Type in Nepali

This transliteration tool uses a phonetic-based transliteration system rather than a fixed, one-to-one character mapping.

As an illustration, entering 'a' may generate the independent vowel 'अ' in isolation, but following a consonant such as 'k', it merges to create 'का' ('ka').

That said, when you want to input a specific Nepali character, refer to the guide above for standard Roman-to-Nepali character mappings. Should it fail to generate the expected letter, simply hit backspace or click the word to reveal available character options. When your desired character isn't the primary suggestion, use the Down Arrow key followed by Space/Enter to choose the appropriate alternative.

Nepali Typing Tool Features

Type in English, see it in Nepali – Simply type how words sound in English, and watch them transform into Devanagari script instantly.

Example: Type "Tapai lai kasto chha?" and it becomes "तपाई लाई कस्तो छ?"

Press the pipe key (|) next to Shift, or enter a period (.) to insert the purna viram "।"
Press (Ctrl + .) to insert a period "."
Click the help button ( Google Transliteration Help ) below the typing area for special characters (।, ॐ, ॥, ॰)

Tip: You can type as much as you like – there's no character limit, and everything happens in real-time!

Can't Type or View Nepali Text on Chrome?

Overview of the Nepali Typing Tool

We've made typing in Nepali incredibly straightforward. You don't need to memorize complex keyboard layouts or install any special software.

Our online typing tool uses Google's trusted transliteration engine to convert phonetic Roman text (English alphabet) into Nepali script.

Here's how simple it is:

Type how a Nepali word sounds in English. Example: "namaste" .
Press the Spacebar or Enter after typing the word to convert into Nepali script. Result:"namaste" converts to "नमस्ते" .
If you're not happy with the suggestion, simply press backspace or click the word to see alternative options.

The transliteration happens in real-time and handles unlimited text. Every time you press the spacebar, your text is automatically saved locally, ensuring it won't disappear if the browser closes or you revisit later. However, for crucial work, it is recommended to download or email your text rather than depending entirely on browser recovery.

Once you're done, you can copy the text, paste it into documents or blogs, share it on social media, or send it via email.

Our Nepali Typing tool is suitable for students, teachers, office professionals, and anyone who wants quickly and accurately type in Nepali.

We'd love to hear how this tool helps you! Drop us a comment on our Facebook page, and if you find it useful, please share it with friends and family who might benefit from easy Nepali typing.

You don't need to learn a Nepali keyboard layout. Just type words phonetically in English, and they'll appear in Devanagari script.

Where can I use this Nepali typing tool?

Our Nepali typing tool can be used for:

Daily communication
Instant messaging
Typing letters (पत्र) and applications (निवेदन)
Writing stories (कहानी)
Poems (कविता)
Essays (निबन्ध)
Social media posts (सोशल मिडिया पोस्ट)
Emails (इमेल)
Notes (नोट)
Journals (डायरी)
Business documents (व्यापार कागजात)
Resume/CV (जीवन वृत्तान्त)
Form filling (फारम भर्न)
Comments and reviews (टिप्पणी)
Chatting (च्याट)
News and articles (समाचार)
Sending greetings (शुभकामना)

Nepali Alphabet

Nepali is spoken by more than 17 million speakers [1] in Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and neighbouring parts of India. Originally known as "Khas Kura" [2] , it was historically the language of the Khasa kingdom which once ruled the foothills of the Himalayas.

Nepali is written with the Devanagari alphabet [3] , developed from the Brahmi script in the 11th century AD. It contains 36 consonants and 12 vowels [4] . In addition, it has its own representations of numbers that follow the Hindu-Arabic numeral system.

12 Vowels: अ, आ, इ, ई, उ, ऊ, ए, ऐ, ओ, औ, अं, अँ
36 Consonants: क, ख, ग, घ, ङ, च, छ, ज, झ, ञ, ट, ठ, ड, ढ, ण, त, थ, द, ध, न, प, फ, ब, भ, म, य, र, ल, व, श, ष, स, ह, क्ष, त्र, ज्ञ
Full Stop (पूर्ण बिराम): ।
Numbers in Nepali (नेपालीमा अंकहरू): १, २, ३, ४, ५, ६, ७, ८, ९, ०

Nepali Language

Nepal is a fascinating linguistic mosaic! Once communities settled in Nepal, they became completely isolated due to steep valleys, towering mountains, and thick forests. This isolation led to something remarkable – the evolution of many distinct languages.

