ISO 15919 Reference
A quick reference document for transliterating Indic languages. This reference is for the macOS; Linux has a much more intuitive input using the Compose key (I don’t use Windows; if you are referring to this for Windows, you’re out of luck). This page contains letters from two of the scripts that I am familiar with, and covers all sounds in the various languages I speak and write.
Diacritic Key Combinations
| Diacritic | Meaning | macOS Option Key Combo | Example |
|---|
| Macron ( ¯ ) | Long Vowel | Option + a → Letter | ā |
| Underdot ( . ) | Retroflex / Vocalic / Visarga | Option + x → Letter | ṭ |
| Underline ( _ ) | Alveolar / Special Tamiḻ Liquids | Option + h → Letter | ṟ |
| Overdot ( ˙ ) | Velar Nasal | Option + w → n | ṅ |
| Tilde ( ~ ) | Palatal Nasal | Option + n → n | ñ |
| Acute ( ´ ) | Palatal Sibilant | Option + e → s | ś |
Vowels
| Dēvanāgarī | Tamiḻ | ISO 15919 | macOS Key Combination |
|---|
| अ | அ | a | a |
| आ | ஆ | ā | Option + a → a |
| इ | இ | i | i |
| ई | ஈ | ī | Option + a → i |
| उ | உ | u | u |
| ऊ | ஊ | ū | Option + a → u |
| ऋ | — | ṛ | Option + x → r |
| ॠ | — | ṝ | Option + x → Option + a → r |
| ऌ | — | ḷ | Option + x → l (Vocalic l) |
| — | எ | e | e (Dravidian short e) |
| ए | ஏ | ē | Option + a → e (Long e) |
| ऐ | ஐ | ai | a then i |
| — | ஒ | o | o (Dravidian short o) |
| ओ | ஓ | ō | Option + a → o (Long o) |
| औ | ஔ | au | a then u |
| ं | — | ṁ | Option + x → m (Anusvāra) |
| ः | — | ḥ | Option + x → h (Visarga) |
| — | ஃ | ḵ | Option + h → k (Āytham) |
Consonants
Velars (Kaṇṭhya)
| Dēvanāgarī | Tamiḻ | ISO 15919 | macOS Key Combination |
|---|
| क | க | ka | k a |
| ख | — | kha | k h a |
| ग | — | ga | g a |
| घ | — | gha | g h a |
| ङ | ங | ṅa | (Option + w → n) a |
Palatals (Tālavya)
| Dēvanāgarī | Tamiḻ | ISO 15919 | macOS Key Combination |
|---|
| च | ச | ca | c a |
| छ | — | cha | c h a |
| ज | — | ja | j a |
| झ | — | jha | j h a |
| ञ | ஞ | ña | (Option + n → n) a |
Retroflexes (Mūrdhanya)
| Dēvanāgarī | Tamiḻ | ISO 15919 | macOS Key Combination |
|---|
| ट | ட | ṭa | (Option + x → t) a |
| ठ | — | ṭha | (Option + x → t) h a |
| ड | — | ḍa | (Option + x → d) a |
| ढ | — | ḍha | (Option + x → d) h a |
| ण | ண | ṇa | (Option + x → n) a |
Dentals (Dantya)
| Dēvanāgarī | Tamiḻ | ISO 15919 | macOS Key Combination |
|---|
| त | த | ta | t a |
| थ | — | tha | t h a |
| द | — | da | d a |
| ध | — | dha | d h a |
| न | ந | na | n a |
Labials (Oṣṭhya)
| Dēvanāgarī | Tamiḻ | ISO 15919 | macOS Key Combination |
|---|
| प | ப | pa | p a |
| फ | — | pha | p h a |
| ब | — | ba | b a |
| भ | — | bha | b h a |
| म | ம | ma | m a |
Semivowels (Antaḥstha)
| Dēvanāgarī | Tamiḻ | ISO 15919 | macOS Key Combination |
|---|
| य | ய | ya | y a |
| र | ர | ra | r a |
| ल | ல | la | l a |
| व | வ | va | v a |
Sibilants (Ūṣman) & Aspirate
| Dēvanāgarī | Tamiḻ | ISO 15919 | macOS Key Combination |
|---|
| श | ஶ | śa | (Option + e → s) a |
| ष | ஷ | ṣa | (Option + x → s) a |
| स | ஸ | sa | s a |
| ह | ஹ | ha | h a |
Additional Letters
| Dēvanāgarī | Tamiḻ | ISO 15919 | macOS Key Combination |
|---|
| ळ | ள | ḷa | (Option + x → l) a (Retroflex l) |
| — | ழ | ḻa | (Option + h → l) a (Retroflex lateral) |
| — | ற | ṟa | (Option + h → r) a (Alveolar r) |
| — | ன | ṉa | (Option + h → n) a (Alveolar n) |