Typing guide and help
Everything about writing Hindi with English letters in HindiWrite.
The basics
- Click in the editor and type a Hindi word the way it sounds, using English letters.
- Press Space. The word becomes Devanagari and the space is added. A comma, full stop, question mark, digit or Shift+Enter works the same way.
- Keep typing. The English letters of the current word stay visible until you finish it.
While you type a word, a list of suggestions shows what it will become. The first suggestion is used unless you pick another one. If you click elsewhere or leave the editor in the middle of a word, that word is converted in place.
Spelling tips
You don’t have to follow a strict scheme: HindiWrite knows how people commonly spell about 52,000 Hindi words in English letters, and builds other spellings from pronunciation rules. These patterns give the most predictable results:
| Type | For | Example |
|---|---|---|
a / aa | अ, ा / आ | kam → कम, kaam → काम |
i / ee | ि / ी | din → दिन, deen → दीन |
u / oo | ु / ू | gur → गुर, door → दूर |
e / ai | े / ै | mera → मेरा, hai → है |
o / au | ो / ौ | log → लोग, aur → और |
n at the end | ं (nasal) | hain → हैं, mein → में |
kh, gh, ch, chh, jh | ख घ च छ झ | khana → खाना, achha → अच्छा |
th, dh, ph, bh | थ ध फ भ | bharat → भारत, dhanyavad → धन्यवाद |
sh / shh | श / ष | shiksha → शिक्षा |
ksh, gy, tr, shr | क्ष ज्ञ त्र श्र | gyan → ज्ञान, shraddha → श्रद्धा |
ri (after a consonant) | ृ | krishna → कृष्ण |
z, f, q | ज़ फ़ क़ | zindagi → जिंदगी, phone → फोन |
Hindi letters that English spells the same way, such as त/ट or द/ड, are chosen by the dictionary. If the wrong one appears, pick the right word from the suggestions.
Correcting words
- Right after a word: press Backspace. The space is removed and the list of alternatives opens. Press Backspace again to get your original English letters back, edit them, and press Space to convert again.
- Any earlier word: select it (double-click, double-tap, or Shift+Ctrl+←; Shift+⌥+← on Mac) and its alternatives appear.
- Undo: Ctrl+Z (⌘+Z) right after a conversion puts the English letters back, and they stay in English.
- Elsewhere, Backspace simply deletes, as in any text box.
Alternatives are real spellings from the dictionary or the transliteration rules — for example हिंदी and हिन्दी are both correct; HindiWrite lists the standard form with the dot (anusvara) first. The last option always keeps the word in English letters.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Keys | What they do |
|---|---|
| Space, punctuation, digits | Convert the current word to the highlighted suggestion |
| ↑ ↓ | Move through suggestions |
| Enter | Pick the highlighted suggestion (no new line). Press again for a new line. |
| Shift+Enter | Convert the word and start a new line |
| Esc | Close suggestions; the current word stays in English letters |
| Backspace right after a word | Show alternatives; press again to return to English letters |
| Ctrl+G | Switch between Hindi and English typing |
| | (pipe) | Type the Hindi full stop ।; twice for ॥ |
| Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y | Undo / redo (browser standard; ⌘Z and ⇧⌘Z on Mac) |
Mixing Hindi and English
Press Esc while typing a word to keep it in English, or choose the last suggestion (“Keep …”). To write several English words, switch to English mode with the toolbar switch or Ctrl+G. Pasted text is inserted exactly as pasted; if it contains English letters you can convert it with one click.
How words and characters are counted
- A word is a run of letters, vowel signs or digits. Words joined by a hyphen or an apostrophe count once (लेन-देन). Punctuation on its own is not a word.
- Characters are Unicode characters including spaces and line breaks. Hindi vowel signs and the halant are separate characters, so नमस्ते counts as 6. Hover over the counter (or use a screen reader) for the count without spaces.
Voice typing
Press Voice and allow the microphone when your browser asks. Speak in Hindi; recognised text is added at the cursor (it never replaces selected text). Press Stop when you are done. Voice typing is only available where the browser offers speech recognition (Chrome, Edge and Safari; not Firefox at present), and your browser’s speech service may process the audio on its servers.
Troubleshooting
- My phone keyboard changes what I type. Turn off autocorrect or predictive text for best results. The editor asks browsers to disable it, but some keyboards ignore that.
- Hindi shows as boxes. This page includes its own Hindi font. If copied text shows boxes in another app, that app or device needs a Devanagari font — most current systems have one.
- “Dictionary didn’t load”. Check your connection and press Retry. Until it loads, words are converted by rules alone, which is less accurate for some words.
- The microphone doesn’t work. Allow microphone access for this site in your browser settings, and make sure no other app is using it.
Still stuck? Read the FAQ or learn how HindiWrite works.