Figure 1: The Linguistic Map of Nepal.

Here's something interesting: the 2001 census reported 92 languages, but the 2021 census identified 124 distinct mother tongues [1] . That's a significant jump! The increase is largely down to the reclassification of dialects within larger groups that were previously thought to belong to a single linguistic community.

Note: If we follow Trosterud's suggestion that languages with more than 16,000 speakers should be written, we'd expect all languages down to and including Dhimal to be written. That amounts to 28 languages – just under one-third of the total, which aligns with the proportion of written languages globally.

Nepali Writing Systems

Four Nepalese languages have a particularly significant tradition of written use. Let's explore each one:

1. Nepali

Nepali (historically known as Khas, Parbatiya, and Gorkhali) had 21 million speakers in 2021 [1] . It's been written in the Devanagari script – the same beautiful script used across northern India, particularly for Hindi – for approximately 300 years.

2. Newari

Spoken by 880,000 people in 2021 [1] and known as Nepal Bhasa within its linguistic community, Newari has been written for over a thousand years using various scripts. That's quite a literary heritage!

3. Limbu

With 410,000 speakers in 2021 [1] , Limbu uses a traditional script called Sirijanga, which likely originated from Lepcha writing. The script is believed to have been created in the 9th century, revived in the 17th century by Te-ongsi Sirijonga, and revived again in 1925 when it was formally named "Sirijanga" [5] .

4. Lepcha

Also known as Rong, with 66,730 speakers across Nepal, Sikkim, and India, Lepcha is written in a script derived from the Tibetan script [6] . Tradition suggests this script was developed in the 17th or 18th centuries.

Important context: Ethnologue only reports limited literacy for Newari and Limbu, which isn't surprising since these languages were suppressed by successive Nepalese governments from the late 18th century onwards until 1990 [7] . Whilst the writing of Limbu and Lepcha was probably only ever used for special cultural and religious texts, Newar writing was used for a wide range of purposes until the overthrow of their regime by the Gorkhas in the mid 18th century.

Tip: Cross-border languages, particularly Maithili and Bhojpuri, also have their own mature literature and may be written in their own distinctive scripts – for Maithili the script is known as Mithilakshar or Tirhuta, for Bhojpuri it's Kaithi.

The Digital Age: Encoding Scripts

Here's where things get really interesting from a technical perspective!

Indic writing, including Devanagari and Bengali, has been printed in movable type since around 1800, with the type evolving and being simplified over the centuries. When computers came along for writing and publishing, the encoding of Devanagari and other Indic scripts was undertaken in India, leading to the Indian Script Code for Information Interchange – ISCII.

Initially, work had been proposed to include Devanagari within the then-established standard for computers, ISO 8859, as part 12. However, this work was abandoned with the expectation of adopting ISCII's codes into ISO 8859. But here's the twist – ISO 8859 was in turn superseded by Unicode, which included a code block for Devanagari and other major Indic scripts from the start.

Technical note: One significant difference between ISCII and Unicode was that in ISCII all the scripts of India had been unified within a single table (with different scripts selected by appropriate font), whereas in Unicode these were dis-unified into separate code blocks.

Limbu and Lepcha Enter the Digital World

Limbu's Journey to Unicode

The encoding of Limbu was added to the Unicode Standard in April 2003 with the release of version 4.0 [5] . Limbu was introduced to the standardisation process by McGowan and Everson in 1999, and a proposal was written jointly by Boyd Michaelovsky and Michael Everson in 2002.

Michaelovsky is a linguist who's done considerable field research amongst the Limbu in Nepal, learning about their writing in context and appealing in the proposal to both examples of writing and to the phonology of the spoken language.

Note: Even so, there have been some discussions since then about missing characters, and in 2011 Pandey proposed two additional composite characters, though there's a case for introducing the virama instead.

