Hindi writing practice paper with shirorekha lines
Practice rows for Devanagari handwriting: a bold top line for the shirorekha, a baseline for the letters to stand on, and dashed guides above and below for the matras. It works for Hindi, Marathi, Nepali and Sanskrit.
- Headline, baseline, matra guides
- 10, 8 or 6 mm letters
- A4 or Letter PDF
Print at 100 % (“Actual size”) so the spacing stays true.
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How to print Hindi practice paper
- 01
Pick the letter height and guides
10 mm rows for first letters, 8 mm or 6 mm as writing gets smaller. Keep the dashed matra guides or leave them out.
- 02
Choose your paper
US Letter or A4, whichever is in your printer.
- 03
Download and print
A vector PDF of Devanagari practice rows; print as many copies as you need at 100 %.
How the lines work
- Write the shirorekha (शिरोरेखा) along the bold line; every letter hangs from it.
- The body of each letter fills the space from the bold line down to the baseline.
- Matras that rise above the letter, such as the tops of ि and ी, and े and ै, reach up to the dashed line above.
- Matras below the letter, such as ु, ू and ृ, go down to the dashed line under the baseline.
- 10 mm rows suit children learning the varnamala (वर्णमाला); 6 mm rows suit older children and adults.
- Print at 100 % (“Actual size”) so the rows come out at their true size; “Fit to page” shrinks them.
Questions people ask
What is the shirorekha?
The line along the top of Devanagari letters and words. Letters hang from it, and joining it across a whole word is one of the first things children practise.
What size should Hindi practice lines be?
For young children start with 10 mm between the headline and the baseline, then move to 8 mm and 6 mm. The matra space above and below is half the letter height in each case.
Can I use this for Marathi, Nepali or Sanskrit?
Yes. All of them are written in Devanagari, with the same headline, baseline and matras, so the same rows work.
Why are some lines dashed?
The dashed lines only show how far matras should reach. They are lighter so the bold headline and the baseline stay the lines your eye follows.
What is a matra?
A vowel sign added to a letter, such as ि, ी, ु or े. Some sit above the letter, some below and some beside it; the dashed guides show how far up and down they reach.
How do I write Hindi letters on these lines?
Write the body of each letter from the bold line down to the baseline, then draw the shirorekha along the bold line across the whole word. Matras go up to the dashed line above or down to the one below.
Can I print it without the matra guide lines?
Yes. Choose “Headline and baseline only” and each row has only the bold top line and the baseline.
Does it work for Bengali or Punjabi?
Yes for Bengali and Gurmukhi (Punjabi): their letters also hang from a top line. Gujarati has no headline, so plain lined paper suits it better.