To write in Hindi in Microsoft Word, add a Hindi keyboard to your computer and switch to it while you type. On Windows 11, go to Settings > Time & language > Language & region, add Hindi, and choose a Hindi keyboard. Then open Word, press Windows key + Spacebar to switch to Hindi, and start typing. Word displays Devanagari text with built-in fonts such as Nirmala UI and Mangal, so you don’t need to download a Hindi font.
The steps below cover Windows 11, Windows 10 and Mac, how to choose between the phonetic and InScript layouts, and how to set Hindi spell check in Word.
Choose a Hindi keyboard layout
Windows offers more than one Hindi keyboard, and the right one depends on how you type.
- Hindi Phonetic: You type Hindi words using English letters the way they sound, such as namaste, and the keyboard converts them to Devanagari (नमस्ते). This is the easiest choice if you don’t know a Hindi layout.
- Hindi Traditional (InScript): The standard Indian government layout, where each key produces a specific Devanagari character. It’s faster once you learn it and is common in offices and typing tests.
You can add both and switch between them.
Add a Hindi keyboard in Windows 11
- Open Settings and click Time & language.
- Click Language & region.
- Next to Preferred languages, click Add a language.
- Type Hindi, select it, and click Next.
- Uncheck Set as my Windows display language unless you want all of Windows in Hindi, then click Install.
- When it finishes, click the three dots next to Hindi, choose Language options, and click Add a keyboard to pick Hindi Phonetic or Hindi Traditional.
Add a Hindi keyboard in Windows 10
- Open Settings and click Time & Language.
- Click Language in the left column.
- Click Add a language, search for Hindi, select it, and click Next, then Install.
- Click Hindi in the list, click Options, and use Add a keyboard to add the layout you want.
Type Hindi in Word on Windows
- Open your document in Word.
- Press Windows key + Spacebar, or click the language abbreviation (such as ENG) in the taskbar, and choose your Hindi keyboard. The taskbar shows HIN or a Hindi character when it’s active.
- Start typing. With Hindi Phonetic, type the word in English letters and press Spacebar to accept the suggested Hindi word, or pick a different suggestion from the list.
- Press Windows key + Spacebar again to go back to English.
If the text shows as boxes, select it and change the font to Nirmala UI or Mangal on the Home tab. Other Devanagari fonts that come with Windows include Kokila, Aparajita and Utsaah.
Type Hindi in Word on a Mac
- Open System Settings and click Keyboard.
- Next to Input Sources, click Edit, then click the + button.
- Choose Hindi, then pick Hindi – Transliteration (phonetic typing), Devanagari – QWERTY, or Devanagari (InScript), and click Add.
- Open Word and switch input sources with the input menu in the menu bar, the Globe key, or Control + Spacebar.
Set Hindi spell check and proofing in Word
Word needs to know your text is Hindi to check spelling correctly instead of marking every word as an error.
- Select the Hindi text, or press Ctrl + A to select the whole document.
- Go to the Review tab and click Language > Set Proofing Language.
- Choose Hindi and click OK.
If Word says proofing tools aren’t installed, go to File > Options > Language, add Hindi under Office authoring languages and proofing, and follow the link to install the proofing tools. To show Word’s menus in Hindi, set it as the Office display language on the same screen.
Other ways to get Hindi text into Word
- Dictation: In Microsoft 365, click Home > Dictate, open the settings gear, and set the spoken language to Hindi if it’s listed for your version. Speak and Word types the Devanagari text for you.
- On-screen keyboard: With a Hindi keyboard selected, open the touch keyboard from the taskbar to see which key makes each character. This helps when learning InScript.
- Copy from another app: Text typed in Hindi on your phone or in a web tool pastes into Word as normal Unicode text and keeps working with any Devanagari font.
If Hindi typing isn’t working in Word
- English letters still appear: The Hindi keyboard isn’t active in Word’s window. Click inside the document and press Windows key + Spacebar again, then check the taskbar indicator.
- No suggestions with Hindi Phonetic: Make sure you picked Hindi Phonetic, not Hindi Traditional, in the language options. Restart Word after adding a new keyboard.
- Characters look broken or joined wrong: Change the font to Nirmala UI or Mangal. Decorative English fonts don’t contain Devanagari characters, so Word substitutes them badly.
- The document looks wrong on another computer: If it was typed in an old non-Unicode font like Kruti Dev, the other computer needs that font installed. Retyping or converting the text to Unicode fixes this for good.
Phonetic vs InScript at a glance
| Layout | How you type | Learning curve | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hindi Phonetic / Transliteration | English letters that sound like the Hindi word | Very low | Occasional Hindi typing |
| Hindi Traditional / Devanagari (InScript) | Each key is a Devanagari character | Higher | Fast, frequent typing and typing tests |
Related: switch the keyboard language in Windows 10.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to download a Hindi font for Word?
No. Windows and macOS include Unicode Devanagari fonts, and Word uses them automatically. Older non-Unicode fonts such as Kruti Dev only work with their own special keyboard mapping and won’t display correctly for other people, so Unicode fonts like Mangal or Nirmala UI are the better choice.
What is the shortcut to switch between English and Hindi?
On Windows, press Windows key + Spacebar. Left Alt + Shift also switches languages if it’s turned on. On a Mac, use Control + Spacebar or the Globe key.
Can I type Hindi in Word for the web?
Yes. Word for the web uses whatever keyboard is active on your computer, so the same Hindi keyboard works in the browser.
Why does Word underline all my Hindi words in red?
The proofing language is still set to English. Select the text and set the proofing language to Hindi from Review > Language.
Kermit Matthews runs Live2Tech from just outside Philadelphia. He is an IT specialist with over 20 years of experience, from a university help desk to small-business IT, IT management and his own consulting practice, and has written tech guides full time since 2020. Steps are checked against the current software on a real device or the maker’s official documentation. More about Kermit.