עצהלעך פֿאַר טיפּירן ייִדיש
Tips for Typing Yiddish
Tips for Typing Yiddish
Basically, in order to read or write Yiddish text, in the standard
format, on a computer, you must check for only 2-3 settings in each
program (i.e., each application):
- Paragraph Direction – Right-to-Left (RTL) [Note that “paragraph direction” is specific and is not the same as “text direction.”]
- Keyboard Language – Yiddish (This last is only needed to type Yiddish. If you plan to read only, with no typing, you don’t technically need this either, but you’ll miss all the fun.)
- Font – Surprisingly, there are several standard fonts, which you already have, that work for Yiddish (Times New Roman for beautiful serif letters or Ariel for san serif). Or you can add specialized fonts.
Encoding – Unicode UTF-8 (Don’t worry, it’s just a setting, to make it uniform, so that one person’s Yiddish text will show up consistently on another person’s computer.) Most systems use this already, but if something doesn’t seem right — or if you are seeing an option to select Unicode, do that and select UTF-8.
װי אַזױ אױסצוקלײבן אַ װירטועלע ייִדיש-קלאַװיאַטור
How to Choose a Virtual Yiddish Keyboard
There are many choices for each operating system. How to decide? There are no cost considerations, as virtually all the options are free. Here are some thoughts:
Desktop (or Laptop) Computer:
Generally, we all touch-type (at least to some degree) by spreading out all our fingers on the nice large physical keyboard. So, if you’re used to touch-typing, you want a Yiddish keyboard layout that makes sense to you, logically, for Yiddish. Each person’s mind works in its own way, our own personal mental associations. Take a look at each of the available options for your system. Which one makes the most sense to you? The answer will be different for each person. For example, I simply must have my komets-alef on the letter O or else I’m not happy. You might have different considerations and preferences. Remember that since it’s a virtual keyboard, the language / letters stamped on your physical keyboard will not change. So, in order to type quickly, you want something that you find the easiest to learn. Yes, you can install all of them, try them all, and then remove the ones you don’t like.
Smartphone:
Very different considerations than for a computer. Remember, you cannot touch type with all fingers on a smartphone because it’s too small. Most people use some form of hunt-and-peck to type on a phone. Another difference from a computer is that the keys that you see on the screen reflect the current language. So, for example, if your keyboard places komets-alef where the letter O was in English, you will see a komets-alef on that key; the O will be hidden. So, since you’re hunting and pecking anyway and since the current language (e.g., Yiddish) letters show up right on the keys, the layout may feel less important. Instead, to compare the choices for your smartphone, look at functionality:
- How do you switch between languages? (They are not all the same, unlike a computer.) Personal preference, whatever feels easier to you.
- How do you access the Yiddish letters which don’t fit on the face-value keys? In most cases, there are too many to fit without using Shift or a Long-Press or some other method. Long-press doesn’t exist on a computer, but it does on a smartphone for some keyboards. Do you like that? Or maybe you prefer using Shift.
- Are combination letters (like vov yud) available on one key or do you need to press two keys? Which one of these methods feels more intuitive to you?
- Any device — Maybe you’re really in a hurry to get started and you don’t want to install anything. In that case, you may prefer to get used to what you have. Hopefully, the references on this site will be helpful.
װי אַזױ אױסצובײַטן צװישן שפּראַכן
How to Switch between Languages
Yiddish has always been a language of bi-lingual people and polyglots. To make it easy to toggle back and forth between and among any languages you have installed on your device, here is how to switch — e.g., typing in Yiddish, then in English, then in French:
- Windows PC — Shift + Alt Click here to learn how to set this up.
Or click on language/keyboard indicator on the Task Bar - Mac computer — Cmd + Space
Or click on the flag menu - Android — When you are looking at a virtual keyboard, there is a tiny rectangle of dots in the lower right, just beyond the keyboard. Click on that to see a list of all your installed keyboards. You can quickly click on the one you want to use next. (Except if switching languages within Keyman or Gboard, click on the globe, lower left on keyboard. To switch languages within SwiftKey, swipe on the space bar.) If you have Keyman, Gboard and/or Swiftkey installed, you can still use the usual method, described first in this section, to switch in and out of these systems — e.g., to go from Swiftkey to a non-Swiftkey keyboard.
- iPhone & iPad — Tap or long-press the Globe which is in the lower left of the keyboard. (Except, to switch languages within SwiftKey, swipe on the space bar.)
The same methods apply if you install more than one keyboard for a language; e.g., to try out and compare different virtual keyboard layouts for Yiddish.
מאָסיקײט
Moderation
It’s very tempting to type everything in Yiddish, isn’t it? Slow down — we suggest using the English/Latin alphabet for the following: Computer File Names & Subject Headers on Email messages, etc. Why? Because machines are processing that; and not all systems handle multiple languages consistently. For example, it’s so cool to type your email subject header in Yiddish – because you can — but the myriad of systems used by the recipients of your emails might not be able to handle that — and the resulting weird characters might make your email appear to be spam. And besides, if you stick to one alphabet for all your file names and subject headers, it will make your own searching on your computer or device much easier. It’s a small compromise — not required, just recommended.
סיסטעם-פֿאָדערונגען
System Requirements
This site assumes you have the operating systems for your device or computer which are standard as of 2019 or later. To the best of our knowledge, most of the virtual keyboard options work on older systems as well, but we cannot say with certainty. Try it! If you are running legacy equipment and the options here don’t work for you, you might find help at the Legacy Site.