Web/CSS/writing-mode

The writing-mode CSS property sets whether lines of text are laid out horizontally or vertically, as well as the direction in which blocks progress. When set for an entire document, it should be set on the root element (html element for HTML documents).

The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.

This property specifies the block flow direction, which is the direction in which block-level containers are stacked, and the direction in which inline-level content flows within a block container. Thus, it also determines the ordering of block-level content.

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
writing-mode: horizontal-tb;
writing-mode: vertical-rl;
writing-mode: vertical-lr;

/* Global values */
writing-mode: inherit;
writing-mode: initial;
writing-mode: unset;

The writing-mode property is specified as one of the values listed below. The flow direction in horizontal scripts is also affected by the directionality of that script, either left-to-right (ltr, like English and most other languages) or right-to-left (rtl, like Hebrew or Arabic).

Values

horizontal-tb: For ltr scripts, content flows horizontally from left to right. For rtl scripts, content flows horizontally from right to left. The next horizontal line is positioned below the previous line.
vertical-rl: For ltr scripts, content flows vertically from top to bottom, and the next vertical line is positioned to the left of the previous line. For rtl scripts, content flows vertically from bottom to top, and the next vertical line is positioned to the right of the previous line.
vertical-lr: For ltr scripts, content flows vertically from top to bottom, and the next vertical line is positioned to the right of the previous line. For rtl scripts, content flows vertically from bottom to top, and the next vertical line is positioned to the left of the previous line.
sideways-rl ': For ltr scripts, content flows vertically from bottom to top. For rtl scripts, content flows vertically from top to bottom. All the glyphs, even those in vertical scripts, are set sideways toward the right.
sideways-lr ': For ltr scripts, content flows vertically from top to bottom. For rtl scripts, content flows vertically from bottom to top. All the glyphs, even those in vertical scripts, are set sideways toward the left.
lr ': Deprecated except for SVG1 documents. For CSS, use horizontal-tb instead.
lr-tb ': Deprecated except for SVG1 documents. For CSS, use horizontal-tb instead.
rl ': Deprecated except for SVG1 documents. For CSS, use horizontal-tb instead.
tb ': Deprecated except for SVG1 documents. For CSS, use vertical-lr instead.
tb-lr ': Deprecated except for SVG1 documents. For CSS, use vertical-lr instead.
tb-rl ': Deprecated except for SVG1 documents. For CSS, use vertical-rl instead.

Formal definition

Initial value	`horizontal-tb`
Applies to	all elements except table row groups, table column groups, table rows, and table columns
Inherited	yes
Computed value	as specified
Animation type	discrete

Formal syntax

horizontal-tb | vertical-rl | vertical-lr | sideways-rl | sideways-lr

Examples

Using multiple writing modes

This example demonstrates all of the writing modes, showing each with text in various languages.

HTML

The HTML is a <table> with each writing mode in a row with a column showing text in various scripts using that writing mode.

<table>
  <tr>
    <th>Value</th>
    <th>Vertical script</th>
    <th>Horizontal (LTR) script</th>
    <th>Horizontal (RTL) script</th>
    <th>Mixed script</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>horizontal-tb</td>
    <td class="example Text1"><span>我家没有电脑。</span></td>
    <td class="example Text1"><span>Example text</span></td>
    <td class="example Text1"><span>מלל ארוך לדוגמא</span></td>
    <td class="example Text1"><span>1994年に至っては</span></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>vertical-lr</td>
    <td class="example Text2"><span>我家没有电脑。</span></td>
    <td class="example Text2"><span>Example text</span></td>
    <td class="example Text2"><span>מלל ארוך לדוגמא</span></td>
    <td class="example Text2"><span>1994年に至っては</span></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>vertical-rl</td>
    <td class="example Text3"><span>我家没有电脑。</span></td>
    <td class="example Text3"><span>Example text</span></td>
    <td class="example Text3"><span>מלל ארוך לדוגמא</span></td>
    <td class="example Text3"><span>1994年に至っては</span></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>sideways-lr</td>
    <td class="example Text4"><span>我家没有电脑。</span></td>
    <td class="example Text4"><span>Example text</span></td>
    <td class="example Text4"><span>מלל ארוך לדוגמא</span></td>
    <td class="example Text4"><span>1994年に至っては</span></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>sideways-rl</td>
    <td class="example Text5"><span>我家没有电脑。</span></td>
    <td class="example Text5"><span>Example text</span></td>
    <td class="example Text5"><span>מלל ארוך לדוגמא</span></td>
    <td class="example Text5"><span>1994年に至っては</span></td>
  </tr>
</table>

