ScriptLookup

Coptic

Ⲁⲗⲫⲁⲃⲏⲧⲟⲥ
Copt Left-to-right Liturgical Alphabet African
Sample Text
Ϩⲉⲗⲗⲟ

Sample Characters

Ϣ ϣ Ϥ ϥ Ϧ ϧ Ϩ ϩ Ϫ ϫ Ϭ ϭ Ϯ ϯ

First 48 characters from Greek and Coptic (U+03E2–U+03EF)

About Coptic

The Coptic alphabet is used to write the Coptic language, the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt. Coptic represents a late stage of the Ancient Egyptian language and the Coptic alphabet was the final stage of Ancient Egyptian writing.

Coptic is written left-to-right, using an adaptation of the Greek uncial alphabet supplemented by additional letters from Demotic (cursive Ancient Egyptian). Though Coptic ceased to be spoken as an everyday language around the 17th century CE, it survives in liturgical use in Coptic Christian churches and is studied by Egyptologists.

Data sourced from the ISO 15924 registry, Unicode CLDR, and the Unicode Character Database.

Script Family & Lineage

Ancestor Chain
Phoenician › Greek › Coptic

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of writing system is Coptic?
Coptic is an Alphabet. Alphabets represent both consonants and vowels as distinct letters.
What direction does Coptic read?
Coptic is written Left-to-right, the same direction as most European scripts.
How many languages use the Coptic script?
0 languages use Coptic according to Unicode CLDR data.
When was the Coptic script created?
The Coptic script originated around 200 CE.
Does Coptic have uppercase and lowercase letters?
Coptic has uppercase and lowercase letter forms. All vowels are written explicitly.

Compare Coptic With Another Script

Direction, characters, languages — side by side.

Key Facts

ISO Code
Copt
ISO Number
204
Script Type
Alphabet
Direction
Left-to-right
Status
Liturgical
Region
African
Characters
137
Introduced
200 CE
Languages
0

Unicode Ranges

  • Greek and Coptic
    U+03E2–U+03EF
  • Coptic
    U+2C80–U+2CFF

Script Properties

Has Case
Yes
Cursive
No
Vowels
full

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