This is an index of the all the writing systems on this site arranged by the direction in which they are written. Some writing systems can be written in a number of different directions, others were originally written in various directions but eventually settled on one direction.

Why some writing systems are written in one direction, and others in other directions is a bit of a mystery. It might have something to do with the writing surfaces and implements originally used, fashion, the handedness of the creators of the writing systems, or other factors.

Directions

Left to right, horizontal
Right to left, horizontal
Left to right, vertical, top to bottom
Right to left, vertical, top to bottom
Left to right, vertical, bottom to top
Right to left, vertical, bottom to top
Boustrophedon
Variable

Left to right, horizontal

The following writing systems are written from left to right in horizontal lines:

Ahom
Angelic
Armenian
Balinese
Bassa (Vah)
Beitha Kukju,Benjamin Franklin’s Phonetic Alphabet
Bengali
Blackfoot,Blissymbolics
Brahmi
Buhid
Burmese
Carrier
Celtiberian
Cham,Cherokee
Chinese
Coptic
Cree
Cyrillic
Dehong Dai/Tai Le,Deseret
Devanagari
Dhives Akuru
Elbasan
Ethiopic
Fraser
Georgian (Asomtavruli)
Georgian (Nuskhuri)
Georgian (Mkhedruli)
Glagolitic
Gothic
Grantha
Greek
Gujarati
Gurmukhi (Punjabi),Hmong
Iberian (Southern)
International Phonetic Alphabet
Inuktitut
Irish Uncial
Javanese
Jenticha,Kannada
Kayah Li
Khitan
Khmer
Korean
Kpelle
Kulitan
Jurchen
Lanna
Lao
Latin
Lepcha
Limbu,Linear A
Linear B
Loma
Lontara/Makasar
Malachim
Malayalam
Manpuri
Mayan
Modi
Mongolian Horizontal Square Script
Naxi
Ndjuká
Ogham
Ojibwe
Old Church Slavonic
Old Permic
Oriya,Passing the River
Pitman Initial Teaching Alphabet
Pollard Miao
Quikscript/Read Alphabet
Ranjana,Redjang
Runic
Santali
Sharda
Shavian
Shorthand
Siddham
Sinhala
Solresol Somali
Sorang Sompeng
Sourashtra
Soyombo
Sundanese
Sutton SignWriting
Syloti Nagri
Tagalog
Tagbanwa
Tai Dam
Tai Lue
Tamil
Telugu
Thai
Theban
Tibetan
Tikamuli
Todhri
Tocharian
Ugaritic
Unifon
Vai
Varang Kshiti
Visible Speech
Yi

Right to left, horizontal

The following writing systems are written from right to left in horizontal lines:

*In Arabic numerals are written from left to right.

** In vertical Chinese texts the headings are sometimes written horizontally from right to left across the tops of the columns (see below). This direction is also occasionally used on shop signs.

Left to right, vertical, top to bottom

The following writing systems are written from left to right in vertical lines running from top to bottom:

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Right to left, vertical, top to bottom

The following writing systems are written from right to left in vertical lines running from top to bottom:

Notes

Until the 1980s Korean was usually written from right to left in vertical columns. Since then writing from left to right in horizontal lines has become popular, and today the majority of texts are written horizontally.

Chinese is often written vertically in Taiwan, while in China and Singapore it is usually written horizontally.

Vertical and horizontal texts are both used in Japan

Left to right, vertical, bottom to top

The following writing systems are written from right to left in vertical lines running from bottom to top:

Note

Tagbanwa is traditionally written in vertical columns running from bottom to top and from left to right, however it is read from left to right in horizontal lines.

Right to left, vertical, bottom to top

The Ancient Berber developed from the Phoenician script and like Phoenician, was originally written from right to left in horizontal lines, but became more commonly written from bottom to top in vertical columns running from right to left.

Boustrophedon

The following writing systems are written in horizontal lines running alternatively from right to left then left to right. This is called Boustrophedon, which comes from the Greek βους (bous) “ox” +στρεφειν (strefein) “to turn”, because it resembles the path an ox makes when plowing field, turning at the end of each row to return in the opposite direction.

Székely-Hungarian Rovás (Hungarian Runes), Linear B, Rongo Rongo,Sabaean

Variable

Ancient Egyptian (Hieroglyphic)

The Ancient Egytian Hieroglyphic script was written in any direction the was convenient: horizontally from right to left or left to right or vertically from top to bottom. The arrangement of the glyphs was partly determined by aesthetic considerations. When written horizontally, you can tell the direction of a piece of writing by looking at the way the animals and people are facing: they look towards the beginning of the line.

Source: http://hieroglyphs.net

Chinese

Chinese can be written from right to left in vertical columns, left to right in horizontal lines, or occasionally right to left in horizontal lines. In Taiwan it is often written vertically, while in China and Singapore it is usually written horizontally. In newspapers and magazines with vertical text, some of the headlines and titles are written horizontally right to left across the top of the main text.

Etruscan

Etruscan was sometimes written in boustrophedon fashion and sometimes from right to left in horizontal lines.

Japanese

Japanese can be written from right to left in vertical columns or left to right in horizontal lines. Horizontal writing was first used during the Meiji Period (1868-1912) in Western language dictionaries of Japanese. Today both orientations are used.

Korean

Ogham

When inscribed on stones, Ogham was written around the edge starting at the bottom left and running upwards then back down the other side. In manuscripts it was written horizontally running from left to right.

Orkhon

Orkhon was written mainly from right to left in horizontal lines, though some inscriptions are written vertically with the letters rotated by 90º. When written vertically, it read from bottom to top and right to left.

Mayan

In inscriptions, Mayan was written in paired columns zigzagging downwards from left to right. Any faces on the glyphs generally look towards the beginning of the line, as with Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Elsewhere it was usually written horizontally from left to right

The image on the left shows a Mayan inscription from the museum at Tonina in Chiapas, Mexico.

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Source : http://www.omniglot.com

Courtesy : Omniglot is a wonderful site which serves as an encyclopedia of world languages. You could find almost every possible information about languages there. We convey our gratitude for their great and impeccable services.