Tamil keyboard

Lore & Background

The Tamil keyboard layout approved by the Government of Tamil Nadu is Tamil 99. Designed for use with a normal QWERTY keyboard, typing follows a consonant-vowel pattern. The arrangement of the characters allow for fast and simple typing for users familiar with the script. The layout, along with several monolingual and bilingual fonts for use with the Tamil language, was approved by Government order on 13 June 1999.

The InScript keyboard is the keyboard layout standardized by the Government of India for inputting text in the languages of India written in Brahmic scripts. It is a touch typing keyboard layout for computer. This is the standard keyboard for 12 Indian scripts including Bengali, Devanagari, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Tamil and Telugu etc. It was developed by Indian Government and supported by several public and private organisations.

There are different systems developed to type Tamil language characters using a typewriter or a computer keyboard. Phonetic computer layouts include Google transliteration, Google Input Method Editors (Google IME), and transliteration provided by Azhagi software.

Reader's Guide

The Tamil keyboard is notable for its dual official layouts: Tamil 99, approved by the Government of Tamil Nadu, and InScript, standardized by the Government of India for Brahmic scripts. Tamil 99 was designed for fast and simple typing on a standard QWERTY keyboard, following a consonant-vowel pattern. InScript serves as a touch typing layout for multiple Indian scripts, including Tamil. The availability of phonetic input methods such as Google transliteration and Azhagi software provides alternative ways to type Tamil. The digraphic nature of many Tamil keyboards, combining Tamil script with the Latin alphabet, reflects practical use in bilingual contexts. These layouts and input methods together support the digital use of the Tamil language across computers and mobile devices.