How to Type in Nepali: Nepali Unicode Romanized Typing on Laptop, Phone and MS Word

Only have an English keyboard but want to write नमस्ते? You don't need a Nepali keyboard or a new layout to learn. Nepali Unicode Romanized typing (also called romanized Nepali Unicode) lets you spell words the way they sound in English letters, and they come out as proper Nepali Unicode. This guide covers the typing rules first, then how to type in Nepali on a phone, a laptop, MS Word and Google Docs.

To try it right now, open the free English to Nepali typing tool and type mero naam. You'll see मेरो नाम.

#Nepali Unicode Romanized typing rules

A handful of rules covers almost everything.

#1. Long vowels: double the letter (or use a capital)

#2. Capital letters for the "hard" sounds

Lower-case t d n give त द न; capital T D N give ट ड ण. Likewise sh is श and Sh is ष. So TikaT → टिकट, and bhaaShaa → भाषा.

#3. Consonants join on their own

Put two consonants next to each other and they form a conjunct: namaste → नमस्ते, prashna → प्रश्न, shree → श्री. A consonant at the end of a word keeps its normal sound, so naam gives नाम. Add a backslash when you want a halanta at the end: garchhan\ → गर्छन्.

#4. Special signs

The typing tool has the full cheat sheet, and its smart spelling option fixes everyday words typed casually, such as nepal → नेपाल and dhanyabad → धन्यवाद.

#Practice sentences

Type these into the tool:

1. mero desh nepal ho. → मेरो देश नेपाल हो।
2. tapaai*lai dashain ko shubhakaamanaa! → तपाइँलाई दशैं को शुभकामना!
3. ma bholi kaaThamaaDauM jaanchhu. → म भोलि काठमाडौं जान्छु।

Once long vowels and capital letters become second nature, you'll type Nepali about as fast as English.

#How to type in Nepali on your phone (Android and iPhone)

Android (Gboard): in Gboard settings, go to Languages → Add keyboard, search for Nepali, and pick the option that lets you type with English letters (transliteration). The globe key switches between keyboards.

iPhone: go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Nepali. Apple's Nepali keyboard uses a Devanagari layout, where you tap Nepali letters directly. To type with English letters instead, use a third-party keyboard with transliteration, or type in the online tool and copy the result.

#How to type in Nepali on a laptop or computer

Quickest, nothing to install: type in the online typing tool, then copy and paste into any app.

Windows 11 (add a Nepali keyboard):

1. Open Start → Settings → Time & language → Language & region.
2. Choose Add a language, search for Nepali and install it.
3. Switch between English and Nepali with Windows key + Spacebar, or the language icon on the taskbar (Microsoft Support).

The Nepali keyboard built into Windows has a Devanagari layout, with a Nepali letter on each key, not Romanized typing. To type with English letters every day, install the Nepali Unicode Romanized keyboard (below) or keep using the online tool. If you learned on the Preeti layout, the Nepali keyboard tool keeps the same keys and gives you Unicode.

Mac: go to System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit, click + to add a Nepali input source, and switch with the input menu in the menu bar.

#Nepali Unicode Romanized download for Windows

The Nepali Unicode Romanized keyboard comes from Language Technology Kendra (LTK), a joint project of Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya, Tribhuvan University and Kathmandu University. Get it from LTK's official page, ltk.org.np/downloads.php, not from download sites that repackage it.

1. On LTK's downloads page, click Nepali Unicode Romanized to get nepali_romanised.zip.
2. Right-click the ZIP and choose Extract All.
3. Open the extracted folder and run setup.exe. The ZIP contains both 64-bit and 32-bit installers.
4. Switch between English and Nepali with Windows key + Spacebar, or the language icon on the taskbar (Microsoft Support). LTK's own notes mention Alt + Shift.

Worth knowing before you install:

• The installer dates from 2011 and was built with Microsoft's Keyboard Layout Creator. LTK's install notes were written for Windows XP, and the page doesn't say whether it supports Windows 10 or 11.
• Mac: the same LTK page has Nepali Romanized for Mac. Its instructions say to copy the files into Library/Keyboard Layouts, log out, then add the layout under your Mac's keyboard Input Sources.
• No install: the online typing tool works on the same Romanized idea in any browser.

#How to type in Nepali in MS Word

Word simply types whatever your keyboard sends, so:

1. Add a Nepali keyboard as shown above, or type in the online tool and paste into Word.
2. Choose a Unicode font such as Nirmala UI, Kalimati or Mangal, never Preeti: text typed in Preeti turns into English letters on any computer without that font.
3. Got an old document in Preeti? Copy its text into the Preeti to Unicode converter, paste the result back and pick a Unicode font, rather than retyping it.

#How to type in Nepali in Google Docs

Google Docs has Nepali typing built in, with nothing to install:

1. In your document, go to File → Language and choose नेपाली (Nepali).
2. An Input tools menu appears in the toolbar. Choose the Nepali option that lets you type Nepali words with English letters (phonetic input).
3. Type namaste and pick नमस्ते from the suggestions. Ctrl + Alt + Shift + K (on a Mac, ⌘ + Option + Shift + K) turns input tools on and off (Google Docs Help).

#Nepali Unicode Romanized vs Traditional keyboard

The two common Nepali Unicode keyboard layouts both produce the same Unicode text:

• Romanized (Nepali romanized keyboard): keys follow the English sound, so k gives क and m gives म. It's the easiest if you already type in English, and it's what the rules above and our typing tool use.
• Traditional: the old typewriter-style layout, with a fixed Nepali letter on each key that doesn't match its English sound. Fast for people trained on it, slow to learn from scratch. The Nepali keyboard built into Windows is a Devanagari layout of this kind.

Learned on Preeti? The Nepali keyboard tool uses the Nepali Unicode Traditional layout, which keeps most Preeti key positions and gives you Unicode.

#Use a Unicode font

Type in a Unicode font such as Nirmala UI (already on Windows 10 and 11), Kalimati or Mangal, not Preeti, which breaks on any device without the font. The Preeti to Unicode converter changes old Preeti text into Unicode, and our Nepali font download guide lists safe downloads of Kalimati, Preeti, Kokila and other fonts.

#Frequently asked questions

Related tools: English to Nepali typing · Nepali keyboard · Nepali date converter