Nepali · Devanagari · Typing tool
Nepali Unicode: type in Nepali
Pick the Romanized layout to type by sound, or the Traditional layout if you know the Nepali typewriter and Preeti. You get Unicode Nepali for Facebook, Gmail, Word and every website. Nothing to install.
Press keys on your keyboard, or click the keys below. Ctrl+Space switches to English and back.
Hold Shift on your keyboard to see the other layers. ◌ marks a sign that attaches to the letter before it.
01 · Which layout
Romanized, Traditional, or Preeti.
| Romanized | Traditional | Preeti (legacy font) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key arrangement | By Roman sound: k क, t त, p प | Nepali typewriter order | Nepali typewriter order |
| Output | Unicode | Unicode | Latin letters that look Nepali only in the Preeti font |
| ि sign | Typed after the letter (i) | Typed after the letter (l) | Typed before the letter (l) |
| Good for | English-keyboard users, phones, quick messages | Typewriter-trained typists moving to Unicode | Old documents and Lok Sewa style forms |
Looking for the Indian standard? The Nepali InScript keyboard is the Indian government’s standard Devanagari layout.
02 · How the layouts work
Seven things that cover both.
- Romanized · 01
Keys follow the Roman sound
k is क, g is ग, j is ज, t is त, d is द, p is प, b is ब, m is म, n is न. Shift gives the related letter: K ख, G घ, J झ, T थ, D ध, P फ, B भ, N ण.
kKgGjJकखगघजझ
- Romanized · 02
Vowel signs sit on the vowel keys
a types the ा sign, i types ि, I types ी, u types ु, e types े, o types ो. Shift gives the independent vowel or the long sign: A आ, U ू, E ै, O ओ.
nepalIनेपाली
- Romanized · 03
The slash key is the halant
Type / between two consonants to join them: नमस्ते is n, m, s, /, t, e. Reph is र, / then the next letter.
nms/teनमस्ते
- Romanized · 04
Letters with no Roman equivalent
q ट, Q ठ, x ड, X ढ, z ष, c च, C छ, < ङ, Y ञ. M is ं and V is ँ. The period is the danda (।) and Shift+period the double danda.
kaQmaxwMकाठमाडौं
- Traditional · 05
The typewriter arrangement, in Unicode
Traditional keeps the key positions of a Nepali typewriter and of Preeti: g is न, d is म, n is ल, k is प, f is ा, ] is े.
g]kfnनेपाल
- Traditional · 06
The ि sign comes after its letter
In Preeti you type ि before the consonant (lxdfn). Here you type it after, in Unicode order: x, l, d, f, n makes हिमाल. Keep this in mind if you also use the Preeti keyboard.
xldfnहिमाल
- Traditional · 07
Common conjuncts have their own keys
q types त्र, Shift+I types क्ष, Shift+1 (!) types ज्ञ, Shift+> types श्र, Shift+4 types द्ध. The backslash key is the halant. ट ठ ड ढ ण are Shift+6 to Shift+0, where Preeti has them unshifted.
Iक्ष
03 · Romanized chart
Every key on the Romanized layout.
Generated from the same table the keyboard above uses. Letters at the top-left are the US-keyboard characters.
Without Shift
With Shift
04 · Traditional chart
Every key on the Traditional layout.
Compare with a Preeti keyboard: most letters share a key; differences are mainly the ि sign and a few punctuation and conjunct keys. To see the Preeti keys, open the Preeti keyboard.
Without Shift
With Shift
05 · Practice
Common Nepali words, and the keys that type them.
Each sequence was generated from the layouts and typed back through them when this page was built. Switch the layout above to try each.
| Word | Romanized keys | Traditional keys | |
|---|---|---|---|
| नेपाल | n e p a l | g ] k f n | |
| नेपाली | n e p a l I | g ] k f n L | |
| काठमाडौं | k a Q m a x w M | s f & d f * B + | |
| सगरमाथा | s g r m a T a | ; u / d f y f | |
| नमस्ते | n m s / t e | g d ; \ t ] | |
| धन्यवाद | D n / y v a d | w g \ o j f b | |
| संविधान | s M v i D a n | ; + j l w f g | |
| सरकार | s r k a r | ; / s f / | |
| विद्यालय | v i d / y a l y | j l N f n o | |
| शिक्षा | S i k / z a | z l I f | |
| हिमाल | h i m a l | x l d f n | |
| पर्वत | p r / v t | k [ j t | |
| राष्ट्रिय | r a z / q / r i y | / f i \ ^ \ / l o | |
| प्रधानमन्त्री | p / r D a n m n / t / r I | k \ / w f g d g \ q L |
06 · Preeti
Already typed in Preeti?
07 · FAQ
Questions about typing Nepali in Unicode
Which should I choose, Romanized or Traditional?
Choose Romanized if you think in English letters: most keys are the sound they make (k is क, p is प). Choose Traditional if you learned on a Nepali typewriter or with Preeti; the keys sit where they do on a Preeti keyboard, but the result is Unicode instead of a font that needs installing.
Is this the same as the Nepali Unicode keyboard I install on Windows?
It is the same layout design: both layouts were published by Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya (MPP), which maintains the Nepali Unicode keyboard software. This page works in the browser with nothing to install. We digitised the key tables from open-source copies of the layouts (see Sources), so check any exam or office software against it on rarely used keys.
Do I need to install a Nepali font?
No. The text is Unicode and shows in Mangal, Kalimati, Noto Sans Devanagari and every other Unicode Devanagari font. Kalimati is a common choice for Nepali documents.
I have old Preeti text. How do I get Unicode?
Use the Preeti to Unicode converter: paste the Preeti text and copy the Unicode. To type new Preeti on a keyboard that has no Preeti font, use the Preeti keyboard page.
Can I use this on a phone?
Yes. Tap the on-screen keys. On touch devices the phone’s own keyboard is hidden so it does not interfere, and a link brings it back.
Is my text sent anywhere?
No. Typing, copying and the Word download all happen in your browser. The text you typed is kept only in this tab’s session storage so a refresh does not lose it.