Balinese script

Balinese script Aksarä Bali ᬅᬓ᭄ᬱᬭᬩᬮᬶ
Script type	Abugida
Time period	c. 1000–present
Direction	Left-to-right
Languages	Balinese Sasakese Loloanese
Related scripts
Parent systems	Egyptian Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Aramaic Brahmi script Pallava Old Kawi Balinese script
Sister systems	Batak Baybayin scripts Javanese Lontara Makasar Old Sundanese Rencong Rejang
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Bali (360), ​Balinese
Unicode
Unicode alias	Balinese
Unicode range	U+1B00–U+1B7F
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

This article contains Balinese alphabet. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Balinese characters.

The Balinese script, natively known as Aksarä Bali and Hanacaraka, is an abugida used in the island of Bali, Indonesia, commonly for writing the Austronesian Balinese language, Old Javanese, and the liturgical language Sanskrit. With some modifications, the script is also used to write the Sasak language, used in the neighboring island of Lombok.^[1] The script is a descendant of the Brahmi script, and so has many similarities with the modern scripts of South and Southeast Asia. The Balinese script, along with the Javanese script, is considered the most elaborate and ornate among Brahmic scripts of Southeast Asia.^[2]

Though everyday use of the script has largely been supplanted by the Latin alphabet, the Balinese script has a significant prevalence in many of the island's traditional ceremonies and is strongly associated with the Hindu religion. The script is mainly used today for copying lontar or palm leaf manuscripts containing religious texts.^[2][3]