How to type Cherokee with this keyboard
Choose a mode with the tabs on the keyboard:
- Phonetic: type Cherokee in Latin letters, one syllable at a time, and each syllable turns into its Cherokee character as soon as you type the vowel. osiyo becomes ᎣᏏᏲ, and tsalagi gawonihisdi becomes ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ (the Cherokee language). If you make a mistake, Backspace turns the last syllable back into its consonants so you can fix the vowel.
- Syllabary: every character on the screen, one row per consonant in chart order, each with its Latin spelling. Click a syllable to add it. Typing on your keyboard still works as in Phonetic mode.
The buttons above the keyboard give quick access to the characters that are easy to miss: Ꮝ (s), Ꮐ (nah), Ꮏ (hna) and the rare Ᏽ (mv). Press Esc to switch to normal English typing and back.
Typing Cherokee in Latin letters
The Phonetic mode uses the usual Cherokee romanization, the one in the chart below. A consonant or cluster (g, ts, tl, qu, hn) waits until you type its vowel, and then the whole syllable becomes one character. Capitals work the same as small letters.
| Cherokee | Type |
|---|---|
| Ꭰ Ꭱ Ꭲ Ꭳ Ꭴ Ꭵ | a e i o u v |
| Ꭶ Ꭹ · Ꭷ | ga gi · ka |
| Ꮤ Ꮨ · Ꮣ Ꮧ | ta ti · da di |
| Ꮳ | tsa (or ja, cha) |
| Ꮬ · Ꮭ Ꮮ | dla · tla tle |
| Ꮖ | qua (or qa, kwa, gwa) |
| Ꮏ · Ꮐ | hna · nh (nah) |
| Ꮝ | s before a consonant, a space or punctuation |
| Ꮝ (ᏍᎠ) | s+ or sx (Ꮝ before a vowel: s+a) |
| ᎣᏏᏲ | osiyo |
You can also type k or t before e, i, o, u and v: they give the same character as g or d where the syllabary has only one (ke → Ꭸ, to → Ꮩ). A consonant with no vowel after it, other than s, stays as a Latin letter.
Cherokee syllabary chart
The Cherokee syllabary (ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ) has one character for each syllable. The chart is read by row (the consonant) and column (the vowel). Where two characters share a cell, the first is the g, d or dl form and the second the k, t, tl or hn form.
| Consonant | a | e | i | o | u | v |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (vowel) | Ꭰ a | Ꭱ e | Ꭲ i | Ꭳ o | Ꭴ u | Ꭵ v |
| g / k | Ꭶ ga Ꭷ ka | Ꭸ ge | Ꭹ gi | Ꭺ go | Ꭻ gu | Ꭼ gv |
| h | Ꭽ ha | Ꭾ he | Ꭿ hi | Ꮀ ho | Ꮁ hu | Ꮂ hv |
| l | Ꮃ la | Ꮄ le | Ꮅ li | Ꮆ lo | Ꮇ lu | Ꮈ lv |
| m | Ꮉ ma | Ꮊ me | Ꮋ mi | Ꮌ mo | Ꮍ mu | Ᏽ mv |
| n / hn + Ꮐ nah | Ꮎ na Ꮏ hna | Ꮑ ne | Ꮒ ni | Ꮓ no | Ꮔ nu | Ꮕ nv |
| qu | Ꮖ qua | Ꮗ que | Ꮘ qui | Ꮙ quo | Ꮚ quu | Ꮛ quv |
| s + Ꮝ s | Ꮜ sa | Ꮞ se | Ꮟ si | Ꮠ so | Ꮡ su | Ꮢ sv |
| d / t | Ꮣ da Ꮤ ta | Ꮥ de Ꮦ te | Ꮧ di Ꮨ ti | Ꮩ do | Ꮪ du | Ꮫ dv |
| dl / tl | Ꮬ dla Ꮭ tla | Ꮮ tle | Ꮯ tli | Ꮰ tlo | Ꮱ tlu | Ꮲ tlv |
| ts | Ꮳ tsa | Ꮴ tse | Ꮵ tsi | Ꮶ tso | Ꮷ tsu | Ꮸ tsv |
| w | Ꮹ wa | Ꮺ we | Ꮻ wi | Ꮼ wo | Ꮽ wu | Ꮾ wv |
| y | Ꮿ ya | Ᏸ ye | Ᏹ yi | Ᏺ yo | Ᏻ yu | Ᏼ yv |
Cherokee sounds
Cherokee has six vowels. The sixth, written v, is a nasal vowel with no English equivalent. The Latin letters in the chart are a spelling convention, not English pronunciation.
