Script guide › Arabic Script
Persian (Farsi) vs Urdu
Persian (Farsi) and Urdu sit in the same corner of the writing-system map — Grafle's Arabic Script group — and players mix them up constantly. Here's the fastest way to tell them apart.
The tell
Urdu hangs in diagonal nastaliq style and ends words with the wide ے; Persian sits closer to a flat baseline.
Side by side
Persian (Farsi)
همه انسانها آزاد و برابر به دنیا میآیند و زندگی حق همه است.
سلام، حال شما چطور است؟
تهران پایتخت ایران است.
Persian (Farsi)'s own tells
- Has the four extra letters پ چ ژ گ that Arabic lacks.
- Word-final ی without dots, and no constant ال articles.
On signs in:
- Iran
- Afghanistan
Urdu
تمام انسان آزاد پیدا ہوتے ہیں اور عزت میں برابر ہیں۔
آپ کیسے ہیں؟ سب ٹھیک ہے؟
پاکستان ایک خوبصورت ملک ہے۔
Urdu's own tells
- Written in hanging nastaliq style — lines slope diagonally down to the left.
- The wide ے at word ends is Urdu-only; so are ٹ ڈ ڑ (a tiny ط on top).
On signs in:
- Pakistan
- India