How to type Tamil on a computer and phone

Tamil typing has three common entry points, and they are easy to confuse because two of them are keyboards and one is a legacy font. Tamil99 is the Tamil Nadu government’s standard layout. Phonetic typing lets you write Tamil in English letters. Bamini is a typewriter-style legacy encoding long used in Sri Lankan Tamil publishing and older print workflows.

This guide explains what each one is good for and how to start.

Tamil99: the standard layout

Tamil99 puts vowels on the left hand and consonants on the right. The keyboard knows when a vowel key should become a sign and when two consonants need a pulli between them, which is what makes it fast once learned.

The main rules:

• Each letter is one key. h is க, k is ம, l is த.
• A vowel after a consonant becomes its sign. Type the consonant, then the vowel key: k then q (ஆ) gives மா; l then s (இ) gives தி. After a space or another vowel, the same key types the full vowel.
• f is the pulli. h then f is க். It does nothing after a vowel or a space.
• Double letters add the pulli for you. h h gives க்க.
• Six letters take a pulli before their partner. ங before க, ஞ before ச, ண before ட, ந before த, ம before ப, and ன before ற. So ; l is ந்த and i u is ன்ற.
• அ separates two consonants. h a h is கக, while h h is க்க. The அ is not typed.

The Tamil99 keyboard shows the full key chart and types Unicode Tamil in the browser.

Phonetic typing: write it the way it sounds

Phonetic typing is the easiest start for most people. You type Tamil in English letters and the tool converts it. vanakkam becomes வணக்கம், nandri becomes நன்றி, thamizh becomes தமிழ்.

The rules are fixed, so the same letters always give the same Tamil:

• Long vowels are doubled or capitalised: aa or A for ஆ, ii or I for ஈ, uu or U for ஊ, ee or E for ஏ, oo or O for ஓ. kAlam gives காலம். A capital as the first letter of a word is read as lower case, so start a long vowel with the doubled form: aadu is ஆடு.
• Capitals pick specific letters. N is ண, L is ள, R is ற, S is ஸ. Use them when the sound matters: maNi is மணி, makkaL is மக்கள்.
• The n sound depends on position. Roman letters cannot tell ந, ன, ண, ங and ஞ apart, so the tool chooses by position. n becomes ந at the start of a word, ந் before th, ண் before t or d, ங் before k, and ன elsewhere. ng and nj inside a word give ங்க and ஞ்ச.
• A short word list covers common exceptions such as vanakkam, amma and madurai. To skip the list, put a capital letter inside the word: vanakkaM is spelled out by the rules alone.
• Curly braces keep English. {Google} stays as it is, which is useful for names and URLs.

Try it on the Tamil phonetic typing page. It is the fastest way to write a message if you do not know a Tamil keyboard.

Bamini: a legacy layout with a place

Bamini is a Tamil ASCII font family. Tamil is typed on a normal keyboard, the file stores English letters, and the font draws Tamil. Its layout follows the Tamil typewriter keyboard, which made it a natural fit for typists trained on typewriters. It has long been common in Sri Lankan Tamil publishing and still appears in print work.

Some rules differ sharply from Tamil99:

• The pulli is the semicolon. f; is க், g; is ப். jkpo; is தமிழ்.
• ா, ி and ீ come after the letter. fh is கா, fp is கி, fP is கீ.
• ெ, ே and ை come before the letter. nf is கெ, Nf is கே, if is கை.
• ொ, ோ and ௌ wrap the letter. You type two keys: nfh is கொ, Nfh is கோ, nfs is கௌ.

Because the visual order differs from Unicode’s logical order, converting Bamini text needs a real converter, not find-and-replace. Use Bamini to Unicode for old documents. If you like the Bamini keys but want Unicode output, the Bamini keyboard maps them as you type.

Which should you learn?

If you are new to Tamil typing and want to write messages, start with phonetic typing. You can be productive on day one, and the output is Unicode.

If you work in a government or office setting, learn Tamil99. It is the Tamil Nadu government’s standard layout, approved in 1999.

If you already type on a Tamil typewriter or in Bamini, keep the muscle memory but produce Unicode. Use the Bamini keyboard tool, and convert old files when you need to share them.

If a print shop asks for Bamini, write in Unicode and convert at the end. Check the loss report, because the legacy font has fewer characters than Unicode.

On a phone

Phone keyboards usually offer a Tamil layout already, and the output is Unicode. If yours does not, the browser tools above work on a phone as well: type with the on-screen keys or in English letters, then copy the Unicode result into any app.

The important rule on phones is the same as on a computer: keep the text Unicode. A Bamini document opened on a phone shows English letters, and no amount of font installation will fix a message that was stored in the wrong encoding.

Checking your work

Tamil has several letters that look similar and several n sounds that depend on context. After typing, read the result aloud in your head and check:

• Is the pulli in the right place?
• Did ந, ன, ண come out as the word needs?
• Are ெ, ே and ை before the consonant, as Tamil requires?
• Did a long vowel become short?

A practical default

Use Unicode for everything you store or share. Pick Tamil99 if you want the standard layout, phonetic typing if you want speed without study, and the Bamini keyboard if your fingers already know it. Convert legacy documents once, keep the Unicode copy, and you will not have to think about fonts again.