How to read origami diagrams
Origami diagrams use a small, shared set of symbols so that anyone can follow them, whatever language they speak. Once you know these eight marks, you can read nearly any diagram — ours, in books or from other folders.
Valley fold
A dashed line. Fold the paper toward you along it, so the crease sinks like a valley. It is the most common fold in any diagram.
Mountain fold
A dash-dot line. Fold the paper away from you, behind the model, so the crease rises like a ridge.
Existing crease
A thin solid line shows a crease you made earlier. It is often a guide for the next fold.
Fold arrow
A curved arrow shows which part moves and where it lands. Fold in the direction the arrow travels.
Fold and unfold
An arrow with a head at both ends: make the fold, crease firmly, then open it again. The crease stays as a guide.
Push in
A hollow arrow means push or sink the paper inward — used for reverse folds and squash folds.
Turn over
A looped arrow: turn the whole model over, left to right, before the next step.
Repeat
A repeat mark means do the same fold on the other side or the other flap.
On this site every diagram also animates, so if a symbol is unclear, press Next fold and watch the paper move. Diagrams are always drawn from the side facing you; when the model needs turning over, you will see the turn-over mark first.
These eight marks cover most diagrams. For the rest, including repeat and measurement marks and how reverse folds and sinks are drawn, see the complete origami symbols guide.
Worked example: reading the Dog Face diagram
Here is how the symbols look in a real diagram, taken from our Dog Face, a six-step model for beginners. Each picture shows the paper before the fold, with the fold line and arrow drawn on it.
Step 1
A valley fold and its arrow
The line across the middle of the diamond is a valley fold, and the curved arrow runs from the top corner to the bottom one. Together they say: bring the top corner down onto the bottom corner, folding toward you.
Step 2
A fold you open again
The vertical line and the arrow arcing between the two side corners mean: fold the corners together, crease, then open the paper again. The crease stays behind as a center line for the next step.
Step 3
Two folds at an angle
Two slanted lines and two arrows curving down: both side corners fold down at a slant to become the ears. The lines show exactly where each fold starts on the top edge, so you don’t have to guess the angle.
Step 5
The line changes: a mountain fold
Here the line is drawn with dashes and dots instead of plain dashes. That is a mountain fold: the white bottom layer goes behind the face, away from you, instead of toward you.
When your paper doesn’t match the picture
- Go back one step and compare your paper with that picture. Most problems start one fold earlier than they show up.
- Look for a turn-over or rotate symbol you may have missed. If your paper is a mirror image of the picture, it probably needs turning over.
- Check whether the fold uses every layer or only the top one. In step 4 of the Dog Face, only the tip of the front layer folds up to make the mouth.
- Find the reference points. Every fold lands on something you can see: a corner, an edge or an earlier crease.
- Look at the next picture; it shows the shape the current fold is meant to make.
- On this site, press Next fold and watch the move in the animation, then try it with your paper.
Ready to try? The easy diagrams use only valley folds, mountain folds and one or two arrows. When you meet a new move, its page in folds and bases explains it step by step.