N'Ko Keyboard: key facts
- Script: N'Ko, used across Guinea & West Africa.
- Writing direction: right to left.
- Layout: 41 keys, 41 base characters, 41 on Shift.
- Typing: direct key mode with Shift and AltGr layers.
- One standard layout, plus export, speech synthesis and dictionary search.
- Native name: ߒߞߏ; speech synthesis locale: nqo.
N'Ko Keyboard in detail
Clavier n'ko en ligne : écrivez ߒߞߏ (mandingue) de droite à gauche, sans installation. The N'Ko Keyboard (ߒߞߏ) covers the N'Ko script as used across Guinea & West Africa. Text flows right to left in the editor, and every character below belongs to the authentic N'Ko repertoire — no transliterated approximations once you use the virtual keys.
This keyboard works in direct mode: every key inserts exactly the N'Ko character printed on it, with Shift and AltGr layers for capitals, variants and extended characters.
Everything runs locally in your browser: copy your text to any app, export it, listen to it with the nqo speech voice, or send it to Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, Translate, DuckDuckGo. A curated dictionary hub with monolingual dictionaries, bilingual translators, grammar references and press links sits further down this page.
Every key on the N'Ko Keyboard
The layout holds 41 character keys: 41 distinct base characters, 41 Shift variants. The table below maps each physical position to the characters it produces, so you can learn the layout or verify coverage of a rare letter before you start typing.
| Position | Base | Shift | AltGr |
|---|
| Row 1, key 2 | ߀ | ߀ | — |
| Row 1, key 3 | ߁ | ߁ | — |
| Row 1, key 4 | ߂ | ߂ | — |
| Row 1, key 5 | ߃ | ߃ | — |
| Row 1, key 6 | ߄ | ߄ | — |
| Row 1, key 7 | ߅ | ߅ | — |
| Row 1, key 8 | ߆ | ߆ | — |
| Row 1, key 9 | ߇ | ߇ | — |
| Row 1, key 10 | ߈ | ߈ | — |
| Row 1, key 11 | ߉ | ߉ | — |
| Row 1, key 12 | - | - | — |
| Row 1, key 13 | = | = | — |
| Row 2, key 2 | ߐ | ߐ | — |
| Row 2, key 3 | ߑ | ߑ | — |
| Row 2, key 4 | ߒ | ߒ | — |
| Row 2, key 5 | ߓ | ߓ | — |
| Row 2, key 6 | ߔ | ߔ | — |
| Row 2, key 7 | ߕ | ߕ | — |
| Row 2, key 8 | ߖ | ߖ | — |
| Row 2, key 9 | ߗ | ߗ | — |
| Row 2, key 10 | ߘ | ߘ | — |
| Row 2, key 11 | ߙ | ߙ | — |
| Row 3, key 2 | ߚ | ߚ | — |
| Row 3, key 3 | ߛ | ߛ | — |
| Row 3, key 4 | ߜ | ߜ | — |
| Row 3, key 5 | ߝ | ߝ | — |
| Row 3, key 6 | ߞ | ߞ | — |
| Row 3, key 7 | ߟ | ߟ | — |
| Row 3, key 8 | ߡ | ߡ | — |
| Row 3, key 9 | ߢ | ߢ | — |
| Row 3, key 10 | ߣ | ߣ | — |
| Row 4, key 2 | ߊ | ߊ | — |
| Row 4, key 3 | ߋ | ߋ | — |
| Row 4, key 4 | ߌ | ߌ | — |
| Row 4, key 5 | ߍ | ߍ | — |
| Row 4, key 6 | ߎ | ߎ | — |
| Row 4, key 7 | ߏ | ߏ | — |
| Row 4, key 8 | ߫ | ߫ | — |
| Row 4, key 9 | ߬ | ߬ | — |
| Row 4, key 10 | ߭ | ߭ | — |
| Row 4, key 11 | ߯ | ߯ | — |
Direct typing with Shift and AltGr
This keyboard has no phonetic engine, and that is deliberate: N'Ko spelling maps cleanly onto its own keys. Click a key — or press its physical counterpart with the hardware toggle on — and the exact character appears. Capitals and common variants live on Shift (41 characters), extended and rare forms on AltGr (0 characters).
Dead keys are enabled, so accents compose naturally: press the accent, then the vowel. On mobile, everything is tappable at full key size, and the editor keeps right to left ordering correct even when you mix N'Ko with Latin words or digits in the same sentence.
Getting the most out of this keyboard
N'Ko runs right to left, so end-of-line punctuation jumps to the correct visual side automatically. If a mixed sentence looks odd, select it and copy it into Word or Docs, which apply full bidirectional layout.
For pronunciation, press the speaker button: the nqo voice reads exactly what is in the editor, which makes this page a practical dictation and shadowing tool. Export the text first if you want to rehearse offline.
Preferred typefaces here are Noto Sans NKo, Arial Unicode MS (fallback Noto Sans NKo). If a character shows as a box on your device, switch fonts in the toolbar — complex-script shaping varies between systems, especially on older phones.
Hidden characters tour
Beyond the base alphabet, this keyboard hides real value on its upper layers. On Shift: ߀ ߁ ߂ ߃ ߄ ߅ ߆ ߇ ߈ ߉ - = ߐ ߑ ߒ ߓ ߔ ߕ ߖ ߗ ߘ ߙ ߚ ߛ …. On AltGr: . Hold the on-screen Shift or AltGr key (or your physical one in hardware mode) to reach them, exactly like a desktop layout.
Dictionaries and resources for N'Ko Keyboard
Below the keyboard, the resource hub gathers 7 hand-picked links for N'Ko Keyboard: 1 monolingual dictionary (including Wiktionary (EN)), 2 bilingual translators, 0 grammar and conjugation reference, 1 vocabulary and phrase guide, and 3 encyclopedias, newspapers and general resources. Type a word in the editor first and the links marked with an arrow receive it automatically — look up a definition, a conjugation or a translation without retyping.
Keep exploring
If this is not quite your language, the closest alternatives each have their own virtual keyboard, transliteration engine and dictionary hub, so switching costs one click. The method guides embed the same keyboard, so you can practise while you learn.
- Yoruba Keyboard (Latin (Yoruba)): Clavier yoruba en ligne : écrivez Èdè Yorùbá avec ẹ, ọ, ṣ et les tons (couche AltGr).…
- Igbo Keyboard (Latin (Igbo)): Clavier igbo en ligne : écrivez Asụsụ Igbo avec ị, ọ, ụ, ṅ et les tons (couche AltGr).…
- Hausa Keyboard (Latin (Boko)): Clavier haoussa en ligne : écrivez Hausa en boko avec ɓ, ɗ, ƙ, ƴ et l'apostrophe.…
- Somali Keyboard (Latin (Somali)): Clavier somalien en ligne : écrivez Soomaaliga avec l'alphabet latin somali (c, x, q + apostrophe).…
- Method guides: “Type Arabic without an Arabic keyboard: complete guide”, “Type Russian on a French/English keyboard: easy method”, “Type Hebrew with vowels (niqqud) online”.