Ligatures are special joined glyphs for character pairs that would otherwise clash or look awkward — such as fi, fl, ffi, and ffl. Most quality fonts include them.
Common ligatures on vs off
| Pair | Ligatures on | Ligatures off |
|---|---|---|
| fi | final, find, fire, figure, finish | final, find, fire, figure, finish |
| fl | flower, float, floor, flock, flow | flower, float, floor, flock, flow |
| ffi | affiliation, difficulty, officer | affiliation, difficulty, officer |
| ffl | afflu, ruffled, shuffling, waffles | afflu, ruffled, shuffling, waffles |
Discretionary ligatures
Discretionary ligatures are decorative joins that must be explicitly enabled. Not all fonts support them.
Standard
st, ct, sp, Th, and the finestDiscretionary ligatures on
st, ct, sp, Th, and the finestContextual alternates
Some fonts include contextual alternates that subtly change letterforms based on surrounding characters.
Contextual alternates off
The village baker offered fresh bread, flaky pastries, and fine coffee.Contextual alternates on
The village baker offered fresh bread, flaky pastries, and fine coffee.