Lepcha's Path to Standardisation

The encoding of the Lepcha script was initiated by Michael Everson and others within the Unicode Technical Committee in 2003, and formally proposed in 2005. It was finally added to the Unicode Standard in April 2008 with the release of version 5.1 [6] .

Primary sources of knowledge about Lepcha writing in the Everson document came from two academic texts from the late 19th century and several texts from the 1970s, with copious samples of writing taken from these texts included in the appendices. The proposal also referenced two experts consulted: a linguist in Leiden in the Netherlands, and a typographer with Xenotype in the US.

Important: Whilst the writing of Lepcha and Limbu have followed a normal path to standardisation – an introduction of the script to the standardisation community, followed by a full proposal, and then agreement within the ISO and Unicode committees – Newar writing hasn't had such a smooth passage.

Other Languages and Their Encoding

Field linguists aiming to document the languages that they study, and members of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), have for many years improvised a means of writing languages, usually based on Devanagari. Michael Noonan has given a very thorough analysis of some of these, relating the choices made to the underlying phonologies of the languages.

Fig 2. The Sikkim Herald in 11 languages (from Mark Turin.)

The Maithili Story

When the Indian constitution first scheduled its official languages, Maithili was viewed as a dialect of Hindi – a view that was vigorously contested! This eventually led to the inclusion of Maithili as a distinct scheduled language in 2004 [8] , though it's still written in Devanagari.

Their traditional style of writing, Mithilakshar/Tirhuta, was treated as an exotic for use in wedding invitations and similar occasions, though discussions have been made as to whether it could be unified with Bangla or with Devanagari.

In 2008, a Unicode-compliant Mithilakshar font called Janaki was produced in Nepal, mapped to the Devanagari code block. This implicitly assumed a unification with Devanagari for the advantage that existing documents encoded in Devanagari could be rendered in Mithilakshar by a simple change of font.

Then in 2011, Pandey proposed a separate encoding of Tirhuta, arguing briefly (and inadequately, some would say) that it couldn't be unified with Bengali, but not discussing the situation with respect to Devanagari.

Languages Yet to Be Written

A large proportion of Nepal's languages aren't yet written, though linguists and anthropologists have written fragments of many languages using extensions of Devanagari. Some language activists have created their own distinctive writing systems, with proposals that have reached discussion towards standardisation.

These languages include:

Interesting fact: Much of the drive for the writing of several of these languages seems to come from Sikkim, where they're also spoken. The official newspaper The Sikkim Herald is published in 11 languages with distinctive scripts and typography!

The Standardisation Challenge

All of the scripts or writing styles for these languages are seen as candidates for separate standardisation, apart from Magar. Magar speakers claim to write their language in Brahmi (which they call Akkha), and thus Pandey concludes:

"Until additional research provides information that clearly differentiates it from Brahmi, Magar Akkha should be considered a variant of the latter and unified with it."

In the discussion about the Tikamuli writing for Sunawar, Pandey notes:

"It has no genetic relationship to other writing systems, although it has similarities to the Limbu (Sirijonga) and Lepcha (Rong) scripts."

Note: What's meant by a "genetic relationship" isn't entirely clear – there will certainly have been contact between the linguistic groups with the diffusion influences that then take place. What's not being considered for these languages, apart from Magar, is unification with any other Unicode code blocks.

How to Integrate English to Nepali Transliteration?

Google Transliteration (Google Input Tool) provides phonetic typing from English to Nepali.

Although the official tool has been deprecated, you can still integrate similar functionality using community-maintained packages. Below are practical methods to implement English-to-Nepali transliteration on your website or application.

Google Input Tool Transliterate
Google Input Tool API
Python Indic Transliteration

Using NPM Package: easy-typing-input-tool [10]

This package provides transliteration from English phonetics to multiple Indic languages using Google's Input Tool API with UI support.

Installation npm install easy-typing-input-tool HTML Setup ); Example

See the transliteration in action with live typing demonstration:

GitHub Repository

For full documentation, all supported languages and source code, visit: https://github.com/sambhuWeb/easytyping-google-input-tool

Using NPM Package: google-input-tool [11]

This package provides transliteration from English phonetics to Nepali (Devanagari script) using Google's Input Tool API.

