Skip to content
Indian Font Converters
Indian Font Converters

Popular

Type a font name in English or in its own script. Search runs in your browser on a prebuilt index; nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Tamil · Typing tool

Tamil99 keyboard: type Tamil online

Vowels on the left hand, consonants on the right, and the pulli put in for you. This is the Tamil Nadu government’s standard layout, typing real Unicode Tamil with nothing to install.

Press Ctrl+Space to switch between Tamil and English.

Vowel keys (அ ஆ இ …) become vowel signs after a consonant. The dashed ◌் key is the pulli. Hold Shift for the upper layer.

01 · How typing works

Six rules, from the standard itself.

Tamil99 is not a plain key-to-letter map. The keyboard knows when a vowel key should become a sign and when two consonants need a pulli between them. These are the rules in Annexure II of the Government order.

  1. 01

    Letters are one key each

    Consonants (with their built-in a) are on the right hand, vowels on the left. The key h is க, k is ம, l is த. Capital Q W E R give ஸ ஷ ஜ ஹ.

    h k lகமத

  2. 02

    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.

    k qமா

  3. 03

    f is the pulli

    The pulli key turns a consonant into a bare consonant: h then f is க். It does nothing after a vowel or a space.

    h fக்

  4. 04

    Double letters add the pulli for you

    Typing the same consonant twice puts a pulli on the first: h h gives க்க. A third press does not add another, so h h h is க்கக.

    h h hக்கக

  5. 05

    ங ஞ ண ந ம ன then their partner

    These six also take the pulli automatically before their own hard letter: ங+க, ஞ+ச, ண+ட, ந+த, ம+ப, ன+ற. So ; l is ந்த and i u is ன்ற.

    ; i u sநன்றி

  6. 06

    அ is the separator

    When you want two consonants side by side without a pulli, press அ (key a) between them. It is not typed. h a h is கக, while h h is க்க.

    h a hகக

02 · Key chart

Every key on the Tamil99 layout.

Generated from the same table the typing box uses. Vowel keys are shown as full vowels; after a consonant they type the sign instead. Digits and other punctuation keep their English meaning.

Without Shift

  • qஆ
  • wஈ
  • eஊ
  • rஐ
  • tஏ
  • yள
  • uற
  • iன
  • oட
  • pண
  • [ச
  • ]ஞ
  • aஅ
  • sஇ
  • dஉ
  • f◌்
  • gஎ
  • hக
  • jப
  • kம
  • lத
  • ;ந
  • 'ய
  • zஔ
  • xஓ
  • cஒ
  • vவ
  • bங
  • nல
  • mர
  • /ழ

With Shift

  • Qஸ
  • Wஷ
  • Eஜ
  • Rஹ
  • Tக்ஷ
  • Yஸ்ரீ
  • Uஶ
  • I:
  • O[
  • P]
  • A௹
  • S௺
  • D௸
  • Fஃ
  • K"
  • :;
  • "'
  • Z௳
  • X௴
  • C௵
  • V௶
  • B௷
  • M/

03 · Practice

Common words, and the keys to type.

Type the keys in the box above and check you get the word. Each pair was run through the typing engine when this page was built.

  • வணக்கம்v p h h k f
  • தமிழ்l k s / f
  • நன்றி; i u s
  • அம்மாa k k q
  • அப்பாa j j q
  • பள்ளிj y y s
  • இந்தியாs ; l s ' q
  • தம்பிl k j s
  • செங்கல்[ g b h n f
  • பொங்கல்j c b h n f
  • கற்றல்h u u n f
  • ஜன்னல்E i i n f

04 · Our choices

What we added or chose, so you know.

  • The standard was written for font glyph encodings. Here the output is Unicode, with vowel signs inserted in logical order and ொ ோ ௌ as single characters.
  • Annexure II’s second example of rule 5 prints four presses with three pullis; its own rule and rule 7 give க்கக்க, which is what this does.
  • The Shift symbols (௹ ௺ ௸ ௳ ௴ ௵ ௶ ௷ and ஶ) match the m17n Tamil99 input method. ஸ்ரீ is typed as ஸ + ் + ர + ீ.
  • Windows also ships a Tamil 99 keyboard. If you use that, small details such as Shift symbols may differ from this page.

05 · FAQ

Questions about Tamil99

Is this the official Tamil99 layout?

It implements the Tamil99 keyboard that the Government of Tamil Nadu adopted on 13 June 1999 (G.O.(Ms.) No. 17, Information Technology Department): the key positions come from Annexure I and the typing rules from Annexure II. The Shift symbols beyond the official picture (the Tamil number and rupee signs, ஶ) follow the m17n Tamil99 input method, which cites the Government’s own help document.

How do I switch between Tamil and English?

Press Ctrl+Space in the typing box, or click the switch above it. While it is off, every key types the English letter printed on it.

Why do I get க்க when I type க twice?

That is rule 4 of the standard: the same consonant typed twice puts a pulli on the first one automatically, because doubled consonants are very common in Tamil. If you really want கக, press the அ key between them.

Why did my phone type English letters?

Phone keyboards such as Gboard send whole words and suggestions to the page instead of single keys, so a web page cannot turn them into Tamil99. Tick “On-screen keyboard only” and tap the keys on this page, or install a Tamil99 keyboard app on your phone.

Is this the same as the Bamini or Tamil typewriter layout?

No. Tamil99 puts vowels on the left hand and consonants on the right, and types Unicode directly. Bamini is a legacy font layout with a different key arrangement. If that is what you learned, use the Bamini keyboard on this site.

Does it work with copy and paste into Word?

Yes. The text is standard Unicode Tamil. Use Copy, or download a Word file that already uses Nirmala UI, a Windows font that covers Tamil.

Is my text sent anywhere?

No. Everything runs in your browser. The last text you typed is kept only in this tab’s session storage so a refresh does not lose it.