# Navlipi Keyboard — Truly Phonemic Alphabet

> Truly Phonemic Alphabet (iPhone/iPad app by Navlipi.org.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/navlipi-keyboard/id1273454811 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Navlipi.org](https://appshunter.io/developer/1273454810)
- Category: Utilities, Education
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 18.0 · 1 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2018-01-19
- Data updated: 2026-06-02
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/navlipi-keyboard/id1273454811/reviews.md

## What is Navlipi Keyboard?

NAVLIPI
World’s first practical phonemic (also phonetic) alphabet, based on Latin alphabet. See: https://navlipi.org


All languages

Superscripts on some keys: E (English); M (Mandarin); T (Tamil); A (Arabic); Dewanaagari letter.
Long vowels by reduplication: Short i, u -> Long ii, uu, etc; aa an exception.

Common vowels
   • aa English father, Hindi आ
   • Ω English ball, vowel in Hindi कौन
   • ɔ (inverted-c) English Jack, vowel in Hindi मै
   • q English about, 2nd vowel in Hindi यन्त्र
   • a English but, Hindi अ
   • e English bet; ee fair, vowel in Hindi है; ε English gray, Hindi ए, Spanish que
   • y French tu, German ȕber; o// feuille; o/ German schön

Common non-vowels (consonants)
   • j English yes, Hindi य
   • ƪ (inverted-j) English Jack, Hindi ज
   • c Spanish chica, Hindi च
   • Aspiration (महाप्राण): Add hₒ to letter being aspirated. Thus, k (Hindi क), p (Hindi प) to khₒ (ख), phₒ (फ)
   • Fricatization (hissing sound): Add h₀. Except: x for velar unvoiced fricative (Scots loch, Hindi/Faarsi ख्वाब)
   • ƹ for voiced velar fricative, Hindi/Faarsi ग.म
   • sh₀ English shoot, Hindi श; zh₀ English pleasure

Nasals
   • As tilde symbol (~), or with n₀₀, m₀₀; place after syllable. Thus, Hindi हाां, French mon, Portuguese Saõ -> haa~ (haan₀₀), mo~ (mon₀₀), Saao~ (Saaon₀₀)
   • Velar, nasals nₒ (Dewanaagari ङ, English king -> kinₒg); palatal η (Dewanaagari ञ, English inch iηc)
Upper-, lower- case letters ARE distinguished.


Specific languages

English, West European, Russian languages
   • Alveolar t- , d as ŧŧ (or just tt ), đt (or just dt)
   • Unvoiced, voiced dental fricatives: English thin -> th₀in, this -> dh₀is

Hindi, other Indian languages
   • Retroflex (मूर्धन्त्य) non-vowels (ट, ठ, ड, ढ, ण) ŧ, ŧhₒ, đ, đhₒ, n
   • Flaps add dot (.). Thus ट. ड. ण. become ŧ. đ. n.
   • Vowel r-sound (ऋ): ȓ
   • Wisarga: as colon (:)
   • Diphthongs ऐ, औ, if actual diphthongs: aaε, aau. But these frequently pronounced as vowels ( cf. मै, है, कौन )
   • Retroflex Tamil l-like sound (zh in Latin transcription) as r

Arabic
   • Unvoiced uvular k-sound (q in Latin transcription): k..
   • Pharyngealized (faucal) dental t-, d- as t.., d..

Mandarin
   • 4 standard tones: leftmost 4 keys in top row of 3rd Navlipi keyboard. Placed after syllable having tone
   • hs-sound (x in Latin transcription, Xie Xie, “thank you”): ŧŧh₀

Select African languages
   • “Velarized” bilabials kp, gb
   • Initial nasals as n₀₀, m₀₀. E.g. Ngoma, Mbeki as N₀₀gomaa, M₀₀bƐki

Phonemic renditions

Hindi
   • vw for both v, w sounds in Hindi
   • f, ph-sounds, jointly as ph₈

English
   • pₒ for both p and ph (aspirated-p)
   • ttₒ for alveolar t, th-sounds

Standard French, Hochdeutsch
   • xr for both “throaty-r”, “rolled-r”

Mandarin
   • Both p-, b-sounds, as b∞
   • Both alveolar t, d-sounds as d∞

Tamil
   • Both dental t, th sounds as tₒ


## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 4.0 — 2025-10-29

Various key improvements in both Universal and Hindi keyboards

### 3.1 — 2024-03-12

Some minor updates

### 3.0 — 2024-03-06

New additional Navlipi Hindi keyboard

### 2.1 — 2024-02-11

Adding new symbols

### 2.0 — 2024-02-05

Simplified keyboard layouts

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-02.*