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Practise Santali typingOnline Santali Keyboard – Type in Santali Instantly
All Keyboards is a free online Santali keyboard that lets you type in Santali (Ol Chiki script) directly in your browser – no software to install. Type with your own keyboard or click the on-screen keys of the Santali – Ol Chiki Phonetic layout. Copy the text into WhatsApp, email, Word or social media, download it as a file, print it, or translate it in one click.
How to Use the Santali Keyboard
- Choose the layout. Keep Keyboard Type on Santali – Ol Chiki Phonetic to type in Santali, or switch to English – QWERTY for English.
- Start typing. Click the keys of the on-screen keyboard with your mouse or finger, or type on your computer keyboard – each key types the Santali letter shown on it, for example k → ᱠ and a → ᱟ.
- Use Shift and Caps Lock. Shift types one capital letter or the upper character of a key; Caps Lock keeps capital letters on.
- Use Ctrl or Alt for extra characters. The third set of characters holds letters and signs such as ᱒.
- Save or share your text. Use the toolbar above the text box to start a new text, download it as a .txt file, copy, print, share it on WhatsApp or by email, work in full screen, or translate it into English and other languages.
About the Santali Language
Santali (ᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤ) is an Austroasiatic language of the Munda branch – related to Mundari and Ho, and distantly to Khmer and Vietnamese, not to Hindi. It is the language of the Santal people and one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. Since 1925 Santali has its own script, Ol Chiki (ᱚᱞ ᱪᱤᱠᱤ), created by Pandit Raghunath Murmu. Unlike most Indian scripts, Ol Chiki is a true alphabet: vowels are full letters, just like consonants.
- Script
- Ol Chiki (ᱚᱞ ᱪᱤᱠᱤ), created in 1925
- Language family
- Austroasiatic, Munda branch
- Official status
- Scheduled language of India since 2003; associate official language of Jharkhand and West Bengal
- Related languages
- Mundari, Ho, Kharia; distantly Khmer and Vietnamese
How old is Ol Chiki?
Santali is an ancient spoken language. It was written in Bengali, Odia, Devanagari and Latin letters until 1925, when Raghunath Murmu created Ol Chiki to fit Santali sounds exactly. Ol Chiki was added to Unicode in 2008.
How many people speak Santali?
About 7.4 million people named Santali as their mother tongue in India's 2011 Census, with more speakers in Bangladesh and Nepal.
Where is Santali spoken?
Santali is spoken mainly in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, and in Assam and Bihar, as well as in Bangladesh and Nepal.
Santali was added to the Eighth Schedule of India's Constitution in 2003, together with Bodo, Dogri and Maithili.
Common Santali Phrases
A greeting and everyday phrases, to see how Santali looks. Click a phrase to add it to the text box.
Santali Alphabet at a Glance (Ol chiki)
Ol Chiki has 30 letters in six rows of five. Each row starts with a vowel, followed by four consonants, and a few marks change how letters sound.
Vowels ᱨᱚᱦᱚᱲ 6
ᱚ ᱟ ᱤ ᱩ ᱮ ᱳ
Written as full letters at the start of a word or on their own.
Consonants 24
- Row of ᱚ
- ᱛ ᱜ ᱝ ᱞ
- Row of ᱟ
- ᱠ ᱡ ᱢ ᱣ
- Row of ᱤ
- ᱥ ᱦ ᱧ ᱨ
- Row of ᱩ
- ᱪ ᱫ ᱬ ᱭ
- Row of ᱮ
- ᱯ ᱰ ᱱ ᱲ
- Row of ᱳ
- ᱴ ᱵ ᱶ ᱷ
Every letter that is not a vowel.
Numerals ᱞᱮᱠᱷᱟ
᱐ ᱑ ᱒ ᱓ ᱔ ᱕ ᱖ ᱗ ᱘ ᱙
Ol Chiki digits, used in Santali books and newspapers.
Hear every letter and practise reading on the Santali alphabet page.
Santali Keyboard – Frequently Asked Questions
How do I type in Santali?
Click the keys of the on-screen Santali – Ol Chiki Phonetic keyboard, or type on your own keyboard – each key types the Santali character shown on it.
Is the online Santali keyboard free?
Yes. The keyboard, translator, typing tutor and image to text tool are free to use, with no sign-up and nothing to install.
Do I need to install Santali fonts?
No. The page loads a Unicode font for the Ol Chiki script, so Santali text shows correctly in any modern browser, and the text you copy works in WhatsApp, Word and email.
How many letters does the Santali alphabet have?
The Santali alphabet has 30 letters, 6 vowels and 24 consonants. See every letter with its pronunciation on the alphabet page.
Where is Santali spoken?
Santali is spoken mainly in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, and in Assam and Bihar, as well as in Bangladesh and Nepal.
Can I translate Santali text?
Yes. Type your text, choose a language next to Translate and press the button – the translator opens with your text translated into English or any other supported language.
Can I type Santali by voice?
Not yet. Browsers do not offer speech recognition for Santali yet, so the microphone is hidden on this page.
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