Blog · Fonts and encoding

KrutiDev to Unicode: Why It Matters and How to Convert

By Piyush · Published

KrutiDev text is really English letters drawn as Hindi by a special font, so it turns into gibberish such as “Hkkjr” wherever that font is missing. To fix it, paste the text into a KrutiDev to Unicode converter and copy the result: Unicode Hindi works on every phone, website and app without any special font.

What is KrutiDev?

KrutiDev (Kruti Dev 010 and its family) is a Hindi font from the time before Unicode. It replaces the shapes of English letters with Devanagari shapes: the file stores d, but the font draws क. That works only on a computer that has the same font – send the text to someone else, paste it in WhatsApp or put it on a website, and the English letters appear instead.

What Unicode changes

Unicode gives every Hindi letter its own code. A Unicode क is a क on every device, in every font that has Devanagari letters – Mangal, Nirmala UI, Noto Sans Devanagari and many more. Unicode text can be searched, sorted, translated, read aloud by screen readers and indexed by Google. KrutiDev text cannot.

How to convert KrutiDev to Unicode

  1. Open your document and select the KrutiDev text (Ctrl + A selects everything).
  2. Copy it and paste it into the KrutiDev to Unicode converter.
  3. Copy the Unicode result and paste it back. In Word, set the font to a Unicode font such as Mangal or Nirmala UI.

The converter also works the other way – Unicode to KrutiDev – for offices and exams that still ask for KrutiDev files.

Why ि and र् move during conversion

In KrutiDev you type the short ि before its letter (fd = कि), because that is where it is drawn. Unicode stores letters in spoken order, so ि comes after क. The reph (र् above a letter) moves the other way. A good converter does this reordering for you.

Other old fonts

The same problem exists in other languages: DevLys and Shivaji (Hindi, Marathi), Preeti (Nepali), Bijoy/SutonnyMJ (Bengali), Terafont (Gujarati), Bamini (Tamil), InPage (Urdu) and Zawgyi (Burmese). The fix is always the same: convert once to Unicode, then keep typing in Unicode with a Unicode keyboard.

Frequently asked questions

Will converting change my text?

Common text converts exactly. Check names and rare conjunct letters after converting, as some were drawn in more than one way in KrutiDev.

Is DevLys the same as KrutiDev?

They are similar but not identical fonts, so a KrutiDev converter may get some DevLys letters wrong.

How do I stop this happening again?

Type in Unicode – with the Inscript or phonetic keyboard on your computer, or an online Hindi keyboard.