Installation JavaScript npm install google-input-tool Usage Example JavaScript let googleTransliterate = require('google-input-tool'); let sourceText = 'namaste'; let inputLanguage = 'ne-t-i0-und'; let maxResult = 8; let request = new XMLHttpRequest(); googleTransliterate(request, sourceText, inputLanguage, maxResult) .then(function(response) < console.log('Transliterated Text: ', response); >) .catch(function(error) < console.error('Error:', error); >); Output JavaScript Transliterated Text: नमस्ते GitHub Repository

For the full list of supported languages and access to the complete codebase, visit our GitHub page: https://github.com/sambhuWeb/google-input-tool

Using Python Package: indic-transliteration [12]

This Python package provides transliteration between multiple Indic scripts and romanization schemes.

Installation pip install indic-transliteration 1. English to Nepali from indic_transliteration import sanscript from indic_transliteration.sanscript import transliterate # English (ITRANS) to Nepali (Devanagari) text = "namaste" nepali = transliterate(text, sanscript.ITRANS, sanscript.DEVANAGARI) print(nepali) # Output: नमस्ते 2. Nepali to English from indic_transliteration import sanscript from indic_transliteration.sanscript import transliterate # Nepali (Devanagari) to English (ITRANS) nepali_text = "नमस्ते" english = transliterate(nepali_text, sanscript.DEVANAGARI, sanscript.ITRANS) print(english) # Output: namaste 3. Nepali to Tamil from indic_transliteration import sanscript from indic_transliteration.sanscript import transliterate # Nepali (Devanagari) to Tamil nepali_text = "नमस्ते" tamil = transliterate(nepali_text, sanscript.DEVANAGARI, sanscript.TAMIL) print(tamil) # Output: நமஸ்தே Supported Scripts

Indic Scripts: Devanagari, Bengali, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu

Romanization: ITRANS, Harvard-Kyoto, IAST, Velthuis, SLP1, WX

GitHub Repository

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Nepali Typing

How can I type in Nepali?

Simply type a Nepali word using English letters based on how it sounds, and our software automatically converts it into Nepali Devanagari script.

For example, when you type "Swagatam" in English letters, it automatically converts to "स्वागतम्".

What is transliteration?

Transliteration refers to the conversion of text from one writing system to another, focusing on preserving the phonetic accuracy of the original language [9] .

What is Nepali transliteration?

It's a way of writing Nepali using English letters. For instance, typing "Tapai kasto cha?" gives you "तपाईंलाई कस्तो छ?".

What is Nepali translation?

Nepali translation is the process of converting a word or sentence from one language to Nepali, or from Nepali to another language.

For example, when you type "Nepal is the birthplace of Lord Buddha." in English, it will be translated as "नेपाल भगवान बुद्धको जन्मस्थल हो।".

What is Nepali Unicode?

Nepali Unicode is a standardised system where each Nepali character — including letters, digits, and symbols — is assigned a unique numeric value.

You can view the complete set of Nepali Unicode character code charts on the official Unicode Consortium website

What is phonetic typing in Nepali?

Phonetic typing lets you write Nepali using familiar English letters based on pronunciation.

You don't need to memorise any special Nepali keyboard — just type how words sound and they convert to proper Devanagari script.

For instance, typing "dhanyabad" in English letters automatically becomes "धन्यबाद" in Nepali.

Are phonetic typing and transliteration different?

They work together but serve different purposes.

Phonetic typing is your input method — typing Nepali words using English letters based on sound.
Transliteration is the conversion process that transforms those English letters into authentic Nepali Devanagari script.

For instance, typing "Namaskar" in English letters is phonetic typing. The tool then applies transliteration, converting it into Nepali script as "नमस्कार".

Does Easy Nepali Typing use phonetic input or transliteration?

It combines both approaches — you provide phonetic input using familiar English letters, and our transliteration engine converts it into proper Nepali script in real-time.

Do I need to learn the Nepali keyboard layout to type in Nepali?

Not at all! You can stick with your familiar English keyboard and simply type based on how Nepali words sound to you.

