Two Urdu Type Styles

Foundations

Nastaliq often arranges joined letters along a sloping shape. Naskh usually places them along a more level line.

How It Works

Nastaliq is widely associated with Urdu print and writing. Its joined groups can slope down and overlap vertically. Naskh tends to arrange its letters along a steadier baseline.

A font can change a letter's outline and the placement of dots without changing the spelling. The word پاکستان remains Pakistan in either style. Neither style is a Roman transcription.

To compare them, keep one word on screen while changing the type style. Find the same dots, letter sequence and breaks between joined groups. Start with پانی, then try the longer کتابیں.

Style does not identify a national variety of speech. Pakistani and Indian Urdu can both be displayed in Nastaliq or Naskh. A font change does not call for new vocabulary, audio or grammar.

Examples (3)

  1. پانی

    water

    Compare the dots and the joining pattern in each style.

  2. کتابیں

    books

    Keep the final ں when identifying the word in either style.

  3. پاکستان

    Pakistan

    Different outlines still represent this same sequence of Urdu letters.

Words in This Pattern

نستعلیقنسخ