Origami symbols, bases and terms
Origami symbols: read lines, arrows and paper sides in a diagram. Valley and mountain folds. Learn common terms and bases before opening a model lesson.
Read the line to find the crease, the arrow to see what moves, and the instruction to know which flap to use. Our valley lines are blue dashes; mountain lines are blue dash-dot.
Lines, arrows and paper sides
Valley foldValley fold: bring the flap toward the front of the model. The crease guide uses short blue dashes.
Mountain foldMountain fold: move the flap behind the model. Its blue guide alternates a long dash and a dot.
Arrows and paper sidesA dark arrow shows the direction of a move. Coloured and pale areas help you follow the sheet’s front and reverse as a flap turns over.
Cutting linesIn printable cutting templates, solid dark lines are cuts and dashed blue lines are folds. In an animated cutting step, a dark dashed path marks the cut to make. Read the step text as well as the line.
Words used in a lesson
Crease, unfold, turn over, rotateCrease and unfold: press the fold, then open it again, leaving a guide for later moves. Turn over: flip the whole model so its other side faces you. Rotate: turn it around in the same plane.
Flaps, layers, edges and landmarksA flap is a part you can move; a layer is one thickness of folded paper. A raw edge is the edge of the original sheet, while a folded edge is a crease. A landmark is a point or line used for alignment.
Reverse, squash and petal foldsAn inside reverse fold pushes a point between its surrounding layers. An outside reverse folds the point around the outside. A squash opens a pocket and flattens it. A petal fold lifts and narrows a flap along prepared creases.
Bases to practise
Square base and bird baseA base is a starting arrangement used by several models. Our crane begins with a preliminary base, also called a square base, then uses petal folds to make a bird base.
Waterbomb baseThe waterbomb base collapses into a layered triangle. Follow the opening of our waterbomb lesson to practise it.
Kite base and blintz baseA kite base brings two neighbouring edges to a centre crease; try it at the start of the crow. A blintz brings all four corners to the centre; the fortune teller begins this way.
Where the notation came from
Modern notation developed through several people’s work. Akira Yoshizawa helped make action arrows widely useful; Robert Harbin and Samuel Randlett adapted and expanded the system. Earlier books already used some line conventions, so it is too simple to credit every symbol to one inventor.