Persian Calligraphy: Nastaliq, Shekasteh and the Other Main Scripts

Persian calligraphy, called خوشنویسی (khoshnevisi, “beautiful writing”), is the art of writing the Persian alphabet by hand with a reed pen and ink. Its signature script is Nastaliq (نستعلیق), a flowing, sloping style credited to Mir Ali Tabrizi in the 14th century. Other important scripts are Shekasteh, Naskh and Thuluth.

This guide walks through the main scripts and how to tell them apart, a short and careful history, the traditional tools with their Persian names, and a realistic way to start practicing. If you are learning Persian, calligraphy is also a lovely way to get to know the letters more deeply.

What makes calligraphy Persian

Persian is written in a version of the Arabic alphabet (see our overview of the Persian script), with four extra letters (پ چ ژ گ) for sounds Arabic does not have. Calligraphers in Iran, Central Asia and India worked with the same scripts used across the Islamic world, such as Naskh and Thuluth, but they also created styles of their own. The best known, Nastaliq, became the classic script for Persian poetry and is the style most people mean when they say “Persian calligraphy”.

In Iran, calligraphy is a living art. You see it on book covers, wedding invitations, shop signs, tiles, carpets and poetry posters, and many people take classes as a hobby. A calligrapher is a خوشنویس (khoshnevis). Listen

The main Persian calligraphy scripts

Each script has a Persian name, a typical look and a traditional job. This table is a quick map; the sections below go into each one.

Note the Persian pronunciation of Thuluth: Iranians say sols, because the letter ث is pronounced like “s” in Persian.

Nastaliq: the “bride” of the scripts

Nastaliq (نستعلیق, nasta’ligh) Listen is the script Persian calligraphy is famous for. Words seem to hang from an invisible line and slide down from upper right to lower left. Some strokes, especially the bowls of letters like ن and ی, are stretched wide, while others are short and steep. The result has a rhythm that suits poetry, and it is often called the “bride” of Islamic calligraphy.

Tradition credits Mir Ali Tabrizi (میرعلی تبریزی), who worked in the late 14th and early 15th century, with setting the rules of Nastaliq. Historians note that earlier examples of a similar style exist, so he is best seen as the person who codified and refined it. The name is usually explained as a blend of Naskh and Ta’liq. In the Safavid period, Mir Emad (میرعماد) brought Nastaliq to what many calligraphers still regard as its peak, and his work remains a model for students.

Nastaliq spread well beyond Iran. It was used across Central Asia and in the Ottoman world, and in South Asia it became the standard way to write Urdu.

Shekasteh: “broken” Nastaliq

شکسته (shekaste) Listen means “broken”. Shekasteh Nastaliq grew out of Nastaliq in the 17th century as a faster hand for letters and documents. Letters are compressed and joined in ways the normal rules would not allow, so a whole phrase can flow in one movement. Darvish Abdolmajid Taleghani, in the 18th century, is widely regarded as its greatest master.

Shekasteh is beautiful but hard to read, even for native speakers. Today it is valued mainly as art, and modern calligraphers use its energy in abstract compositions.

Naskh: the clear one

Naskh (نسخ, naskh) Listen is a rounded, very legible script that sits neatly on a straight baseline. It was the main script for copying the Qur’an and many books, and most Persian fonts you read on screens and in printed books are based on it. If you are learning to read Persian, the letters you see in your textbook are essentially Naskh.

Thuluth: the monumental one

Thuluth (ثلث, sols) Listen uses tall verticals and generous curves, and letters are often stacked and interlaced. It is the script of grand inscriptions, for example the tile bands around the domes and entrances of Safavid mosques in Isfahan. It is shared with the wider Islamic tradition rather than being specifically Persian, but Iranian architects and tile makers used it brilliantly.

The older scripts: Kufic and the “six pens”

The early Islamic period used angular Kufic. In the 10th century, the calligrapher Ibn Muqla in Baghdad is credited with a system of proportions for the rounded scripts, and six styles became the classical set, known in Persian as اقلام سته (aghlâm-e sette, “the six pens”). Naskh and Thuluth are two of them. Persian calligraphers learned these scripts first, and Ta’liq and then Nastaliq developed later from that foundation.

