How to Type Bengali Numbers and Punctuation: Complete Reference

Bengali typing is not only about consonants and vowels. Numbers and punctuation are tested in every real document — invoices, dates, articles, addresses. Get them wrong and your output looks half-translated. This guide is a complete reference for both Avro and Bijoy, with a practice passage that exercises every case in one paragraph.

Bengali digits (০-৯)

| Bengali | Latin | Avro key | Bijoy key | |---------|-------|----------|-----------| | ০ | 0 | 0 | 0 | | ১ | 1 | 1 | 1 | | ২ | 2 | 2 | 2 | | ৩ | 3 | 3 | 3 | | ৪ | 4 | 4 | 4 | | ৫ | 5 | 5 | 5 | | ৬ | 6 | 6 | 6 | | ৭ | 7 | 7 | 7 | | ৮ | 8 | 8 | 8 | | ৯ | 9 | 9 | 9 |

Both layouts simply convert ASCII digits to Bengali digits. There is no separate keystroke; you just type the Latin digit and the engine produces the Bengali equivalent.

In LearnType's typing engine, ASCII digits are accepted in Bengali lessons and converted to ০-৯ at render time. This is consistent with most Bengali keyboards and means you do not need to memorise a new digit layout.

Sentence-ending punctuation

| Mark | Bengali | Avro | Bijoy | |------|---------|------|-------| | Period (full stop) | । (dari) | . | . | | Period (English) | . | . + accent key | NumPad . | | Comma | , | , | , | | Question mark | ? | ? | ? | | Exclamation | ! | ! | ! | | Semicolon | ; | ; | ; | | Colon | : | not used; use : + accent | : + accent |

The most common surprise: typing . in Avro produces । (dari), not the English period. To get a literal English period, type . followed by the accent key (``).

This is correct behaviour. Bengali sentences traditionally end with ।, not with the Latin period. Most published Bengali content uses ।. The literal period is only needed for English-mixed text, file names, decimal numbers, or URLs.

Currency symbols

| Symbol | Avro | Bijoy | |--------|------|-------| | ৳ (taka) | $ | $ | | $ (literal dollar) | $ + accent | $ + accent |

Bengali keyboards reuse the dollar key for the taka sign because the symbols are visually similar and the taka is much more common in Bengali typing. To type a literal dollar (for English-mixed financial text), follow the dollar key with the accent escape.

Special signs

| Mark | Bengali | Avro | Bijoy | |------|---------|------|-------| | Anusvara (অনুস্বার) | ং | ng | Q | | Visarga (বিসর্গ) | ঃ | : | ? | | Chandrabindu (চন্দ্রবিন্দু) | ঁ | ^ | Q (different placement) | | Khondo Ta (খণ্ড ত) | ৎ | t``` (t + accent + accent) | t| | Hasant (হসন্ত) | ্ |,,|g` |

The anusvara is one of the most common diacritics in Bengali. It appears in words like বাংলা, রং, ফল্গু (rare). The ng key sequence in Avro is straightforward; in Bijoy it is a single shifted key.

The visarga is rare but appears in formal vocabulary and Sanskrit-derived names: দুঃখ (sorrow), নিঃসঙ্গ (alone), অন্তঃসত্ত্বা (pregnant). Reach for the visarga key (: in Avro) when these words come up.

Quotation marks

Bengali uses different quotation marks for nested speech. In Avro:

• Curly opening: type "
• Curly closing: type "
• For Bengali angle quotes (' '), use the OS keyboard's Unicode insert, or copy-paste from a reference.

In practice most modern Bengali writing uses straight or curly Latin quotation marks. The traditional angle quotes are rare in digital text.

A complete practice passage

This single paragraph exercises Bengali digits, dari, comma, question mark, colon, taka, quotation marks, and the anusvara — all the common punctuation cases in one short passage.

আজ ১৫ই মার্চ ২০২৬। আমার বাবা ১৯৭০ সালের মে মাসে জন্মেছিলেন। তিনি বললেন, "তোমার বয়স কত?" আমি উত্তর দিলাম: "আমার বয়স ২২ বছর।" ৫০০ টাকা দামের বইটি কিনলাম। বইয়ের মূল্য ৳৫০০ মাত্র। বাংলা ভাষার সঙ্গে আমার সম্পর্ক অনেক পুরনো।

Type that passage three times in a row in your favourite Bengali editor. By the third pass you should be hitting every punctuation case without thinking.

Numeric formatting conventions

Bengali numbers follow the same digit grouping as English but use the Bengali numerals. Examples:

• One thousand: ১,০০০
• One lakh: ১,০০,০০০ (note: Indian-style grouping, comma between hundreds and lakhs)
• One crore: ১,০০,০০,০০০

The lakh and crore conventions differ from international (thousand-million-billion) grouping. If you write Bengali for a Bangladeshi or Indian audience, use the lakh/crore style. If you write for a global audience in Bengali, the international style is acceptable.

Mixed Bengali-English text

When typing a paragraph that mixes Bengali and English (technical articles, mixed-language emails), the typing flow is straightforward:

• Type Bengali sections in Avro/Bijoy as usual
• Type English sections by switching keyboard layout (Ctrl+Space on most systems, or whatever your input method shortcut is)
• For inline English words inside Bengali sentences, type the English word, then continue in Bengali — the layout switching is usually fast enough to feel natural after a week of practice

Avoid typing English with Bengali letters (e.g. typing "ComputaR" with Latin characters in the middle of Bengali text). It looks unprofessional and confuses search engines.

A final tip

If you write Bengali for publication (blog posts, articles, books), enable spelling and punctuation checks in your editor. Most modern editors (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, LibreOffice) have Bengali spell-checkers. They catch the conjunct typos, missing diacritics, and punctuation mix-ups that human eyes miss after long writing sessions. Treat the spell-checker as a typing partner, not as a crutch.