List of writing systems - Definition and Overview

See writing system for a description of the different kinds of writing systems. The name of the language the script is used to write follows the name of the script, if different.

Logographic writing systems

• Hieroglyphic, Hieratic, and Demotic writing systems of Ancient Egypt
• Cuneiform script of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Elamite, Hittite, and Luwian languages
• Hanzi (Chinese)
  • Kanji (Japanese)
  • Hanja (Korean)
  • Vietnamese (Chu Han and Chu Nom, both obsolete)
• Dongba (Naxi)
• Jurchen
• Khitan
• Mayan
• Tangut

Syllabaries

• Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics
  • Carrier (Dakelh)
  • Cree
  • Inuktitut
  • Ojibwe
• Celtiberian
• Cherokee
• Cypriot
• Ge'ez, also called Ethiopic
• Hiragana (Japanese)
• Iberian
• Katakana (Japanese)
• Kpelle
• Linear B
• Ndjuká
• Vai
• Yi

Alphabets

• Armenian
• Avestan
• Bassa
• Beitha Kukju (Albanian)
• Braille
• Coptic
• Cyrillic
• Elbasan (Albanian)
• Fraser
• Georgian
  • Mkhedruli
  • Khutsuri
    • Asomtavruli
    • Nuskhuri
• Glagolitic (Old Church Slavonic)
• Gothic
• Greek
• Hangul (Korean)
• International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
• Latin (Roman)
• Kharosthi, also known as Gandhari
• Manchu
• Mongolian
• N'Ko (Malinke, Bambara, Dyula)
• Ogham (Celtic languages, Pictish)
• Old Hungarian
• Old Italic alphabet (Etruscan, Oscan, Umbrian)
• Old Permic, or Abur (Komi)
• Orkhon (Turkic runes)
• Osmanya (Somali alphabet)
• Pollard Miao (Miao)
• Runic alphabet (Germanic languages)
• Santali, or Ol' Cemet
• Tai Lue (Lue)
• Thaana (Dhivehi)

Abjads

• Dhives akuru (Dhivehi)
• Aramaic
• Arabic
• Middle Persian
• Hebrew
• Parthian (Middle Persian)
• Nabataean alphabet
• Sabaean alphabet
• Psalter (Middle Persian)
• Phoenician
• Syriac
• South Arabian (Sabaic, Qatabanic, Himyaritic and Hadhramautic)
• Samaritan
• Ugaritic
• Tifinagh (Tamasheq)

Abugidas

• Ahom
• Balinese
• Batak
• Bengali
• Brahmi
• Baybayin (Tagalog)
• Burmese (Burmese, Karen languages, Mon
• Cham
• Dehong (Dehong Dai)
• Devanāgarī (Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi, Nepali)
• Gujarāti (Gujarāti, Kachchi)
• Gurmukhi (Punjabi)
• Hanuno'o
• Pahawh Hmong (Hmong)
• Javanese
• Kannada (Kannada, Tulu)
• Kharosthi alphabet (Gandhari, Sanskrit)
• Khmer
• Lao
• Lepcha
• Limbu
• Lontara and Makasar alphabets Bugis or Bugisnese, Makasar, and Mandar
• Malayalam
• Modi (Marathi)
• Oriya
• Phags-pa (Mongolian
• Ranjana (Newari)
• Kaganga (Rejang)
• Sinhala
• Sorang Sompeng
• Sourashtra
• Soyombo
• Syloti Nagri
• Tagalog
• Tagbanwa
• Tai Dam
• Tamil
• Telugu
• Thai
• Tibetan
• Tocharian
• Varang Kshiti

Undeciphered writing systems

These writing systems have not yet been completely deciphered, and in some cases are not deciphered at all.

• Indus/Harappa script
• Linear A
• Meroitic script
• Old Elamite
• Old European Script (Vinča)
• Phaistos Disc
• Proto-Elamite
• Rongorongo

Undeciphered manuscripts

A number of manuscripts from comparable recent past may be written in an invented writing system, a cipher of an existing writing system or may only be an hoax.

• Voynich Manuscript
• Rohonczi Codex
• Codex Seraphinianus

See also

• Artificial script
• Category:Writing systems

Source

• Omniglot - a guide to writing systems (http://omniglot.com/)