10 Common Nepali Typing Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Romanized typing is the easiest way to write Nepali, but a few small habits cause most spelling errors. Here are the ten mistakes we see most often, what they produce and how to fix them. Every example was tested in the Nepali typing tool.

1. Using a short vowel where a long one is needed

Nepali has short and long versions of i and u. A single letter gives the short one.

Fix: double the vowel for the long sound: aa, ii, uu.

2. A capital letter at the start of a sentence

Capitals give different letters. Your phone may capitalise the first word automatically.

Fix: turn off auto-capitalisation for the text box, or retype the first letter in lowercase. Remember sharmaa for शर्मा.

3. श, ष and स mixed up

Three letters make an "s" sound. Choose the right key:

• s gives स
• sh gives श
• Sh gives ष

raashTra gives राश्ट्र, but the correct word राष्ट्र needs raaShTra. Likewise shreShTha gives श्रेष्ठ.

4. त and ट (or द and ड) mixed up

Lowercase t, th, d, dh and n give त, थ, द, ध and न. Capitals give ट, ठ, ड, ढ and ण. Tikaa is टिका, and ThuuLo is ठूलो.

5. Unwanted joined letters

Two consonants side by side always join. That's usually what you want, but sometimes there's a vowel you didn't type.

kaThmaaDauM gives कठ्माडौं, because Th and m joined. Type the hidden "a": kaaThamaaDauM gives काठमाडौं.

6. Forgetting the halant at the end of a word

A word that ends in a consonant keeps its normal shape: hos gives होस. When the word really ends in halant, add a backslash.

7. "n" before a consonant when you meant ं

sanchaar gives सन्चार. If you want the anusvara form, type a capital M: saMchaar gives संचार. Both spellings are used in Nepali, so choose the one your school or office prefers.

The same goes for ङ: gurung gives गुरुन्ग, while guruNG gives गुरुङ.

8. Missing the chandrabindu (ँ)

Words like हुँ, कहाँ and नयाँ need the chandrabindu. Type ^ after the vowel:

• hu^ gives हुँ
• kahaa^ gives कहाँ
• nayaa^ gives नयाँ

9. व and ब in "barsha"

Many people write बर्ष, but the standard spelling is वर्ष. barSha gives बर्ष, while varSha gives वर्ष. Use w or v for व and b for ब.

10. Copying Preeti text into a website

Text typed in the Preeti font looks fine in Word but becomes gibberish like g]kfn ;/sf/ on Facebook or a website. That isn't a typing mistake; it's a font problem. Paste the text into the Preeti to Unicode converter and copy the Unicode result instead. Preeti vs Unicode explains why this happens.

Bonus: Preeti habits that trip people up

If you learned to type in Preeti at work, three habits cause trouble when you switch to a Unicode keyboard:

1. The ि comes after the letter in Unicode. In Preeti you press l first and then the letter (lk|o for प्रिय). On a Unicode keyboard you type the letter first and the ि sign after it. With the Romanized tool you never have to think about this: priya gives प्रिय.
2. Reph (र्) is typed first in Unicode. In Preeti, { comes after its syllable (sd{ for कर्म). In Unicode, र् comes before the letter it sits on. Romanized typing handles it naturally: karma gives कर्म.
3. Number keys are letters in Preeti. In Preeti, 5 types छ and Shift + 5 types ५. If a converted document shows letters where you expected numbers, the original was typed with the wrong keys.

If you'd rather keep your Preeti muscle memory, choose Preeti in step 1 of the typing tool. You type the same keys you always have, and the result is Unicode.

A quick checklist before you send

• Long vowels doubled? (ii, aa, uu)
• First letter in lowercase?
• Right "s" letter: स, श or ष?
• Halant added with \ where the word needs it?
• Chandrabindu added with ^?

For the full list of keys, keep the Romanized Nepali typing guide open in another tab while you type.