Convert a scanned Urdu book in Nastaliq into editable Word text
Upload a scanned Urdu PDF, a book, a magazine or an old document printed in Nastaliq, and get every page back as editable Urdu text in a Word file, right to left, with a page break for each page and doubtful words highlighted. The first page is free without an account; a book of up to 300 pages is $5, paid once.
- Told the text is Urdu Nastaliq, and to keep Urdu letters: ٹ ڈ ڑ ں ے ہ ھ ی ک
- Urdu punctuation kept: ۔ ، ؟
- Right-to-left paragraphs and tables in the Word file
- One page of text per scanned page, with page numbers to check against
- Unsure words highlighted in yellow instead of guessed
Why Nastaliq is hard for OCR
Nastaliq does not sit on a straight line. Letters slope down toward the left, words stack, and dots float above and below in tight clusters. Classic OCR engines, trained mainly on straight Naskh text, struggle with it, and general AI models tend to slip into Arabic or Persian spelling: ي instead of ی, ك instead of ک, ه where Urdu needs ہ or ھ. On a 300-page book those small substitutions add up to a text that looks Urdu but is not quite.
Here each page is read on its own at high resolution, with instructions that the text is Urdu in Nastaliq and that Urdu letters and punctuation must be kept. Where the reader is unsure of a word, it writes its best reading and marks it; in the Word file those words are highlighted so you can check them against the scan.
The Word file
Text is in Unicode Urdu, so it can be searched, copied, edited and translated. Paragraphs and tables are right to left. The file uses the Urdu Typesetting font where available; for a Nastaliq look, Jameel Noori Nastaleeq or a similar font can be applied to the whole document in one step. Running headers and repeated page numbers are left out so the text reads continuously, and each page starts with a small page number for reference.
What people convert
- Out-of-print Urdu books for research, a new edition or a digital library
- Old Urdu newspapers and magazines
- Family documents, deeds and letters printed in Urdu
- Religious and literary texts for study and quotation
How the tool works, what it costs and how your files are handled is on the Scanned PDF to Word page; prices for every tool are on the pricing page.
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Questions and answers
Can ChatGPT read a scanned Urdu book?
It can read a clear page. Over a long scan it tends to skip or summarize pages, and it often writes Arabic or Persian letters for Urdu ones. This tool reads every page with Urdu-specific instructions and returns a Word file.
How many pages can I convert?
Up to 300 pages for $5, paid once. Unlimited covers 600 pages per job.
Does it read handwritten Urdu?
It is built for printed text. Handwritten pages are better handled by Handwriting to Text.
Can I translate the result into English?
Yes. Upload the Word file to Translate Word Document; right-to-left tables are switched to left to right in the English version.
Is the first page free?
Yes, without an account. A scan of up to 3 pages is free in full.