Kruti Dev vs Unicode: what is the difference?
Updated 11 October 2026
Kruti Dev to Unicode converter →
You type a beautiful Hindi paragraph in Kruti Dev, send it on WhatsApp or paste it into a website, and it arrives as fganh or similar nonsense. This happens because Kruti Dev and Unicode store Hindi in completely different ways. Understanding the difference helps you choose the right one and convert between them correctly.
Kruti Dev: a font that pretends English letters are Hindi
Kruti Dev is a family of legacy Hindi fonts, with Kruti Dev 010 being the most widely used. It was built before computers handled Indian scripts properly. How it works is simple: it takes the ordinary English (Latin) character codes and draws Devanagari shapes in their place.
So when you press d with Kruti Dev selected, the computer actually stores the English letter "d". The Kruti Dev font just draws it as क. Type uke and the file stores u, k, e, which the font displays as नाम.
The moment that text is shown in any other font, the drawing changes back to English letters. That is why Kruti Dev text looks like gibberish in emails, browsers, phones, search engines and anywhere the font is not installed. It is not broken; it simply was never Hindi as far as the computer is concerned.
Unicode: Hindi as real Hindi
Unicode is the international standard that gives every character in every script its own code. Devanagari has its own block (U+0900 to U+097F). In Unicode, क is stored as a Devanagari letter, not as "d". Any Unicode font, such as Mangal, Nirmala UI or Noto Sans Devanagari, can display it, and software can search, sort, spell-check and read it aloud.
| Kruti Dev | Unicode | |
|---|---|---|
| What is stored | English letters and symbols | Actual Devanagari characters |
| Works without the font installed? | No, shows English gibberish | Yes, on any modern device |
| Searchable on Google, usable on websites | No | Yes |
| Typing layout | Remington-style (typewriter) | Inscript, phonetic, or Remington via special keyboards |
| Where you still see it | Older offices, DTP shops, some typing exams | Everywhere else |
When exams and offices still use Kruti Dev
Many government offices in Hindi-speaking states typed in Kruti Dev for decades, and typists trained on Remington typewriters found its layout familiar. As a result, some state-level recruitments and court typing tests have specified Kruti Dev or the Remington layout, while others use Unicode fonts like Mangal with Inscript or Remington Gail. This varies by recruiting body and year, so check your notice for the font and layout before you practise. Our guide on Inscript vs Remington explains the keyboard side.
How conversion works
A converter cannot just swap letter for letter, because Kruti Dev stores characters in visual order (the order you see them), while Unicode stores them in logical order (the order you pronounce them).
The ि (choti i) matra
In Hindi, the ि matra is pronounced after the consonant but drawn before it. In Kruti Dev you type the matra first: fd gives कि. In Unicode, कि is stored as क followed by ि. The converter must spot each f and move it after the following consonant, including whole conjuncts: in a word like स्थिति the matra must move after the complete cluster स्थ, not just after स.
The reph (र् on top)
The reph is the small hook above a letter in words like कर्म. It is pronounced before the letter it sits on, but in Kruti Dev it is typed after that letter (using a separate symbol). In Unicode, कर्म is stored as क, र, ्, म. So the converter must move the reph back before its consonant, and before any matra that follows it.
Conjuncts and half letters
Kruti Dev has ready-made shapes for many half letters and conjuncts, each sitting on its own key or symbol. Unicode builds them from the full consonant plus the virama (्). The converter expands each Kruti Dev shape into the correct Unicode sequence, and the reverse converter does the opposite.
Worked example
Kruti Dev input esjk uke (stored as English letters) becomes Unicode मेरा नाम: e is म, s is the े matra, j is र, k is the ा matra, u is न, and so on. You can paste the Unicode result into Word, Google Docs, a website or WhatsApp and it stays Hindi.
Limitations to expect
- Different Kruti Dev versions (010, 016 and others) have slightly different mappings for some symbols. A converter tuned to 010 may get a few rare characters wrong in another version.
- Typing mistakes in the original, like a ि typed after the consonant, convert into odd Unicode that you need to fix by hand.
- Mixed English text inside a Kruti Dev document will be converted as if it were Hindi. Separate English parts first.
- Formatting: paste plain text. Bold or tables may not carry over.
Always proofread the output, especially names. Convert with Kruti Dev to Unicode or go the other way with Unicode to Kruti Dev. Both run fully in your browser.
Questions people ask
- Why does my Kruti Dev Hindi text show as English letters?
- Kruti Dev stores English characters and only draws them as Hindi when the Kruti Dev font is used. Anywhere else, you see the underlying English letters.
- Is Kruti Dev Unicode?
- No. Kruti Dev is a legacy font that maps Hindi shapes onto English character codes. Unicode fonts like Mangal and Nirmala UI store real Devanagari characters.
- How do I convert Kruti Dev to Unicode?
- Paste the Kruti Dev text into a converter such as our Kruti Dev to Unicode tool. It reorders matras and reph and maps each symbol to the correct Unicode character.
- Do typing exams still use Kruti Dev?
- Some state and court typing tests have specified Kruti Dev or the Remington layout, while others use Unicode fonts like Mangal. Check the notice for your exam.
- Why is the converted text slightly wrong?
- Different Kruti Dev versions map a few symbols differently, and typing errors in the original also carry over. Proofread names and rare conjuncts.