Devanagari ( ; ;
devanagari a compound of "
deva" [] and "
nagari" []), also called
Nagari (
Nagari, ), is an
abugida (alphasyllabary) alphabet of
India and
Nepal. It is written from left to right, has a strong preference for symmetrical rounded shapes within squared outlines, and is recognisable by a horizontal line that runs along the top of full letters. In a cursory look, the Devanagari script appears different from other
Indic scripts such as
Bangla,
Oriya or
Gurmukhi, but a closer examination reveals they are very similar except for angles and structural emphasis.
