How to type Gurmukhi on any keyboard

Unicode keyboards produce real Gurmukhi characters that work in any app: WhatsApp, Instagram, email, Google Docs and websites. Windows, macOS, iOS and Android each include a Punjabi keyboard. Add it from your keyboard or language settings, then switch to it like any other language. The layouts differ between systems, and phonetic layouts (where k gives ਕ) are the easiest to learn.

Gurbani Akhar fonts work the other way round. You type ordinary English letters and the font draws them as Gurmukhi. This is how most Sikh software, gutka files and design work have been produced for decades, and it is the encoding used by all Tat Khalsa fonts. The text only looks right while a Gurbani Akhar font is applied; see Gurbani Akhar vs Unicode.

If you want the convenience of typing in English letters but need Unicode output, the Tat Khalsa Gurmukhi Keyboard does both: type phonetically or tap on-screen keys, then copy as Unicode or as Gurbani Akhar.

Lower-case keys give the first letter of a pair and Shift gives its aspirated partner, so k is ਕ and K is ਖ. The table follows the order of the Painti.

Two letters sit on unusual keys: ਙ is the pipe | (Shift + backslash) and ਞ is the backslash \ itself.

Gurbani Akhar is typed in visual order, not spoken order. Sihari appears to the left of its letter, so you press i first: siq gives ਸਤਿ and inrBau gives ਨਿਰਭਉ. Every other sign is typed after the letter it belongs to: nwmu gives ਨਾਮੁ. Unicode keyboards use spoken order, so the same word is typed ਸ, ਤ, ਿ.

A few Gurbani Akhar characters live on accented Latin letters that are not printed on an English keyboard. On Windows, hold Alt and type the four digits on the numeric keypad (Num Lock on), then release. On a Mac with the US layout, hold ⌥ Option and press the key shown; where two keys are listed, the first is a dead key, so press it, release, then press the second.

If you do not have a numeric keypad, use the Character Map instead: click any character to copy it, and the shortcut for each one is listed on its card.

Try these in a Gurbani Akhar font. Each shows the keys first, then the result.