CSS

Some preparatory CSS just to make things look a little better:

table {
  border-collapse:collapse;
}
td, th {
  border: 1px black solid; padding: 3px;
}
th {
  background-color: lightgray;
}
.example {
  height:75px;
  width:75px;
}

The CSS that adjusts the directionality of the content looks like this:

.example.Text1 span, .example.Text1 {
  writing-mode: horizontal-tb;
  -webkit-writing-mode: horizontal-tb;
  -ms-writing-mode: horizontal-tb;
}

.example.Text2 span, .example.Text2 {
  writing-mode: vertical-lr;
  -webkit-writing-mode: vertical-lr;
  -ms-writing-mode: vertical-lr;
}

.example.Text3 span, .example.Text3 {
  writing-mode: vertical-rl;
  -webkit-writing-mode: vertical-rl;
  -ms-writing-mode: vertical-rl;
}

.example.Text4 span, .example.Text4 {
  writing-mode: sideways-lr;
  -webkit-writing-mode: sideways-lr;
  -ms-writing-mode: sideways-lr;
}

.example.Text5 span, .example.Text5 {
  writing-mode: sideways-rl;
  -webkit-writing-mode: sideways-rl;
  -ms-writing-mode: sideways-rl;
}

Result

This image shows what the output should look like, in case your browser's support for writing-mode is incomplete:

[[File:../../../../../media.prod.mdn.mozit.cloud/attachments/2020/02/05/17087/330ff565d4d582e13f7fd22d05d724a8/Screenshot_2020-02-05_21-04-30.png]]

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
CSS Writing Modes Level 4The definition of 'writing-mode' in that specification.	Candidate Recommendation	Add `sideways-lr` and `sideways-rl`
CSS Writing Modes Module Level 3The definition of 'writing-mode' in that specification.	Proposed Recommendation	Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`writing-mode`	Chrome Full support 48 Full support 48 Full support 8 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Edge Full support 12 Full support 12 Full support 12 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Firefox Full support 41 Notes' Full support 41 Notes' Notes' Firefox 42 added support for bidirectional and RTL scripts in vertical modes. No support 36 — 51 Disabled' Disabled' From version 36 until version 51 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `layout.css.vertical-text.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	IE Full support 9 Notes' Full support 9 Notes' Notes' Internet Explorer's implementation differs from the specification. Full support 9 Prefixed' Notes' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -ms- Notes' Internet Explorer's implementation differs from the specification.	Opera Full support 35 Full support 35 Full support 15 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Safari Full support 10.1 Full support 10.1 Full support 5.1 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	WebView Android Full support 48 Full support 48 Full support 3 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Chrome Android Full support 48 Full support 48 Full support 18 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Firefox Android Full support 41 Notes' Full support 41 Notes' Notes' Firefox 42 added support for bidirectional and RTL scripts in vertical modes. No support 36 — 51 Disabled' Disabled' From version 36 until version 51 (exclusive): this feature is behind the `layout.css.vertical-text.enabled` preference (needs to be set to `true`). To change preferences in Firefox, visit about:config.	Opera Android Full support 35 Full support 35 Full support 14 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Safari iOS Full support 10.3 Full support 10.3 Full support 5.1 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-	Samsung Internet Android Full support 5.0 Full support 5.0 Full support 1.0 Prefixed' Prefixed' Implemented with the vendor prefix: -webkit-
`horizontal-tb`, `vertical-lr`, and `vertical-rl`	Chrome Full support 48	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 43	IE No support No	Opera Full support 35	Safari Full support 9	WebView Android Full support 48	Chrome Android Full support 48	Firefox Android Full support 43	Opera Android Full support 35	Safari iOS Full support 9	Samsung Internet Android Full support 5.0
`sideways-lr` and `sideways-rl`	Chrome No support No	Edge No support No	Firefox Full support 43	IE No support No	Opera No support No	Safari No support No	WebView Android No support No	Chrome Android No support No	Firefox Android Full support 43	Opera Android No support No	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android No support No
`lr`, `lr-tb`, `rl`, `rl-tb`, `tb`, and `tb-rl` Deprecated'	Chrome Full support 48	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 43	IE Full support 9	Opera Full support 35	Safari Full support 10.1	WebView Android Full support 48	Chrome Android Full support 48	Firefox Android Full support 43	Opera Android Full support 35	Safari iOS Full support 10.3	Samsung Internet Android Full support 5.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.': Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.
User must explicitly enable this feature.': User must explicitly enable this feature.
Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.': Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.