Urdu Keyboard Online

Each Urdu letter sits on the English key with the same sound, so there is little to memorise: a ا, b ب, p پ, t ت, j ج, d د, r ر, s س, f ف, k ک, g گ, l ل, m م, n ن. The other member of a sound pair is on Shift — Shift+T ٹ, Shift+D ڈ, Shift+R ڑ, Shift+N ں, Shift+S ص, Shift+K خ, Shift+G غ — and o gives ہ, Shift+H the do-chashmi ھ for aspirated sounds (ب + ھ = بھ), y ے, i ی. The layout on this page is version 1.1 of the phonetic keyboard from CRULP, the Center for Research in Urdu Language Processing in Lahore, which is also the “Urdu (Pakistan, CRULP)” keyboard on Linux.

It is a best guess, because Roman Urdu has no fixed spelling and Urdu script does not write short vowels. About 200 everyday words and spelling variants — hai, nahin, kya, mohabbat, shukriya, Pakistan — come from a word list and are spelled correctly. Other words are converted letter by letter: short a, i and u disappear inside a word, aa, ee and oo become ا ی و, and a word-final e becomes ے. Letters that sound alike cannot be told apart from Roman spelling, so s is always س and z is always ز; use capitals for the pair (S ص, Z ض, H ح, T ٹ, D ڈ, R ڑ, N ں), type ' for ع, and tap ث ذ ط ظ on the keyboard. Always read the result before you send it.

Windows 11: Settings → Time & language → Language & region → Add a language → Urdu; the Urdu keyboard it installs is Microsoft’s own layout, which differs from the CRULP phonetic layout on this page. Switch with Windows key + Space. Mac: System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit → + → Urdu, and switch with Control + Space or the Globe key. Android: in Gboard open Settings → Languages → Add keyboard → Urdu. iPhone and iPad: Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Urdu, then switch with the globe key. On Linux, add the “Urdu (Pakistan, CRULP)” layout in your keyboard settings to get exactly the layout shown here.

Urdu is written right to left, so the text box is set to right-to-left: new letters appear on the left, the line starts at the right edge, and the Right arrow key moves the cursor back towards the start of the line. English words and numbers inside an Urdu sentence are still written left to right, which is why the cursor can jump when it crosses from one direction to the other — that is normal behaviour for mixed text, not an error, and the text is stored in the order you typed it.

Nastaliq is the flowing, sloping style that newspapers, books and signs in Pakistan use, and most Urdu readers expect it. Naskh is the upright style used for Arabic; it takes less vertical space and is easier to read at small sizes. The choice only changes how the text looks on this page — the letters are the same Unicode characters, so the text you copy shows in whatever font the other app uses. This page loads Noto Nastaliq Urdu and Noto Naskh Arabic, so it looks right even when no Urdu font is installed.

Type the letter first, then the mark: tap it in the aerab row above the keyboard, or use Shift on the phonetic layout — Shift+Y zabar َ, Shift+I zer ِ, Shift+P pesh ُ, Shift+Q jazm ْ, Shift+W tashdeed ّ, Shift+E khari zabar ٰ. Everyday Urdu is written without them; they are used in teaching material, poetry and religious text. Remove diacritics strips every mark from the text in one click.