Katibeh — Free Arabic Google Font
Katibeh blends Naskh's readability with flourishes borrowed from the more ornamental Thuluth script, landing somewhere between archaic and contemporary. Its small serif-like outstrokes and Naskh-derived ligatures make it more comfortable at headline length than most Thuluth-inspired display faces.
About Katibeh
Katibeh is a headline typeface from KB Studio, a design studio in Los Angeles, added to Google Fonts in 2016. It is based on Naskh with qualities of the Thuluth script mixed in; small serif-like outstrokes give it an archaic edge while other details are contemporary. It includes ligatures familiar to Arabic and Persian readers, and a Latin scaled to sit in harmony with the Arabic.
Designer: KB Studio
Best used for
- Ceremonial titles and headings
- Wedding and invitation design
- Thuluth-style display text
How Katibeh compares
Katibeh sits between Amiri, a straight Naskh revival for running text, and the ornamental fonts in the Thuluth category: more decorative than Amiri, far easier to read than true Thuluth. Next to Mirza, KB Studio's body-text Naskh, Katibeh is the display partner. If you want ornament without sacrificing legibility in a heading, Katibeh is the most practical of the three.
Tips for using Katibeh
Use Katibeh for headings, invitations, book covers and certificates where you want a traditional feel that people can still read quickly. It has a single weight, so pair it with Mirza or another Naskh for body text. Its ligatures make short passages comfortable, but keep long paragraphs in a text face.
Arabic character preview
ا ب ت ث ج ح خ د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ك ل م ن ه و ي
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم — مرحبا بالعالم — ٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩
Download Katibeh
Using Katibeh on the web
Load it from the Google Fonts CDN:
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Katibeh:wght@400&display=swap" rel="stylesheet">Then reference it in your CSS:
font-family: "Katibeh", sans-serif;License
Licensed under the SIL Open Font License — free for personal and commercial use. What the OFL allows →