Bengali Typing - A Comprehensive Guide PART 1: Understanding the Bengali Script and Keyboard Layouts

Bengali Script Overview

The Bengali script consists of 50 main characters, divided into:

1. Vowels (স্বরবর্ণ) [11]:

   • অ (a), আ (aa), ই (i), ঈ (ii), উ (u), ঊ (uu), ঋ (ri), এ (e), ঐ (oi), ও (o), ঔ (ou)

2. Consonants (ব্যঞ্জনবর্ণ) [39]:

   • ক (ka), খ (kha), গ (ga), ঘ (gha), ঙ (nga), চ (cha), ছ (chha), জ (ja), ঝ (jha), ঞ (nya), ট (ṭa), ঠ (ṭha), ড (ḍa), ঢ (ḍha), ণ (ṇa), ত (ta), থ (tha), দ (da), ধ (dha), ন (na), প (pa), ফ (pha), ব (ba), ভ (bha), ম (ma), য (ya), র (ra), ল (la), শ (sha), ষ (ṣa), স (sa), হ (ha), ড় (ṛa), ঢ় (ṛha), য় (ẏa), ক্ষ (kṣa), জ্ঞ (jña)

3. Vowel Signs (Matras - মাত্রা) [10]:

   • These are modifiers added to consonants to form different syllables (e.g., ক + া = কা).

Bengali Keyboard Layouts

There are different ways to type Bengali depending on the keyboard layout you use:

1. Inscript Keyboard – The standard layout based on Unicode.
2. Phonetic Typing – Type in English, and it converts to Bengali.
3. Avro Keyboard – A popular software for easy Bengali typing.
4. Google Input Tools – Allows online Bengali typing using Roman letters.

Familiarizing yourself with these keyboard layouts will make Bengali typing faster and easier.