Tamil Keyboard Online — Free Tamil Virtual Keyboard

Tamil's script has 247 characters formed from 12 vowels and 18 consonants — plus grantha letters for Sanskrit-origin words. That sounds daunting, but phonetic transliteration makes it manageable. You type how Tamil sounds in English, and the tool does the rest.

Fastest Way to Start

1. Open TranslitHub
2. Select Tamil
3. Type: vanakkam → வணக்கம்
4. Copy and paste wherever you need it

No installation, no keyboard layout to memorize.

Tamil Keyboard Layouts

Phonetic / Transliteration

Type English letters based on Tamil pronunciation. Most intuitive for people who know Tamil but type in English daily.

Tamil99

The official keyboard layout standardized by the Tamil Nadu government in 1999. Designed specifically for Tamil's character structure — more efficient than adapting a QWERTY layout. Used in government offices and typing exams.

Anjal Layout

Popular phonetic layout that maps English letters to Tamil characters. Used by the Anjal keyboard software. Similar concept to transliteration but with a fixed key mapping.

Bamini Layout

Legacy Tamil keyboard layout used widely in Sri Lanka and by the Tamil diaspora. Non-Unicode — similar to Kruti Dev for Hindi, it uses font-level character mapping.

InScript

India's standardized layout. Same physical key positions across all Indian languages. Less popular for Tamil specifically because Tamil99 is more efficient for the Tamil character set.

Tamil Character Reference

Vowels (உயிர் எழுத்துக்கள்)

Input	Tamil	Name
a	அ	a
aa / A	ஆ	aa
i	இ	i
ii / I	ஈ	ee
u	உ	u
uu / U	ஊ	oo
e	எ	e
E	ஏ	ee
ai	ஐ	ai
o	ஒ	o
O	ஓ	oo
au	ஔ	au

Consonants (மெய் எழுத்துக்கள்)

Tamil consonants are classified into three groups:

Vallinam (வல்லினம் — Hard):

Input	Tamil	Name
ka	க	ka
cha	ச	cha
Ta	ட	Ta
tha	த	tha
pa	ப	pa
Ra	ற	Ra

Mellinam (மெல்லினம் — Soft/Nasal):

Input	Tamil	Name
nga	ங	nga
nya	ஞ	nya
Na	ண	Na
na	ந	na
ma	ம	ma
na (alveolar)	ன	na

Idaiyinam (இடையினம் — Medium):

Input	Tamil	Name
ya	ய	ya
ra	ர	ra
la	ல	la
va	வ	va
zha	ழ	zha
La	ள	La

The Special Tamil Sounds

ழ (zha): Tamil's most famous unique sound — a retroflex approximant. No other major language has this sound. Type zha: tamizh → தமிழ். ற (Ra) vs ர (ra): ற is the alveolar trill (stronger "r"), ர is the alveolar tap (lighter "r"). Type Ra for ற, ra for ர. ள (La) vs ல (la): ள is retroflex lateral, ல is alveolar lateral. Type La for ள, la for ல. ன (na) vs ந (na): ன is alveolar, ந is dental. Both are "na" sounds but subtly different. Transliteration tools usually figure out which one from context.

Grantha Letters (கிரந்த எழுத்துக்கள்)

For Sanskrit and English loanwords:

Input	Tamil	Used In
ja	ஜ	ஜனநாயகம் (jananayakam = democracy)
sha	ஷ	விஷயம் (vishayam = matter)
sa	ஸ	ஸ்ரீ (sri)
ha	ஹ	மஹா (maha = great)
ksha	க்ஷ	க்ஷேத்திரம் (kshettiram)

Aytham (ஃ)

The aytham is a unique Tamil character — it appears in only a few words but is historically significant. Type aH or q: ஃ.

Typing Compound Characters

Tamil's 247 characters are combinations of vowels and consonants. In transliteration, you type the syllable naturally:

Type	Tamil	Breakdown
ka	க	consonant only
kaa	கா	க + ா matra
ki	கி	க + ி matra
kii	கீ	க + ீ matra
ku	கு	க + ு matra
kuu	கூ	க + ூ matra
ke	கெ	க + ெ matra
kE	கே	க + ே matra
kai	கை	க + ை matra
ko	கொ	க + ொ matra
kO	கோ	க + ோ matra
kau	கௌ	க + ௌ matra

The tool generates the correct Unicode combination automatically.

Common Tamil Phrases

Type	Tamil	Meaning
vanakkam	வணக்கம்	Hello
nandri	நன்றி	Thank you
eppaDi irukkiiinga?	எப்படி இருக்கீங்க?	How are you?
naan nallaa irukken	நான் நல்லா இருக்கேன்	I am well
Tamil theriyuma?	தமிழ் தெரியுமா?	Do you know Tamil?
konjam theriyum	கொஞ்சம் தெரியும்	I know a little
Chennai	சென்னை	Chennai

Tamil Nadu Government Portal Terms

English	Tamil	Input
Application	விண்ணப்பம்	viNNappam
Certificate	சான்றிதழ்	saanRidhazh
Revenue	வருவாய்	varuvaay
District	மாவட்டம்	maavaTTam
Taluk	வட்டம்	vaTTam
Village	கிராமம்	kiraamam

Which Layout to Learn?

If You Are...	Use...
Typing Tamil occasionally	Phonetic transliteration (TranslitHub)
A Tamil Nadu govt employee	Tamil99
From Sri Lanka	Bamini (for legacy) or phonetic (for Unicode)
Preparing for typing exam	Tamil99 or InScript (check exam requirement)
A developer adding Tamil support	Unicode with phonetic input

For the vast majority of people, phonetic transliteration is the right choice. Tamil99 is worth learning only if you type Tamil professionally and want the higher speed ceiling that a dedicated layout provides.