How Letters Connect — The Cursive Forms

Bā, tā, and thā all share the same connecting pattern because their bodies are the same shape. So if you have learnt how bā joins, you have learnt how tā and thā join. Mark this — many of the letters of the alphabet share joining patterns within their families, which means you are not really learning 28 × 4 = 112 shapes. You are learning a much smaller number of patterns and applying them. Look at the example below. The same letter bā written three times in a row, joined together as a (nonsense) word, gives us this shape: ببب. One word, three letters. Each one is bā. Each one looks slightly different because of where it sits — but the body is identical.