Siyâh-mashgh: practice sheets that became art

سیاه‌مشق (siyâh-mashgh) Listen literally means “black practice”. Originally it was a sheet a calligrapher filled with repeated letters and words to warm up, writing over the same space again and again until it turned dark with ink. Masters of the Qajar period, notably Mirza Gholamreza Esfahani, turned these sheets into deliberate compositions, and siyâh-mashgh is now a recognized art form in its own right.

Tools of Persian calligraphy

The traditional toolkit is simple, but each piece has its own name. These words are useful if you take a class with an Iranian teacher.

Hear the key words: قلم Listen مرکب Listen سرمشق Listen

The dot system matters. Because the pen tip has a fixed width, the dot it makes works like a ruler: a letter might be a set number of dots tall or wide. This is how calligraphers keep proportions consistent, and it is one reason a beginner’s first exercises are often single letters and dots rather than words.

How to start learning Persian calligraphy

You do not need to be fluent in Persian to start, but knowing the alphabet makes everything easier. A realistic path looks like this:

1. Learn the letters first. You should recognize all 32 letters and their joined forms. Our Persian alphabet guide and the Farsi alphabet lessons cover this, and the step-by-step guide to reading and writing Persian script shows how letters connect.
2. Choose one script. Most Iranian classes start with Nastaliq. Some teachers prefer to begin with Naskh because its shapes are simpler and closer to print.
3. Get a basic pen. A reed pen is traditional, but many beginners start with a calligraphy marker or a metal nib with a flat, angled tip. What matters is a broad edge that makes thick and thin strokes.
4. Start with dots and single letters. Practice the dot, then letters such as ا, ب and ن, keeping the pen angle steady. Only then move to joined letters and short words.
5. Copy a model. Work from a سرمشق, a model line by a teacher or a master. Copying good models is how Persian calligraphy has always been taught.
6. Find a teacher if you can. Calligraphy is hard to self-correct. Many cities with an Iranian community have classes, and online lessons are common.
7. Practice little and often. Short daily sessions train the hand better than a long session once a week.

Calligraphy also improves your Persian. Copying lines of poetry makes you read slowly and notice every letter. Good material to copy includes short verses by Hafez or Rumi; our guides to Fal-e Hafez and the life of Rumi are a good place to find them, and the Persian poetry quiz is a fun check on what you know. When you can read the letters confidently, test yourself with the Persian alphabet quiz.

Persian calligraphy today

Calligraphy is very much alive in Iran. Students take graded courses, exhibitions are common, and the Iranian Calligraphers Association (انجمن خوشنویسان ایران) runs classes across the country. Contemporary masters such as Gholamhossein Amirkhani are known for classical Nastaliq, while artists like Mohammad Ehsai have taken letters into abstract painting, a genre called نقاشی‌خط (naghghâshi-khatt, “calligraphy painting”).

On the digital side, Nastaliq is difficult to reproduce in fonts because letters change height and overlap, so most everyday Persian text is set in Naskh-style fonts. Nastaliq fonts exist and are popular for titles, invitations and poetry, but handwritten Nastaliq is still in a class of its own. If you want to type Persian yourself, try our online Persian keyboard.

Common questions

What is Persian calligraphy called?

In Persian it is خوشنویسی (khoshnevisi), “beautiful writing”. A calligrapher is a خوشنویس (khoshnevis).

What is the difference between Arabic and Persian calligraphy?

Both use the same family of scripts, and styles such as Naskh and Thuluth are shared. Persian calligraphy is best known for Nastaliq and Shekasteh, which developed in the Persian-speaking world and are mostly used for Persian (and Urdu) rather than Arabic. Persian calligraphy also uses the four extra letters پ چ ژ گ.

What is the most famous Persian calligraphy style?

Nastaliq (نستعلیق). It has been the classic script for Persian poetry and manuscripts for centuries and is still the first script most Iranian students learn.

Is Persian calligraphy hard to learn?

It takes years to master, like any calligraphy, but the first steps are approachable. Learn the alphabet, get a broad-edged pen, practice single letters and copy good models. A teacher speeds things up a lot.

Do I need to speak Persian to learn calligraphy?

No, but you should be able to read the alphabet. Knowing what you are writing helps you join letters correctly and makes the practice far more rewarding.

What pen is used for Persian calligraphy?

Traditionally a reed pen, قلم نی (ghalam-e ney), cut with a slanted tip and used with black ink (مرکب, morakkab). Beginners often start with a broad-edged calligraphy marker or metal nib.

Related guides: Persian tattoo words and the mistakes to avoid

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