Arabic Anatomy Guide
دليل تشريح الخط العربي
How Arabic letterforms are built, piece by piece
Illustration referenced from Type Together — a type foundry specializing in multilingual typeface design.
Anatomy entries name the parts of Arabic letters the way designers and calligraphers talk about them: teeth, bowls, baselines, ascenders, tails, loops, and the skeleton shapes underneath the dots. Each entry isolates one idea so you can recognize it in type and in handwriting across different script styles.
Why It Matters
When you can name a structure, you can see it in a font, adjust it in a brief, or spot why a word feels cramped or unclear. Anatomy is the bridge between vague impressions and precise decisions in Arabic typography.
How to Read These Entries
Start here for orientation, then open any card below. Each page defines one term, shows where it lives in the letter, and links to related ideas. There is no required order: follow curiosity or jump from teeth to bowls to connecting strokes as your project needs.