Tibetan script
The Tibetan script is a segmental writing system (abugida) of Indic origin used to write certain Tibetic languages, including Tibetan, Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Ladakhi, Jirel and Balti. It has also been used for some non-Tibetic languages in close cultural contact with Tibet, such as Thakali and Old Turkic. The printed form is called uchen script while the hand-written cursive form used in everyday writing is called umê script. This writing system is used across the Himalayas and Tibet.
| Tibetan | |
|---|---|
The mantra "Om mani padme hum" | |
| Script type | |
Time period | c. 650–present |
| Direction | Left-to-right |
| Languages | |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
Child systems | |
Sister systems | Sharada, Siddham, Kalinga, Bhaiksuki |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Tibt (330), Tibetan |
| Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Tibetan |
| U+0F00–U+0FFF Final Accepted Script Proposal of the First Usable Edition (3.0) | |
| Brahmic scripts |
|---|
| The Brahmi script and its descendants |
The script is closely linked to a broad ethnic Tibetan identity, spanning across areas in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. The Tibetan script is of Brahmic origin from the Gupta script and is ancestral to scripts such as Meitei, Lepcha, Marchen and the multilingual ʼPhags-pa script.