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Hindi Font Converter (KrutiDev ⇄ Unicode)
Convert legacy KrutiDev 010 text into clean Unicode Devanagari — or go the other way for Hindi typing practice — entirely in your browser, with nothing uploaded.
Reviewed by the CalcCafe editorial team · Last updated 18 July 2026 · How we test our tools
Example
Paste Hkkjr ljdkj into the input with the direction set to KrutiDev 010 → Unicode. The tool instantly returns भारत सरकार — readable, searchable Hindi. Behind the scenes it mapped each KrutiDev glyph code to its Devanagari character (Hk → भ, k → ा, j → र, r → त) and applied the reordering rules the legacy font relies on. Try fgUnh to see the trickiest rule in action: KrutiDev types the short-i matra before the consonant, so the converter moves it after ह to produce हिन्दी. Switch the direction to convert clean Unicode back into KrutiDev for typing-exam practice sheets.
How it works
KrutiDev 010 is not an encoding — it is an ordinary 8-bit font that paints Devanagari shapes over Latin character codes, so the letter d displays as क and Hk displays as भ. This converter applies the standard published substitution table (about 170 glyph-to-character pairs, longest sequences first) to translate between the two worlds. Two positional fixes make the output correct rather than merely close: the short-i matra ि, which KrutiDev places before its consonant, is moved after the consonant and any conjunct it belongs to; and the reph (the half र that KrutiDev writes as a mark after the syllable, e.g. in धर्म), is moved back onto the front of its consonant cluster as र्. Nukta letters (ज़, ड़, फ़), the ksh/tra/gya conjuncts (क्ष, त्र, ज्ञ) and matra combinations are handled by dedicated table entries. The reverse direction runs the same table inverted, with the ordering fixes applied in mirror image.
Good to know
KrutiDev exists because Hindi computing is older than Hindi encoding. Through the 1990s desktop-publishing and government-office era, there was no reliable standard way to store Devanagari, so type foundries shipped 8-bit "hack" fonts: the file actually contains Latin codes, and the font simply draws Hindi shapes for them. KrutiDev (with its Remington-style keyboard layout) became the de-facto standard across North India. Decades of newspapers, court orders, office documents and DTP jobs were typed this way — and the format survives today because government offices and official Hindi typing examinations in states such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan still test candidates on the KrutiDev/Remington layout.
The catch is that KrutiDev text is only Hindi while the font is installed. Open the same file on a phone, paste it into a browser, an email or a search box, and you see gibberish like Hkkjr ljdkj — the raw Latin codes with no font to disguise them. That is the tell-tale signature of mangled KrutiDev text: random-looking clusters of English letters with stray brackets, semicolons and plus signs. Unicode Devanagari fixes this permanently: each Hindi character has its own universal code point, so the text is searchable, sortable, copy-paste safe, screen-reader friendly and renders on every modern device and website without any special font. India's Ministry of Electronics and IT has pushed Unicode adoption for exactly these reasons.
A few limitations are worth knowing. This tool implements the KrutiDev 010 layout specifically — the most common member of the family — so text typed in a different legacy font (DevLys, Chanakya, Shusha, Mangal-remapped variants) will not convert correctly even though it looks similar on screen. A handful of rare decorative ligature glyphs fall outside the standard table, and unusually complex conjuncts can occasionally need a quick manual review after conversion. Because KrutiDev overloads ordinary punctuation (for example, comma codes for ए and the equals sign for त्र), mixed Hindi-English passages convert best if you process the Hindi portions separately.
The reverse direction earns its keep with typing students. Exam preparation material is mostly published in Unicode these days, but the test itself is taken on a KrutiDev/Remington keyboard — so converting clean Unicode passages into KrutiDev gives you authentic practice text that matches what the examiner's software expects. It is also handy when a government office demands a submission in KrutiDev format from a document you drafted in Unicode. Everything here runs locally in JavaScript: your text never leaves your device, and the converter keeps working with the internet switched off.
Frequently asked questions
What is KrutiDev and why does my Hindi text look like random English letters?
KrutiDev is a legacy 8-bit Hindi font from the pre-Unicode era. It stores ordinary Latin character codes and relies on the installed font to draw Devanagari shapes over them. If the font is missing — on a phone, in a browser, in an email — you see the raw codes, which look like gibberish such as Hkkjr for भारत. Converting the text to Unicode makes it readable everywhere, permanently.
Is the text I paste here uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely in your browser using a JavaScript substitution table — nothing you paste is uploaded, logged or stored anywhere. You can load the page, disconnect from the internet, and the converter will keep working. That also makes it safe for drafts, office documents and exam material.
Which KrutiDev versions does this converter support?
It implements the KrutiDev 010 glyph layout, which is by far the most widely used member of the family and shares its layout with many numbered siblings (011, 016, 021 and others that differ mainly in styling, not encoding). Text typed in genuinely different legacy fonts such as DevLys, Chanakya or Shusha uses a different code layout and will not convert correctly.
Why do a few characters look wrong after conversion?
The standard KrutiDev table covers all common Hindi text, but the font family includes some rare decorative ligature glyphs, and source documents sometimes contain typing quirks (stray halants, doubled matras) that were invisible in the original font. Complex conjuncts are worth a quick proofread after converting. Mixed Hindi-English text converts best if you convert the Hindi passages separately, since KrutiDev reuses ordinary punctuation for Hindi characters.
People also ask
How do I convert KrutiDev to Unicode Mangal font?
Paste your KrutiDev text into a KrutiDev-to-Unicode converter like this one and copy the output. The result is standard Unicode Devanagari, which is what Mangal, Nirmala UI and every other Unicode Hindi font displays — Mangal is simply a font, not a separate encoding, so no second conversion step is needed.
Why do Hindi typing exams still use KrutiDev?
State government typing tests in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and elsewhere standardised on the Remington keyboard layout that KrutiDev implements, and decades of clerical staff were trained on it. Many exams now offer both Remington (KrutiDev-style) and Inscript (Unicode) layouts, but the KrutiDev layout remains common because existing government offices still produce and maintain documents typed that way.
Is Unicode Hindi better than KrutiDev?
For storing and sharing text, yes. Unicode gives every Devanagari character a universal code point, so the text is searchable, works in browsers, apps and databases, survives copy-paste, and needs no special font. KrutiDev text only displays correctly on machines with the font installed. KrutiDev's remaining relevance is the Remington typing layout used in exams and legacy offices — the layout can be kept while storing the output as Unicode.
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