Joined and Unjoined Letter Shapes

Level 1

Letters can look different inside a word. A gap between shapes does not always mark a new word.

How It Works

A shape is not a new letter. ب can appear alone or in the joined shapes بـ، ـبـ، ـب. Its dot stays below it. The shape depends on the neighboring letters and the position within the written connection.

Seven letters break the connection onward. ا، د، ذ، ر، ز، ژ، و can receive a connection from the preceding letter on their right, but they do not send one to the following letter on their left. Their related forms, such as آ, follow the same joining behavior.

In باب, the first ب joins to ا. The ا cannot join onward to the final ب, so a visible break occurs inside one word. Do not add a word space there.

Dots distinguish letters in families such as ب، پ، ت، ث. Read the dots as part of the letter. Fonts can change the appearance of strokes, so compare the whole shape and its dots.

Examples (4)

  1. باب

    door; chapter

    The internal break after ا does not create two words.

  2. نان

    bread

    The ن on the right joins to ا; the final ن remains separate from ا.

  3. دست

    hand

    د does not join onward to س; س and ت can join.

  4. ب، پ، ت، ث

    b, p, t, s

    Similar basic shapes have different dot patterns and letter identities.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Joined and Unjoined Letter ShapesLevel 1

Learn This First

Use neighboring letters and dots to recognize contextual shapes; a break caused by a nonjoining letter stays inside the word.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.