Tamil typing
Type Tamil words in English letters and get Tamil script as you type.
Private: your files never leave this deviceNothing is uploaded or stored on a serverWorks right here in your browserKey chart: which English letters make which Tamil letter
Vowels (uyir)
- a
- அ
- aa / A
- ஆ
- i
- இ
- ii / ee / I
- ஈ
- u
- உ
- uu / oo / U
- ஊ
- e
- எ
- E
- ஏ
- ai
- ஐ
- o
- ஒ
- O
- ஓ
- au
- ஔ
Consonants (mei)
- k
- க்
- ng
- ங்
- s / ch
- ச்
- nj
- ஞ்
- t / d
- ட்
- N
- ண்
- th / dh
- த்
- n (start) / w
- ந்
- p / b
- ப்
- m
- ம்
- y
- ய்
- r
- ர்
- l
- ல்
- v
- வ்
- zh
- ழ்
- L
- ள்
- R
- ற்
- n
- ன்
Grantha letters
- j
- ஜ
- sh
- ஷ
- S
- ஸ
- h
- ஹ
- ksh / x
- க்ஷ
- sri
- ஸ்ரீ
Letter pairs
- ng (inside a word)
- ங்க
- nj (inside a word)
- ஞ்ச
- nd
- ண்ட
- nth / ndh
- ந்த
- nr / ndr
- ன்ற
- tr / rr
- ற்ற
- q
- ஃ
- f
- ஃப
Capitals matter for a few letters: N ண, L ள, R ற, E ஏ, O ஓ, S ஸ, T and D ட. A consonant with no vowel after it gets a pulli (்) by itself: k gives க், ka gives க, kaa gives கா.
How Tamil letters are built
Tamil has 12 vowels (உயிர், uyir, “life”) and 18 consonants (மெய், mei, “body”). Put a consonant and a vowel together and you get a joined letter (உயிர்மெய், uyirmei): 18 × 12 = 216 of them. Add the special letter ஃ (aytham) and that is the 247 letters children learn at school.
க்+அ=க
k + a = ka
க்+ஆ=கா
k + aa = kaa
ம்+இ=மி
m + i = mi
| அa | ஆaa | இi | ஈii | உu | ஊuu | எe | ஏE | ஐai | ஒo | ஓO | ஔau |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| க | கா | கி | கீ | கு | கூ | கெ | கே | கை | கொ | கோ | கௌ |
Signs for e, ee and ai (ெ ே ை) are written before the consonant, and o, oo and au wrap around it (கொ கோ கௌ), yet in Unicode text the consonant always comes first. Old fonts stored them in the order they are drawn, which is why old documents turn into a jumble when the font is missing.
How to type in Tamil with an English keyboard
Type the sound
Type the word as it sounds in English letters: vanakkam, amma, tamizh. Each word turns into Tamil as you type, and the space bar finishes it.
Pick the right spelling
When a word could be spelt more than one way, the choices show above the box. Press 1 to 6, or the down arrow, to pick one. Esc keeps the English letters.
Copy or save
Copy all puts the Tamil text on your clipboard for a message, post or document. Download saves a .txt file. Your draft is also kept on this device.
Good to know
- Capitals choose the harder sound: n is ன, N is ண; l is ல, L is ள; r is ர, R is ற. zh is ழ, as in tamizh.
- Double vowels make long ones: aa ஆ, ii or ee ஈ, uu or oo ஊ. E is ஏ and O is ஓ.
- At the start of a word, n is ந and t is த. Inside a word, nd is ண்ட, ndh is ந்த and nr or ndr is ன்ற, so nanri and nandri both give நன்றி.
- Press F9 or Ctrl+Space to type an English word in the middle of Tamil, then press it again to go back.
- Pasted English text stays as it is. Press English words to Tamil to change every English word in the box at once.
- The draft is saved in this browser only. Clear saved draft removes it.
Questions people ask
How do I type ண, ள, ற or ழ?
Use capitals and zh: N for ண, L for ள, R for ற and zh for ழ. So kaN gives கண், vaazhai gives வாழை and aRivu gives அறிவு. You can also pick them from the spelling choices.
Why did vanakkam give வணக்கம் and not வனக்கம்?
A short list of everyday words is spelt the way people mean them, because English letters cannot show the difference between ன and ண. For other words, pick the spelling you want from the choices, or type the capital letter.
Can I type on a phone?
Yes. Type the word with your phone keyboard and it turns into Tamil when you press space. Switch off your keyboard's auto-correct for the best results.
Do I need to install a Tamil font or keyboard?
No. The page uses a Tamil font of its own and your normal English keyboard. The text you copy is standard Unicode Tamil, which works in every app.
Is my text uploaded?
No. Everything runs in your browser on this device. Nothing you type or paste is sent to a server, and the saved draft stays in this browser only.