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Complete Balinese Script Chart: Wreastra, Swara, Wyanjana, Vowel Signs, and Numerals
- Aksara wreastra — the 18 letters used for everyday Balinese
- Aksara swalalita — additional letters for Sanskrit and Old Javanese (Kawi) loanwords, including the murda letters
- Aksara modre — sacred forms used in rerajahan and religious texts
- Taling (ᬾ) — the /e/ in dewa, sekar, becik
- Pepet (ᭂ) — the schwa /ə/, the weak "e" in words like ketut or sěmeng
- Reading signage or carving — identify the base letter shape first, then read the attached signs.
- Checking converter output — match character by character before anything is printed or tattooed.
- Practising writing — use the canvas and keyboard on the practice page, then compare against this chart.
A Complete Balinese Script Reference
This page is a Balinese glyph chart — every character shown with its name, Latin equivalent, and Unicode code point. Bookmark it for when you are writing, reading signage, or checking converter output.
To convert text quickly, use the Balinese script converter. To understand what you are looking at, start here.
The Three Groups of Balinese Letters
Balinese letters are traditionally grouped by use:
For everyday writing, the first group is more than enough.
Wreastra: The 18 Base Letters
Their traditional order is called hanacaraka. Each letter already carries an /a/ vowel — ᬓ reads "ka", not "k".
| Letter | Latin | Unicode | Letter | Latin | Unicode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ᬳ | ha | U+1B33 | ᬫ | ma | U+1B2B |
| ᬦ | na | U+1B26 | ᬕ | ga | U+1B15 |
| ᬘ | ca | U+1B18 | ᬩ | ba | U+1B29 |
| ᬭ | ra | U+1B2D | ᬗ | nga | U+1B17 |
| ᬓ | ka | U+1B13 | ᬧ | pa | U+1B27 |
| ᬤ | da | U+1B24 | ᬚ | ja | U+1B1A |
| ᬢ | ta | U+1B22 | ᬬ | ya | U+1B2C |
| ᬲ | sa | U+1B32 | ᬜ | nya | U+1B1C |
| ᬯ | wa | U+1B2F | |||
| ᬮ | la | U+1B2E |
There is a memorisation guide in the hanacaraka article.
Swara: The 14 Independent Vowels
Swara letters are used for syllables with no initial consonant — for example "api" (ᬅᬧᬶ) or "umah" (ᬉᬫᬳ᭄). They come in two series: hreswa (short) and dirgha (long).
| Hreswa (short) | Latin | Dirgha (long) | Latin |
|---|---|---|---|
| ᬅ | a | ᬆ | ā |
| ᬇ | i | ᬈ | ī |
| ᬉ | u | ᬊ | ū |
| ᬏ | e | ᬐ | ai |
| ᬑ | o | ᬒ | au |
| ᬋ | ṛ (rě) | ᬌ | ṝ |
| ᬍ | ḷ (lě) | ᬎ | ḹ |
Modern spoken Balinese no longer distinguishes vowel length. The long vowels survive in spelling, used to write Sanskrit and Kawi loanwords in their original form — a convention called pasang pageh, spelling by root word.
Wyanjana: Consonants by Place of Articulation
As an inheritor of the Indic writing tradition, Balinese provides 33 consonant letters covering the full Sanskrit-Kawi sound inventory, arranged by where they are articulated — from the throat outward to the lips.
| Group | Letters |
|---|---|
| Kanthya (velar) | ᬓ ka, ᬔ kha, ᬕ ga, ᬖ gha, ᬗ nga, ᬳ ha |
| Talawya (palatal) | ᬘ ca, ᬙ cha, ᬚ ja, ᬛ jha, ᬜ nya, ᬬ ya, ᬰ sa (saga) |
| Murdhanya (retroflex) | ᬝ ṭa, ᬞ ṭha, ᬟ ḍa, ᬠ ḍha, ᬡ ṇa, ᬭ ra, ᬱ ṣa |
| Dantya (dental) | ᬢ ta, ᬣ tha, ᬤ da, ᬥ dha, ᬦ na, ᬮ la, ᬲ sa |
| Osthya (labial) | ᬧ pa, ᬨ pha, ᬩ ba, ᬪ bha, ᬫ ma, ᬯ wa |
The second letter in each pair (kha, gha, cha, jha, and so on) is called mahaprana — the aspirated sound — while its partner is alpaprana. The retroflex series is what is commonly called aksara murda; see the murda article.
You do not need to memorise these for everyday Balinese. This site's converter recognises hundreds of common Sanskrit words and applies the murda forms automatically.
