The Ultimate Nepali Typing Shortcut Keys Cheat Sheet (Alt Codes)
Why Do We Need Shortcut Keys?
Typing in Nepali, whether using traditional layouts like Preeti or standard Unicode phonetic layouts, often requires generating complex conjunct characters (Samyukta Akshar). Sometimes, standard keystrokes aren't enough to render specific typographical symbols or half-letters. This is where Alt Codes and shortcut keys come in handy.
Common Preeti Alt Codes
If you are typing in Adobe PageMaker or older word processors using the Preeti layout, you will frequently need these numeric shortcuts. To use them, hold down the Alt key on your keyboard and type the numbers on your numeric keypad.
- Alt + 0161 =
¡(Used for half 'ka') - Alt + 0216 =
Ø(Used for 'kra' - क्र) - Alt + 0170 =
ª(Used for 'nga' with a dot) - Alt + 0167 =
§(Used for half 'ta') - Alt + 0183 =
·(Used for a middle dot)
Unicode Typing Shortcuts
When typing in Nepali Unicode (such as Traditional or Romanized layouts), you rarely need Alt codes because Unicode supports native character combining. Instead, you use the Halant (्) to connect characters.
- To type क्र (Kra): Type
क+्+र - To type श्र (Shra): Type
श+्+र - To type क्ष (Ksha): Type
क+्+ष - To type त्र (Tra): Type
त+्+र - To type ज्ञ (Gya): Type
ज+्+ञ
If you find manual typing difficult, you can always use our English to Nepali Typing tool, which automatically handles all these complex conjuncts phonetically!
Written by Rajesh Tarar
Rajesh Tarar is a software localization engineer specializing in Devanagari Unicode standards. He leads the editorial team at NepaliLanguageTools.com. Learn more on our About Us page.