This approach makes Nepali writing accessible to anyone comfortable with standard keyboards.

What if I make spelling mistakes in English?

No need to worry! Our system understands variations. Whether you type "namaste," "namaskar," or "namasty," it will recognise you probably want "नमस्ते" and suggest the correct Nepali spelling.

How can I find alternative Nepali words?

Whilst typing, simply press backspace or click on any word to reveal a list of alternative Nepali options.

This feature helps you pick the most appropriate word for your context.

What if I don't know the exact pronunciation of a Nepali word?

Don't worry! Our Nepali transliteration supports intelligent phonetic matching.

You can type your best guess of how a Nepali word sounds in English letters, and our tool will find the closest matching Nepali word for you.

For example, even if you type "danyavad" or "dhanyavad", our system will understand you probably mean "धन्यबाद" (thank you).

References:

[1] Central Bureau of Statistics, Nepal. "Language in Nepal - National Population and Housing Census 2021". Retrieved from https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results/files/result-folder/Language in Nepal.pdf(URL no longer accessible)
[2] Turner, R. L. "A Comparative and Etymological Dictionary of the Nepali Language". Digital South Asia Library, University of Chicago. Retrieved from https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/turner /frontmatter/introduction.html
[3] Unicode Consortium. "Devanagari Range: 0900–097F". Retrieved from https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0900.pdf
[4] Unicode Consortium. "Nepali Font Standards". Retrieved from https://www.unicode.org/L2/L1999/99235.pdf
[5] Michaelovsky, B. & Everson, M. "Proposal to Encode the Limbu Script in the BMP of the UCS". Unicode Consortium, 2001. Retrieved from https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2001/01137-SIRJ_IN7.pdf
[6] Everson, M. "Introduction to the Lepcha Script". Unicode Consortium, 2003. Retrieved from https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2003/03259-intro-lepcha.pdf
[7] Nepal Bhasa Movement. Wikipedia article documenting language suppression during the Panchayat era (1960-1990) and restoration of linguistic rights post-1990.
[8] Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. "Constitutional Provisions Relating to Eighth Schedule". Retrieved from https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/ Eighth_Schedule.pdf
[9] Joshi, Nisheeth and Mathur, Iti. "Input Scheme for Hindi Using Phonetic Mapping". Apaji Institute, Banasthali University, Rajasthan (2012). Retrieved from https://arxiv.org/pdf/1209.1300
[10] sambhuWeb. "easytyping-google-input-tool". GitHub Repository. Retrieved from https://github.com/sambhuWeb/easytyping-google-input-tool
[11] sambhuWeb. "google-input-tool". GitHub Repository. Retrieved from https://github.com/sambhuWeb/google-input-tool
[12] Sanskrit-Coders. "indic_transliteration_py". GitHub Repository. Retrieved from https://github.com/indic-transliteration/indic_transliteration_py

Sambhu Raj Singh · LinkedIn · GitHub · Npm

Last Updated On: 18 March 2026

Advertisements Nepali alphabet chart with Nepali Vowels, Consonants & Numerals Download Preeti Nepali keyboard and start typing in Nepali online. Advertisements Convert Preeti font into Nepali Unicode and use it anywhere on Web. Use online software to automatically convert roman English into Unicode Nepali. Nepali Currency Exchange Translate English word, sentence and phrase into Nepali for FREE Translate Nepali word, sentence and phrase into English for FREE Learn Nepali Phrases in English in Nepali (नेपाली) Welcome swagatam स्वागतम् Hello Namaste नमस्ते Thank you Dhanyabaad धन्यवाद Yes Hajur or Ho हजुर or हो No Chaina or Haina छैन or हैन Maybe Saayad शायद Excuse me Maaph garnus माफ गनुस् Sorry Maaph garnus माफ गनुस् Stop Roknuhos रोक्नुहोस् Help! Sahayao garnus सहयोग गर्नुस् Get well soon Chadai niko hunuhos चाँडै निको हुनुहोस् I love you Ma tapainlai maya garchu म तपाइलाइ माया गर्छु। Type in English, Get In Hindi. E.g. Typing Aap kaise hain becomes आप कैसे है Also Type In … You Might Also Like …

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