Pangangge Suara: Vowel Signs
When a vowel follows a consonant it is written as an attached mark rather than its own letter. The examples use ᬓ (ka).
| Sign | Name | Sound | Position | Example | Unicode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ᬶ | ulu | -i | above | ᬓᬶ | U+1B36 |
| ᬷ | ulu sari | -ī | above | ᬓᬷ | U+1B37 |
| ᬸ | suku | -u | below | ᬓᬸ | U+1B38 |
| ᬹ | suku ilut | -ū | below | ᬓᬹ | U+1B39 |
| ᬵ | tedung | -ā | right | ᬓᬵ | U+1B35 |
| ᬾ | taling | -e | left | ᬓᬾ | U+1B3E |
| ᭀ | taling tedung | -o | both sides | ᬓᭀ | U+1B40 |
| ᭂ | pepet | -ě (schwa) | above | ᬓᭂ | U+1B42 |
| ᭃ | pepet tedung | -ö | above + right | ᬓᭃ | U+1B43 |
Taling vs Pepet: The Distinction Most People Miss
The letter "e" in romanised Balinese actually stands for two different sounds, and Balinese script writes them with different marks:
This is the single most common confusion when typing Balinese on an ordinary keyboard: one "e" key has to stand for two marks. This site's converter writes taling for "e" and pepet for the letter "x" — so "kxtut" gives ᬓᭂᬢᬸᬢ᭄. The ě helper key on the converter produces pepet too. Alternatively, tap the ᭂ key on the Balinese keyboard on the practice page. The full set of typing conventions is covered in typing Balinese script on a keyboard.
Ra Repa and La Lenga
One rule is mandatory: ra + pepet and la + pepet are never written as a marked consonant. They are replaced by their own letters.
| Would be | Written as | Name |
|---|---|---|
| ᬭ + ᭂ | ᬋ | ra repa |
| ᬮ + ᭂ | ᬍ | la lenga |
Pangangge Tengenan: Final Consonants
Three closing sounds get dedicated marks instead of full letters. Examples use ᬲ (sa).
| Sign | Name | Sound | Example | Unicode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ᬂ | cecek | -ng | ᬲᬂ (sang) | U+1B02 |
| ᬃ | surang | -r | ᬲᬃ (sar) | U+1B03 |
| ᬄ | bisah | -h | ᬲᬄ (sah) | U+1B04 |
| ᭄ | adeg-adeg | kills the vowel | ᬲᬓ᭄ (sak) | U+1B44 |
Gantungan and Gempelan
When two consonants meet with no vowel between them inside a word, the second is not written in full. Its small form hangs below the first letter (gantungan) or attaches beside it (gempelan), depending on the letter.
| Word | Script | Note |
|---|---|---|
| karya | ᬓᬭ᭄ᬬ | ya hangs under ra |
| banjar | ᬩᬦ᭄ᬚᬭ᭄ | ja hangs under na |
| suksma | ᬲᬸᬓ᭄ᬲ᭄ᬫ | two clusters in a row |
Adeg-adeg is normally reserved for word-final position; inside a word, clusters use gantungan or gempelan.
Balinese Numerals
| Digit | Numeral | Unicode | Digit | Numeral | Unicode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ᭐ | U+1B50 | 5 | ᭕ | U+1B55 |
| 1 | ᭑ | U+1B51 | 6 | ᭖ | U+1B56 |
| 2 | ᭒ | U+1B52 | 7 | ᭗ | U+1B57 |
| 3 | ᭓ | U+1B53 | 8 | ᭘ | U+1B58 |
| 4 | ᭔ | U+1B54 | 9 | ᭙ | U+1B59 |
The year 2026 is written ᭒᭐᭒᭖. Their history is covered in the Balinese numerals article.
Punctuation
| Mark | Name | Function | Unicode |
|---|---|---|---|
| ᭚ | panti | opens a text | U+1B5A |
| ᭛ | pamada | opens a section | U+1B5B |
| ᭜ | windu | round marker | U+1B5C |
| ᭝ | carik pamungkah | opens a sentence | U+1B5D |
| ᭞ | carik siki | separates clauses | U+1B5E |
| ᭟ | carik pareren | ends a sentence | U+1B5F |
Traditional lontar writing uses no spaces between words. Modern digital text usually inserts a thin separator so it reads more easily on screen.
The Balinese Unicode Block
Balinese script entered the Unicode Standard in version 5.0 (2006), occupying the block U+1B00–U+1B7F. That is what makes Balinese writable, copyable, searchable, and indexable as ordinary text rather than as pictures.
| Range | Contents |
|---|---|
| U+1B00–U+1B04 | nasal and final signs (ulu candra, ulu ricem, cecek, surang, bisah) |
| U+1B05–U+1B12 | swara (independent vowels) |
| U+1B13–U+1B33 | wyanjana (consonants) |
| U+1B35–U+1B44 | pangangge (vowel signs and adeg-adeg) |
| U+1B50–U+1B59 | Balinese digits |
| U+1B5A–U+1B60 | punctuation |
For these characters to appear on your device you need a font covering the block — Noto Sans Balinese being the usual choice.
If the Tables Above Look Like Boxes
Empty boxes (□□□) mean your device has no Balinese font; the text itself is correct. Follow the font installation guide — once installed, Balinese renders correctly across all your apps.
How to Use This Chart
This article was drafted with AI assistance and is reviewed over time. Check Balinese wording with a teacher or native speaker before using it for anything official, printed, or ceremonial.
