How to Type Hindi in Microsoft Word — 3 Easy Methods
Step-by-step guide to typing Hindi in Microsoft Word using Windows language settings, Google Input Tools, and online transliteration — no special keyboard needed.
Microsoft Word is where most people need Hindi the most — job applications, government letters, school assignments, business documents. And yet, getting Devanagari text to appear correctly in Word is something that trips up a lot of people the first time around.
The good news: once you set it up, it works flawlessly. Here are three methods that actually work, from the most reliable to the most convenient.
Method 1: Windows Language Settings (Built-in, No Downloads)
This is the cleanest approach. You're telling Windows itself to support Hindi input, and every application — including Word — benefits automatically.
Step 1: Add Hindi as an Input Language
Open Settings (Win + I), then go to Time & Language → Language & Region.
Click Add a language, type "Hindi" in the search box, and select Hindi (India). Click Next, then Install.
Windows will download a small language pack. Once done, you'll see a language indicator in your taskbar (usually shows "ENG" near the clock).
Step 2: Choose the Right Keyboard Layout
After installing, click the three dots next to Hindi (India) and select Language options. Under Keyboards, you'll see options like:
- Devanagari - INSCRIPT — standard government-approved layout, most keyboards follow this
- Microsoft Phonetic — type Roman letters, get Devanagari (e.g., "namaste" → नमस्ते)
- Hindi Traditional — for people familiar with older typewriter layouts
Step 3: Switch Layouts in Word
Once installed, switching is as simple as Windows key + Spacebar. Press it once to toggle to Hindi, press again to go back to English.
You'll see the language indicator in the taskbar change from "ENG" to "HIN". Open Word, start a new document, and start typing. Your keystrokes will now produce Devanagari characters.
Screenshot description: The Windows taskbar showing the language switcher with "HIN" selected, next to the clock. In the background, a Word document shows Hindi text in the body.Step 4: Pick the Right Font
Not all fonts support Devanagari. If your Hindi text appears as boxes or garbled characters, change the font to one of these:
- Mangal — the most widely used Hindi font, standard in government documents
- Kokila — elegant, good for formal documents
- Nirmala UI — clean and modern, works well in body text
- Kruti Dev — if you're working with older documents that already use this font
Method 2: Google Input Tools for Windows
Google's Input Tools extension isn't just for Chrome — there's a standalone Windows application that integrates with any program, including Word.
Download and Install
Go to Google Input Tools and download the Windows installer. During setup, select Hindi as your language. You can also add multiple languages at once — useful if you work in Gujarati, Marathi, or Tamil too.
After installation, Google Input Tools adds itself to your system tray. You'll see a small keyboard icon near the clock.
How It Works in Word
Open Word, click in your document, then click the Google Input Tools icon in the system tray and select Hindi. As you type in Roman script, a small suggestion box appears showing Devanagari options.
For example, typing "dilli" shows a dropdown with दिल्ली. Press Enter to accept, or use the number keys (1, 2, 3...) to pick a different suggestion.
The phonetic matching is quite smart — "bharat" gives you भारत, "namaskar" gives you नमस्कार. It handles common words, names, and places well.
Switching Back
Click the Input Tools icon again and select English. Or you can set a keyboard shortcut within the Input Tools settings — typically Ctrl+Shift+B to toggle.
Screenshot description: The Google Input Tools suggestion popup appearing over a Word document, showing three Devanagari options for the typed Roman string "namaste."Method 3: Type Online, Paste into Word
This method requires zero setup on your computer. It's ideal for occasional use or when you're working on someone else's machine.
Using TranslitHub
Go to transliterate.in and select Hindi as your output language. Type your content in Roman script in the left panel. The right panel shows the Devanagari output in real time.
Once you've typed everything you need, select all the text on the right side (Ctrl+A within that panel), copy it (Ctrl+C), then switch to Word and paste (Ctrl+V).
The text comes in as Unicode Devanagari, which Word handles natively. You might need to set the font to Mangal or Nirmala UI if it defaults to something that doesn't render correctly.
What makes this approach useful:- No language pack installation needed
- Works on company computers where you can't install software
- The transliteration engine handles complex conjuncts and matras correctly
- You can transliterate in bulk — paste several paragraphs at once
Formatting Hindi Text in Word
Once your Hindi text is in Word, a few formatting adjustments make it look professional:
Right-to-Left Considerations
Hindi is written left-to-right, so this isn't an issue like it would be for Arabic or Urdu. But Word might sometimes misdetect the paragraph direction. If your Hindi text aligns strangely, select the paragraph, go to Home → Paragraph, and make sure the text direction is set to left-to-right.
Line Spacing for Devanagari
Devanagari script has a horizontal line (shirorekha) across the top of characters that connects them. At tight line spacing, the characters from one line can crowd into the characters below. Set line spacing to 1.15 or 1.5 for comfortable reading.
Go to Home → Line Spacing → Line Spacing Options and set "At least" to 14pt or "Multiple" to 1.15.
Spell Check
Word does have a Hindi spell checker, but it's only available if you installed the Hindi proofing tools. To enable: go to Review → Language → Set Proofing Language, select Hindi (India), and uncheck "Do not check spelling or grammar."
If the spell checker isn't available, don't worry — you can still type perfectly correct Hindi, you just won't get the red underlines for typos.
Keyboard Shortcuts Worth Knowing
Once you have Hindi input set up via Windows Language Settings:
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Toggle Hindi/English | Win + Spacebar |
| Toggle previous/next language | Ctrl + Shift (in some setups) |
| Bold selected Hindi text | Ctrl + B |
| Find and replace Hindi text | Ctrl + H |
| Save document | Ctrl + S |
Saving and Sharing Hindi Documents
When saving, Word's default .docx format preserves Unicode text perfectly. The recipient can open the file on any modern system and read the Hindi text — no special fonts needed if you stick with Nirmala UI or Mangal, as these ship with Windows.
If you need to send to someone with an older system, save as PDF (File → Save As → PDF). PDFs embed the font, so the Hindi text looks identical on every device. This is especially important for government forms and official letters.
For older Word formats (.doc), Unicode support is present but the font embedding is less reliable. Stick with .docx whenever possible.
Common Problems and Fixes
Hindi text appears as small boxes: The font doesn't support Devanagari. Select the text and change the font to Mangal or Nirmala UI. Typing in Hindi but getting wrong characters: You have the INSCRIPT layout but your fingers are used to phonetic. Switch to Microsoft Phonetic in the keyboard settings, or use the transliteration approach via TranslitHub. Can't find the language switcher: Look in the taskbar near the system clock. If it's hidden, right-click the taskbar → Taskbar settings → scroll down to find notification area settings. Matras are appearing in wrong positions: This is occasionally a rendering issue with older versions of Word. Update Office to the latest version via File → Account → Update Options → Update Now. Half-letters not forming correctly: With the phonetic layout, half-letters (halant) are formed by typing the consonant, then pressing the special halant key (often~ or a dedicated key depending on the layout). Check the keyboard layout chart for your specific setup.
Typing Hindi in Word gets easier after the first few documents. Most people settle on one method — either the Windows language switcher for daily use, or the TranslitHub paste method when they're on unfamiliar machines. The key is getting comfortable with whichever input method fits your workflow, and then the actual typing becomes second nature.