Best Urdu fonts for MS Word, Google Docs and websites (and how to install Jameel Noori Nastaleeq)

Every Urdu font belongs to one of two families. Nastaliq is the hanging, diagonal style used by Urdu newspapers, books and wedding cards. Each word slopes down from right to left, and letters stack on top of each other. Naskh is the flatter style you see in the Quran and in most Arabic text. It sits on a straight baseline, like Latin type.

Urdu readers in Pakistan expect Nastaliq for anything they read properly. Naskh stays clear at small sizes, so it suits menus, forms and captions.

Each card uses the same sample line. We only render the two fonts this page can legally load from Google Fonts; for the rest we describe the look rather than fake it.

سردیوں کی دھوپ میں چائے کا ایک کپ اور ایک اچھی کتاب۔

Sample line: "A cup of tea and a good book in the winter sun."

These steps work for any .ttf or .otf Urdu font. We don't link a Jameel Noori download because we found no official one, and many "free font" sites bundle adware. Get the file from someone you trust and scan it first.

1. Close Word. It reads the font list only at startup.
2. Unzip the download and find the file ending in .ttf.
3. Right-click the file and choose Install for all users (on Windows 11, under Show more options). Some programs only see fonts installed for all users.
4. Check it installed in Settings > Personalization > Fonts. Type "Jameel" in the search box.
5. Open Word and type "Jameel Noori Nastaleeq" into the font box.

Free alternative: turn on Urdu Typesetting

On Windows 11, open Settings > System > Optional features, select View features next to "Add an optional feature", tick Arabic Script Supplemental Fonts, then select Next and Add. Windows 10 has it under Optional features > Add a feature. You must be online. Microsoft's steps are on its missing fonts page.

iPhone and iPad: since iOS 11 (September 2017), Apple shows Urdu, including its Urdu keyboard, in Nastaliq. You can't replace the system font, though apps like Pages can use fonts added through a font app.

Android: most phones still display Urdu in a Naskh-style system font; Samsung users were still requesting a built-in Nastaliq in 2024. You can't change the Urdu system font without the maker's support or rooting, which we don't recommend.

So a Word file set in Jameel Noori will often open in a fallback font on a phone. For WhatsApp groups, send a PDF: it carries the font shapes inside, so every phone sees the same Nastaliq.

Word stores two fonts for all text: a Latin font and a Complex scripts font, which Urdu uses. That is why picking Jameel Noori in the normal font box sometimes changes nothing.

1. Add Urdu as an editing language in File > Options > Language. The right-to-left buttons only appear after this.
2. Add the Urdu keyboard in Windows. Our guide on how to type in Urdu covers the phonetic layout.
3. Set the complex script font. Press Ctrl+D and, under Complex scripts, choose Jameel Noori Nastaleeq or Urdu Typesetting.
4. Make it the default with Set As Default if you write Urdu most days.
5. Set direction with the Right-to-left button in Home > Paragraph.
6. Use Single or Multiple line spacing. "Exactly" cuts off the tall tops and deep tails of Nastaliq.

Google Docs only offers fonts from Google's own library. It can't use Jameel Noori or any font installed on your computer, and has no upload button.

1. Turn on right-to-left controls. On the Google Docs home screen, open the menu, go to Settings, tick "Always show right-to-left controls" and click OK.
2. Add the font. Open the font menu, choose More fonts, and search for "Noto Nastaliq Urdu". You can also filter by Arabic script to see every font that covers Urdu letters.
3. Apply it. Select your text, pick the font and set line spacing to 1.5 or more.

The Docs font list doesn't always show every family from fonts.google.com, so search for the exact name. If you download as .docx, the reader's PC needs the same font, or Word substitutes another.

On a website the font file is served to every visitor, so its licence matters most. Noto Nastaliq Urdu on Google Fonts uses the SIL Open Font Licence, so you can link to Google or self-host. Jameel Noori has no published web licence.

Three CSS settings decide whether Urdu looks right:

• line-height: below about 2.0, Nastaliq tails touch the next line or get clipped. Use 2.1 to 2.3.
• font-display: swap shows a fallback font first, then switches. Nastaliq files are heavy, so expect a small jump; a fixed line-height limits it.
• letter-spacing: themes often add it to headings, which breaks Urdu joins. Reset it to 0.

For print, Nastaliq wins. Body text at 14 to 16 pt reads well on A4. Send the press a PDF so their computer can't swap your font. If you must share a .docx, turn on File > Options > Save > Embed fonts in the file, though some fonts block embedding.

On screens, small Nastaliq is harder: dots and short joins merge on low-resolution phones. Keep Nastaliq body text at 18px or more and use Naskh for captions and table cells. In dark mode, try weight 500 so thin strokes don't fade.