Zanabazar's square script 𑨢𑨆𑨏𑨳𑨋𑨆𑨬𑨳‎
Script type	Abugida
Creator	Zanabazar
Period	unknown
Direction	Left-to-right
Languages	Mongolian,Tibetan,Sanskrit
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Aramaic Brahmi Gupta Tibetan Phagspa Zanabazar's square script
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Zanb(339), ​Zanabazar Square (Zanabazarin Dörböljin Useg, Xewtee Dörböljin Bicig, Horizontal Square Script)
Unicode
Unicode alias	Zanabazar Square
Unicode range	U+11A00–U+11A4FZanabazar Square

Zanabazar's square script is a horizontal Mongolian square script (Mongolian:Хэвтээ Дөрвөлжин бичиг,romanized: Hevtee Dörvöljin bichig orХэвтээ Дөрвөлжин Үсэг,Hevtee Dörvöljin Üseg),^[1] anabugida developed by the monk and scholarZanabazar based on theTibetan alphabet towrite Mongolian. It can also be used to writeTibetan language andSanskrit as a geometric typeface.^[2][3]

It was re-discovered in 1801 and the script's applications during its using period are not known. It read left to right, and employed vowel diacritics above and below the consonant letters.^[1]

The Zanabazar Square script is anabugida. Each consonant represents a syllable with an inherent vowel /a/. The vowel can be changed by adding adiacritic to the consonant. Only the vowel /a/ is written as an independent letter; other independent vowels, for example those at the start of a word which can't be attached to a consonant, are written by adding the appropriate diacritic to the letter⟨𑨀‎⟩. A length mark indicates that the vowel sound islong and achandrabindu⟨𑨵‎⟩ indicates that it isnasalised.^[4] The final consonant mark⟨𑨳‎⟩ functions as avirama, or "killer stroke" that removes the inherent vowel, leaving an isolated consonant. When transcribing Sanskrit or Tibetan, a different virama,⟨𑨴‎⟩ is used. Two additional diacritics are used for Sanskrit transcription, theanusvara⟨𑨸‎⟩, which adds nasalisation and thevisarga⟨𑨹‎⟩, which adds aspiration.

The Zanabazar script includes twenty basic consonants used for writing Mongolian, and twenty additional consonants that are used for transcribing Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, and other languages.^[4]

The following diacritics are used for transcribing Tibetan consonant clusters.

Head marks are similar to Tibetanyig mgo, and may be used to mark the beginning of a text, page, or section. They may be decorated with a candra,⟨𑨷‎⟩ or⟨𑨶‎⟩

"Zanabazar Square" has been included in theUnicode Standard since the release of Unicode version 10.0 in June 2017. TheZanabazar Square block contains 72 characters.^[5]

The Unicode block for Zanabazar Square is U+11A00–U+11A4F:

• Mongolian writing systems
• ʼPhags-pa script

• BabelStone Fonts for Zanabazar

• Brahmic scripts
• Mongolian writing systems
• Obsolete writing systems

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Scripts with ISO 15924 four-letter codes
• Articles containing Mongolian-language text