Set up a Hindi keyboard for typing practice

First, choose the right kind of keyboard

If your exam notice names a keyboard layout, practise on that layout. This matters more than choosing the easiest option today.

If the notice does not say, you will usually see one or more of these choices:

• INSCRIPT: every Hindi character has a fixed key position. It takes time to learn, but it is predictable once the positions become familiar.
• Phonetic or transliteration: you type a Hindi sound with English letters and choose the Hindi word. This is friendly for beginners, but it may not be the layout used on an examination computer.
• Phone keyboard: useful for learning words and matras, but it cannot copy the feel of a physical desktop keyboard.

Whichever layout you choose, stay with it for a while. Changing layouts every few days makes your fingers start from zero again.

Windows 11

1. Open Start → Settings → Time & language → Language & region.
2. Add Hindi if it is not already in the list.
3. Open Hindi language options and add the keyboard layout you want.
4. Use the language button on the taskbar to switch keyboards. The quick shortcut is Windows key + Spacebar.

If the Hindi phonetic keyboard appears but does not work yet, return to Hindi language options and check whether Basic typing is still downloading. Microsoft notes that its Indic phonetic dictionary can take a little time to install in the background.

Android with Gboard

1. Open any app where Gboard appears.
2. Open Gboard settings → Languages → Add keyboard.
3. Choose Hindi, select the layout you want, and tap Done.
4. When you need to change languages, touch and hold the spacebar.

This changes the typing keyboard, not the language of your whole phone.

iPhone or iPad

1. Open Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards.
2. Tap Add New Keyboard and choose Hindi.
3. While typing, touch and hold the globe key, then select the Hindi keyboard.

The available layout names can vary with the device and software version. If you see more than one Hindi option, open each one in Settings and choose deliberately instead of guessing during a timed test.

Do this one-minute check

Open Hindi practice and type these yourself. Do not copy and paste them.

1. हिन्दी भाषा
2. कर्मचारी प्रशिक्षण
3. सही गति और शुद्धता

Look closely at the matras, spaces and conjunct letters. If all three lines match, your keyboard is producing normal Unicode Hindi text and will work with TypeSarthi.

If something looks wrong

The keyboard still types in English

The Hindi keyboard may be installed but not selected. Use Windows key + Spacebar on Windows, hold the spacebar in Gboard, or hold the globe key on an iPhone or iPad.

The keys are not where you expected

You have probably selected a different Hindi layout. Go back to the keyboard settings and check whether you chose INSCRIPT, phonetic, transliteration, or another option. Do not try to solve this by changing layouts halfway through a test.

A word looks right, but TypeSarthi marks it wrong

Compare the word one character at a time. A missing matra, an extra space, or a different punctuation mark is enough to cause a mismatch. Delete the affected part and type it slowly again.

A pasted test shows a very high speed

That is not a typing score. TypeSarthi labels pasted sessions and leaves them out of comparable progress statistics.

A sensible first practice session

Spend two minutes typing Hindi words without worrying about speed. Then take a one-minute test and concentrate on matras and spaces. Once that feels comfortable, move to five minutes. Use a full 10-minute session only after you can keep the same layout without stopping to search for keys.

For an actual examination, the current official notice and venue instructions come first. They may specify a layout, font, software, duration or method of counting errors that differs from TypeSarthi.

Where these setup steps came from

Device instructions were checked on 20 September 2026 against Microsoft’s Windows keyboard guide, Microsoft’s Indic phonetic guide, Google’s Gboard help, and Apple’s keyboard guide.