How Many Languages Are Written From Right To Left?

More than 7,100 languages are spoken across the world today. Around 23 languages account for more than half the world’s population. Generally, some languages are written from left to right. However, there are some languages which are written from right to left. Twelve are written from right to left, including simplified Chinese and several dialects of Japanese.

Which Languages Are Written From Right To Left?

Twelve languages are written from the right to the left. Read this article to know more about these languages.

• Arabic
• Aramaic
• Azeri
• Divehi
• Fula
• Hebrew
• Kurdish
• N’ko
• Persian
• Rohingya
• Syriac
• Urdu

These twelve languages are written from the right to the left.

Arabic

Ancient Semitic languages like Arabic were chiselled into stones in ancient days. Words were recorded on hard objects because the paper did not exist. Hence, Arabic is written from the right to the left.

Aramaic

The Aramaic languages originated among the Arameans in the ancient region of Syria. It is written from the right to the left.

Azeri

Azerbaijani or Azeri is a Turkic language from the Oghuz sub-branch, which is written from the right to the left.

Divehi

Divehi is an Indo-Aryan language. It was derived from the Sinhalese language of Sri Lanka. It is the official language of the Maldives. This language is also written from the right to the left.

Fula

Fula is a Senegambian language spoken by people in West and Central Africa. The Fula language is also written from the right to the left.

Hebrew

Hebrew is a Northwest Semitic language spoken by the Jews and Samaritans. This language was chiselled into stones in ancient days. It is also written from the right to the left.

Kurdish

Kurdish is a language spoken by Kurds in the geo-cultural region of Kurdistan. It is also written from the right to the left.

N’ko

The N’Ko alphabet was invented by Soulemayne Kante of Kankan in Guinea, a country in West Africa. The language was written from the right to the left.

Persian

Persian is a Western Iranian language. It is also known by its endonym Farsi. The language is written from the right to the left. It is an important language of the Middle East and Central Asia.

Rohingya

Rohingya is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Rohingyas in Myanmar. The language is written from the right to the left.

Syriac

Syriac is an eastern dialect of Aramaic spoken in the Mesopotamian Plateau between Syria and Iraq. The Syriac language is written from the right to the left.

Urdu

Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in South Asia, especially in Pakistan and India. The language was heavily influenced by Arabic and Persian.