Maithili was traditionally written in its own script, Tirhuta (or Mithilakshar), historically used for Maithili manuscripts and especially in the Vedic/Sanskrit scholarly tradition of Mithila. Today, Maithili is predominantly written in the Devanagari script, though Tirhuta retains ceremonial and cultural significance.

Maithili's sound system is closely related to neighboring Eastern Indo-Aryan languages (Bhojpuri, Magahi, Bengali), sharing many vowel and consonant features with Hindi.

• ›Tirhuta script is still used in some traditional/religious contexts and is taught as part of Maithili's literary heritage
• ›The shift to Devanagari improved practical literacy and print accessibility while creating some cultural debate about script identity