TSV
Major Writing Systems of the World - TSV
World languages are recorded through diverse writing systems. This resource explains classification systems based on the nature and structure of characters, including alphabets, syllabaries, logographies, abjads, and abugidas. It comprehensively summarizes the characteristics, languages used, and historical backgrounds of each writing system, providing foundational information useful for understanding scripts in multilingual environments.
writing systems
alphabet
kanji
kana
cyrillic
arabic script
linguistics
orthography
code slug name description examples languages
01 alphabet Alphabet (Full Phonographic) A writing system where consonants and vowels are represented by independent letters. Latin script, Cyrillic script, Greek script, Armenian script, Georgian script English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, Greek, etc.
02 latin-script Latin Script Originating from ancient Rome, it is the most widely used alphabet in the world. A, B, C, D, E... English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and over 100 other languages
03 cyrillic-script Cyrillic Script An alphabet primarily used in Slavic language regions. А, Б, В, Г, Д... Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Belarusian, etc.
04 logography Logography (Logographic) A writing system where characters directly represent words or meanings. Chinese characters, Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, Khmer script, Mayan glyphs Chinese, Japanese (Kanji), Korean (historical), Vietnamese (historical)
05 kanji Chinese Characters (Kanji/Hanzi) Logographic characters originating from China, the only widely used logographic system today. 山 (mountain), 川 (river), 人 (person), 愛 (love), 龍 (dragon)... Chinese, Japanese, Korean (historical), Vietnamese (historical)
06 syllabary Syllabary A writing system where one character represents one syllable. Hiragana, Katakana, Cherokee syllabary, Canadian Aboriginal syllabics, Vai script Japanese, Cherokee, Canadian Aboriginal languages, Vai (Liberia)
07 kana Kana (Hiragana and Katakana) Syllabaries used in Japanese, consisting of hiragana and katakana. あいうえお (hiragana), アイウエオ (katakana) Japanese
08 abjad Abjad (Consonantary) A writing system primarily representing consonants, with vowels inferred from context. Arabic script, Hebrew script, Syriac script, Aramaic script Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu, Pashto, etc.
09 arabic-script Arabic Script A consonantary used for Arabic and other languages. ا ب ت ث ج ح خ... Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Pashto, Uyghur, Malay (historical), etc.
10 abugida Abugida (Alphasyllabary) A writing system where vowels are indicated by diacritical marks attached to consonant letters. Devanagari, Thai script, Khmer script, Burmese script, Ethiopic script, Tamil script Hindi, Sanskrit, Thai, Khmer, Burmese, Amharic, Tamil, etc.
11 hangul Hangul A distinctive writing system used for the Korean language. ㄱㄴㄷㄹㅁㅂㅅ... (consonants), ㅏㅑㅓㅕㅗ... (vowels) Korean