How to add a Hindi or Punjabi keyboard in Windows

The practice tool on this site lets you type Hindi and Punjabi without changing anything on your computer. To type them in other programs, such as a document or an email, the keyboard layout has to be added in Windows once. It takes about two minutes and no extra software.

These steps follow Microsoft's help page "Manage the language and keyboard/input layout settings in Windows", read on 12 November 2026, for Windows 11. Names of buttons can change with Windows updates. On an office computer you may need the administrator's permission.

Add the language

Make sure the computer is connected to the internet, because Windows downloads the language.
Open Start, then Settings.
Select Time & language, then Language & region.
Next to Preferred languages, select Add a language.
Type Hindi or Punjabi in the box, choose the language from the list and select Next.
On the next screen, leave Set as my Windows display language unticked, unless you want the menus of Windows itself to change language. Select Install.
Wait until the language appears in the list.

Adding the language normally brings its standard keyboard with it.

Check or add the keyboard layout

In Language & region, select the three dots next to the language you added, then Language options.
Look under Keyboards. The installed keyboards are listed there.
If the layout you want is not listed, select Add a keyboard and choose it from the list.

For Hindi, the InScript layout taught on this site appears in Windows under a name that includes the words Devanagari and INSCRIPT. For Punjabi, it is the keyboard simply named Punjabi. These are the layouts our keyboard charts were read from.

Switch between English and your language

Hold the Windows logo key and press the Space bar. Each press moves to the next installed keyboard.
Or select the input language icon near the clock on the taskbar and choose the keyboard from the list. The icon shows which keyboard is active, for example ENG.

If the Windows key and Space bar do nothing, only one keyboard is installed.

The setting can be different in each window. If you switch to Hindi in a document and then open another program, check the icon before you type.

Try it

Open Notepad or any document. Switch to the new keyboard and, with your fingers on the home row, press the keys K, E, C. In Hindi you should see काम. In Punjabi you should see ਕਾਮ. If you see English letters, the keyboard has not switched.

If the letters look like boxes

Windows 11 includes fonts for Devanagari and Gurmukhi, so boxes are rare. If you see them in one program, change the font there to a Unicode font such as Nirmala UI.

A warning about passwords

When a different keyboard is active, the same keys type different characters. If you change the display language of Windows, the keyboard on the sign-in screen may change too. Look at the input language icon on the sign-in screen before typing your password, and use the eye icon in the password box to see what you are typing.

Remove a keyboard or language

Open Settings, Time & language, Language & region.
To remove one keyboard, select the three dots next to the language, Language options, then the three dots next to the keyboard under Keyboards, and Remove.
To remove the whole language, select the three dots next to it in the language list and choose Remove.

The Remove button is greyed out if it is the only keyboard, or if the language is the one Windows itself is displayed in.

Phones

On a phone, Hindi and Punjabi keyboards are added in the settings of the keyboard app, usually under a heading such as Languages. Phone keyboards mostly offer a phonetic layout and a layout that shows the letters in alphabet order, which are different from InScript. The steps depend on the phone and the app, so we do not list them here. The typing lessons on this site are meant for a physical keyboard.

Do you need stickers or a special keyboard?

No. Touch typing means not looking at the keys, so what is printed on them does not matter. Keep the keyboard chart from our lessons open on the screen while you learn. Keyboards with Hindi or Punjabi letters printed on the keys are sold, and stickers too, but check that they show the InScript layout and not a typewriter layout before you buy.

This is an independent practice site. It is not connected with any examination body, keyboard maker or software company. A typing speed measured here is for your own practice. It is not a certificate, and an examination may measure speed in its own way.