Write Urdu right-to-left in the beautiful Nastaliq style. Use the phonetic keyboard, where Urdu letters sit on similar-sounding English keys, or type Roman Urdu and let the page convert it as you type.
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Phonetic typing cheat sheet
Type Latin letters with your keyboard and they turn into Urdu as you type. Backspace removes the last Latin letter of the word.
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How to use the Urdu Keyboard
Choose a layout: Phonetic layout or Roman Urdu typing.
Type with your keyboard (keep “Type with my physical keyboard” ticked) or click the on-screen keys. Each key shows the Urdu character it types.
Hold Shift or press the on-screen ⇧ key for the second character on each key.
Use the quick characters below the keyboard for marks and symbols that are not on the main layout.
Copy the text and paste it anywhere, download it as a .txt file, or search Google for it directly.
About the Urdu keyboard
Urdu uses an extended Perso-Arabic alphabet of about 38 letters, written right to left. Letters join to their neighbours and change shape, short vowels are usually left out, and extra letters such as ٹ, ڈ, ڑ, ں and ے represent sounds that Arabic does not have.
Phonetic layout: Urdu phonetic layout: letters sit on similar-sounding English keys (ب on B, س on S, ک on K). Shift gives ٹ ڈ ڑ ں, آ, ص ض ظ ذ ث ژ and harakat.
Roman Urdu typing: Type Roman Urdu and it becomes Urdu script: salaam → سلام. Capitals T, D, R give ٹ ڈ ڑ and N gives ں.
Urdu letters and where to find them
All 51 Urdu (Perso-Arabic) characters on the main layout, with the key that types them and how to type them phonetically. “Shift+” means hold Shift (or press the on-screen ⇧ key first).
Letter
Unicode name
Key (Phonetic layout)
Phonetic typing
ء
hamza
U
—
آ
alef with madda above
Shift+A
aa, A
ئ
yeh with hamza above
Shift+U
—
ا
alef
A
a, aa, A, e, i, u
ب
beh
B
b
ت
teh
T
t
ث
theh
Shift+C
—
ج
jeem
J
j
ح
hah
Shift+H
—
خ
khah
Shift+K
kh, x
د
dal
D
d
ذ
thal
Shift+Z
—
ر
reh
R
r
ز
zain
Z
z
س
seen
S
s
ش
sheen
X
sh
ص
sad
Shift+S
—
ض
dad
Shift+J
—
ط
tah
V
—
ظ
zah
Shift+V
—
ع
ain
E
'
غ
ghain
Shift+G
gh
ف
feh
F
f
ق
qaf
Q
q
ل
lam
L
l
م
meem
M
m
ن
noon
N
n
و
waw
W
o, oo, v, w
◌ً
arabic fathatan
Shift+B
—
◌َ
arabic fatha
Shift+Y
—
◌ُ
arabic damma
Shift+P
—
◌ِ
arabic kasra
Shift+I
—
◌ّ
arabic shadda
Shift+W
—
◌ْ
arabic sukun
Shift+Q
—
◌ٔ
arabic hamza above
Shift+L
—
◌٘
arabic mark noon ghunna
Shift+M
—
◌ٰ
superscript alef
Shift+E
—
ٹ
tteh
Shift+T
T
پ
peh
P
p
چ
tcheh
C
ch
ڈ
ddal
Shift+D
D
ڑ
rreh
Shift+R
R
ژ
jeh
Shift+X
zh
ک
keheh
K
k
گ
gaf
G
g
ں
noon ghunna
Shift+N
N
ھ
heh doachashmee
H
—
ہ
heh goal
O
h
ۃ
teh marbuta goal
Shift+O
—
ی
farsi yeh
I
e, i, ee, y
ے
yeh barree
Y
e, ai
Tips for typing Urdu
Do-chashmi he (ھ) makes aspirates: type ب then ھ for بھ (bh), ک + ھ for کھ (kh).
Choti he vs gol he: ہ (H key) is the usual Urdu he; ھ only marks aspiration.
Zero-width non-joiner (Shift+F, shown as ZWNJ) keeps two letters from joining without adding a space.
Numbers: tick Urdu digits to type ۱۲۳ instead of 123.
Frequently asked questions
How can I type Urdu with an English keyboard?
Choose Roman Urdu typing and write the way you text in Roman Urdu: aap → آپ, shukriyah → شکریہ and kitaab → کتاب. Long vowels are written double (aa, ee, oo) because short vowels are usually not written in Urdu script.
What is the Urdu phonetic keyboard?
It places each Urdu letter on the English key with the most similar sound: ب on B, پ on P, ت on T, س on S and so on. Retroflex letters and variants are on Shift (ٹ Shift+T, ڈ Shift+D, ڑ Shift+R). Many Urdu speakers find it easier to learn than other layouts.
How do I type ں (noon ghunna) and ے (bari ye)?
On the phonetic layout ں is Shift+N and ے is Y. In Roman Urdu typing use capital N for ں and end a word with e or ai for ے, for example hai → ہے.
Why does my text look different from Arabic?
Urdu is normally written in Nastaliq, a flowing, slanted style, while Arabic usually uses Naskh. The letters share Unicode code points, so your text will show in whatever font the receiving app uses.
How do I add the Urdu ۔ full stop and ؟ question mark?
The Urdu full stop ۔ is on the period key and ؟ is Shift+/ on the phonetic layout. Both are also in the quick buttons.
Is my text private?
Yes. The keyboard runs entirely in your browser and nothing is uploaded. Your draft is saved only in this browser.