐦥
Bamum
The script of Bamum in Cameroon, created by Sultan Njoya at the end of the 19th century and developed through several stages from pictures to simplification. ꚠ ꚡ ꚢ ꚣ ꚤ ꚥ
Garay
A script for Wolof in Senegal, created in 2001; added to Unicode in 2024.
The Americas
Canadian Aboriginal
The syllabics of Inuktitut, Cree and others in northern Canada, arranged by missionaries in the 19th century; the signs form families by rotation and mirroring. ᐁ ᐂ ᐃ ᐄ ᐅ ᐆ
Cherokee
The syllabary of Cherokee, created by Sequoyah in 1821 with over eighty signs — one of the few scripts invented and spread by a single person without literacy. Ꭰ Ꭱ Ꭲ Ꭳ Ꭴ Ꭵ
Osage
A new script for Osage in the United States, created in 2006, with upper case and lower case forms. 𐒰 𐒱 𐒲 𐒳 𐒴 𐒵
Two special cases
Symbols and icon fonts
Not a writing system. Symbol fonts (emoji, icon fonts, icon libraries) usually have only a private-use block or a scattering of code points and match no script at all — this site renders a code point grid for them and tags them with this id.
The legacy Latin grid
A historical id: early versions used lat for the Latin specimen grid, while current data only produces en. It can still appear in old records and means Latin.
Further reading
- The complete ISO 15924 code list (four-letter code and official name for every script):
unicode.org/iso15924/ - Wikipedia's list of writing systems, by region and by era, plus one article per script
- The tests this site uses:
Scripts.txt/ScriptExtensions.txt(see Character properties) and CLDR's per-language character sets