| Vowel | Latin | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| Ꭰ | a | a as in father |
| Ꭱ | e | a as in late, or e as in bed |
| Ꭲ | i | i as in machine, or i as in pit |
| Ꭳ | o | o as in note (also close to aw in law) |
| Ꭴ | u | oo as in food |
| Ꭵ | v | a nasal uh, like the u in but said through the nose |
| Consonant | Sound |
|---|---|
| g / k | g is a k without a puff of air (as in skin); k has the puff (as in kit). The syllabary only tells them apart before a: Ꭶ ga, Ꭷ ka. |
| d / t | Same idea: d is an unaspirated t, t is aspirated. Separate signs for a, e and i (Ꮣ da, Ꮤ ta), shared for o, u and v. |
| dl / tl | A t or d followed by a breathy l, with the air let out at the side of the tongue. Only a has two signs (Ꮬ dla, Ꮭ tla). |
| ts | ts, or ch and j in some dialects, which is why tsalagi (Cherokee) is also spelled jalagi. |
| qu | kw, as in queen. |
| hn | a breathy n. Only Ꮏ hna has its own sign. |
| s | s. Ꮝ is s with no vowel, used before a consonant: ᏍᏗ (sdi). |
| h l m n w y | as in English. |
The syllabary does not mark tone or vowel length, both of which matter in spoken Cherokee. Dictionaries and learning materials add them to the Latin spelling, but ordinary Cherokee writing leaves them out, so readers rely on context, as they do in English with words like read and read.
History: Sequoyah and the syllabary
The syllabary was created by Sequoyah (ᏍᏏᏉᏯ), a Cherokee silversmith also known as George Gist or Guess, who could not read English. After years of work he completed it around 1821, and it spread so fast that within a few years a large part of the Cherokee Nation could read and write. It is one of the few writing systems in history created by one person from a people without a written language.
In 1828 the Cherokee Phoenix, printed in Cherokee and English, became the first Native American newspaper. For printing, the handwritten letters were given shapes close to printed Latin and Greek letters, which is why Ꭰ looks like D and Ꮃ looks like W, although the sounds are unrelated. The chart order used today, by consonant and vowel, was arranged later for teaching and printing; Sequoyah's own order was different.
Cherokee is spoken today by the Cherokee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band in Oklahoma and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina. All three work to keep the language alive, with immersion schools and learning materials that use the syllabary.
How to add a Cherokee keyboard to your device
This page has no Cherokee QWERTY or Cherokee Nation layout tab: those place the syllables on keys in ways that vary by system. The Phonetic mode works with any keyboard.
Windows
Windows 10 and 11 include Cherokee. Settings → Time & language → Language & region → Add a language → Cherokee. Then open the language options and add the keyboard you want: Cherokee Phonetic, which builds syllables from Latin letters like this page, or Cherokee Nation, which puts the syllables directly on the keys. Switch with Windows+Space.
Mac
System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit → + → Cherokee. macOS includes Cherokee - Nation and Cherokee - QWERTY. The Cherokee Nation Language Department also offers a free phonetic keyboard for Mac on its website. Switch with Control+Space or the Globe key.
iPhone and iPad
Cherokee is built in. Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Cherokee. Tap the globe key to switch.
Android
In Gboard, open Settings → Languages → Add keyboard and search for Cherokee. Tap the globe key or hold the space bar to switch. If your keyboard app has no Cherokee, the Cherokee Nation Language Department has guides to other free keyboard apps.
Chromebook
Check Settings → Device → Keyboard and inputs → Input settings → Add input methods for Cherokee. If it isn't listed, type on this page and copy the text into any app.
Frequently asked questions
How do I type Cherokee with an English keyboard?
Use the Phonetic tab on this page and type each syllable the way it is spelled in Latin letters: osiyo gives ᎣᏏᏲ (hello), wado gives ᏩᏙ (thank you) and tsalagi gives ᏣᎳᎩ (Cherokee). A consonant waits for its vowel, so tsa becomes Ꮳ as soon as you type the a. Then press Copy and paste the text anywhere.
How many letters are in the Cherokee syllabary?
85 in the chart used today. Each stands for a syllable, not a single sound: six vowels and the rest a consonant plus a vowel, with Ꮝ for s on its own. Unicode also has an 86th character, Ᏽ (mv), which was in Sequoyah's early set but dropped from the standard chart. This keyboard includes it for completeness.
How do I type Ꮝ (s) before a vowel?
Normally s followed by a vowel makes a syllable: sa is Ꮜ. To get Ꮝ followed by Ꭰ, type s+ or sx and then the vowel: s+a gives ᏍᎠ. Before a consonant, a space or punctuation, s turns into Ꮝ on its own: sdi gives ᏍᏗ.
Which font do I need to see Cherokee?
Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android all include a font with Cherokee syllables, so most people can read it without installing anything. On Windows it is Gadugi, on a Mac Plantagenet Cherokee, and on Android Noto Sans Cherokee. Google's free Noto Sans Cherokee covers the full Unicode block and is a good choice for documents and websites.
Does Cherokee have uppercase and lowercase letters?
Traditionally no. Since Unicode 8.0 (2015) there are separate lowercase forms (U+AB70 to U+ABBF) for printing with a lowercase style, and the familiar characters became the capitals. Everyday Cherokee text, including this keyboard's output, uses the main set U+13A0 to U+13F5, which every Cherokee font supports.
Is my text private?
Yes. Everything runs in your browser. Your draft is kept on your own device so it survives a refresh, and it's never uploaded.