Origin from 400
The Arabic script is an abjad, a writing system in which letters primarily represent consonants while short vowels are usually left unmarked or shown only with optional diacritics, descended from the Nabataean variant of the Aramaic script. It is written right to left and its letters change shape depending on their position within a word, connecting into a running cursive form even in print. Beyond Arabic itself, the script has historically been adapted to write Persian, Urdu, Ottoman Turkish, Pashto and many other languages across the Islamic world, generally by adding extra letters for sounds Arabic itself does not have.
Facts
Directionality In Use Since (Year)Approximate date the script had emerged in a form recognizable as Arabic script rather than its Nabataean Aramaic ancestor; the earliest securely dated Arabic inscriptions are somewhat later, and the script's formative period is not pinned to a single year. Directionality (class) Classification
Script StatusLiving (in Current Use) 1 Classified 'living' per this entity's own cited source and standard scholarly consensus on the script's current use; checked 2026-09-27. Arabic Script
Filter Results17 entries
Connections
Ancestor Of
Source Thaana (Wikipedia)
Associated With
This source names Turkish directly: "to write Persian, Urdu, Ottoman Turkish, Pashto and many other languages across the Islamic world, generally by adding extra letters for sounds Arabic itself does not have."
Source The Cambridge Encyclopedia of LanguageDavid Crystal (editor)
Descends From
Is Of Script Type
Script Of
Source Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languages
Balochi is most commonly written in a Perso-Arabic-based script.
Source Wikipedia: Egyptian Arabic
Persian is written in the Perso-Arabic script, an extended form of the Arabic alphabet.
Kurdish is biscriptal: the Sorani dialect is standardly written in a Perso-Arabic-based script.
Source Wikipedia: Levantine Arabic
Pashto uses an extended Perso-Arabic alphabet with added letters for Pashto-specific sounds.
Sindhi in Pakistan is standardly written in a Perso-Arabic-based script (the official script under Pakistan's constitution).
Source Wikipedia: Sudanese Arabic
Urdu is written in a Nastaliq-style Perso-Arabic script.
Zarma, Languages Ajami, an Arabic-derived script, is a secondary writing system beside the primary Latin alphabet.
Source Wikipedia: Zarma Language
In the Other Atlases
Influenced
Also in Arts and Music Atlas: which this subject influenced.
Sources
1. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
David Crystal (editor), Cambridge University Press, 2010
2. Omniglot: The Online Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languages
Wikipedia: Zarma Language
Wikimedia FoundationScript Of: Zarma, Writing system section, Arabic alphabet Ajami script statementView the Source Wikipedia: N'Ko Script
Associated With: N'Ko, N'Ko script, History and Description sectionsQuote, Associated With: N'Ko, N'Ko script, History and Description sections
The script has a few similarities to the Arabic script, notably its direction (right-to-left) and the letters that are connected at the base.
Wikipedia: Egyptian Arabic
Wikimedia FoundationScript Of: Egyptian Arabic, Infobox, Writing systemQuote, Script Of: Egyptian Arabic, Infobox, Writing system
Arabic alphabet
Wikipedia: Levantine Arabic
Wikimedia FoundationScript Of: Levantine Arabic, Infobox, Writing systemQuote, Script Of: Levantine Arabic, Infobox, Writing system
Arabic alphabet
Wikipedia: Sudanese Arabic
Wikimedia FoundationScript Of: Sudanese Arabic, Infobox: scriptQuote, Script Of: Sudanese Arabic, Infobox: script
Arabic alphabet
Thaana (Wikipedia)
Ancestor Of: Thaana Script, Lead, first sentenceQuote, Ancestor Of: Thaana Script, Lead, first sentence
vowels derived from the vowel diacritics of the Arabic abjad
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