Tamil99 Keyboard (Tamil Keyboard 99)

Tamil99 is the Tamil keyboard layout standardised by the Government of Tamil Nadu after the Tamilnet 99 conference in 1999. Vowels sit under the left hand, consonants under the right, and the keyboard joins letters for you: a consonant followed by a vowel becomes one letter, and a doubled consonant gets its pulli automatically.

No. This page reads which physical key you press, so your computer can stay on English. The text is standard Unicode Tamil that you can copy into Word, Google Docs, Gmail or WhatsApp. To type Tamil99 inside other programs, add a Tamil99 keyboard in your operating system settings or install an input tool such as Keyman.

Press F after the consonant: H F gives க். You often do not need it, because a doubled consonant (க்க) and the soft and hard pairs (ங்க, ஞ்ச, ண்ட, ந்த, ம்ப, ன்ற) get the pulli automatically. Check the resulting word in the editor before copying it.

They are on Shift: Shift F is ஃ, Shift Q ஸ, Shift W ஷ, Shift E ஜ, Shift R ஹ, Shift T ஸ்ரீ and Shift Y க்ஷ. The chart above shows the Shift letter in the top corner of each key.

That is rule 5 of the standard. After the keyboard adds a pulli by itself, it skips the automatic pulli for one key, so three க keys give க்கக and four give க்கக்க. To keep two letters apart without a pulli (கக), press A (அ) between them.

It depends on what you already know. Tamil99 has fewer keystrokes per word than the typewriter layout and needs no English spelling, so it suits people learning to touch type Tamil from scratch. If you trained on a typewriter, keep that layout. If you write Tanglish already, phonetic typing needs no practice at all.

On this page, yes: tap the keys in the chart. On a phone the chart shows one hand at a time so the keys stay large. Shift works for one key, then turns itself off. Use the hand selector to reach the other half of the chart, then tap the next key.

Tamil99 applies automatic pulli rules, so consecutive consonants can join even without pressing the pulli key. To keep two identical consonants separate on this tool, insert A between their keys. Practise that sequence in a short word first. The chart shows key positions, while the text box shows the result after the joining rules run.

Select English above the editor before typing the name, then select Tamil to resume Tamil99. With the editor focused, Ctrl + G also switches the input mode. Keep your operating system on English throughout. The page remembers its own input choice, so check the selected button if you return and see English letters.

No. This page applies Tamil99 rules to keys you press; pasting text inserts the text you copied. Use it to compose new Unicode Tamil, rather than to decode an old font document. For existing legacy text, open the Tamil Unicode converter and choose its actual source encoding. Keep a copy of the original paragraph for comparison.