Bamini to Unicode
Convert Bamini to Unicode so old Tamil files read on any device. Paste text from a Bamini document, and the result box shows the same words in Unicode Tamil. Post it, email it or put it on a website, and nobody needs the Bamini font to read or search it.
Also:Tamil Font Converter
0 characters
What we accept
What goes in and out
Text in
Paste or type
Bamini text
Text out
Copy
Unicode text
Download
.docx, .rtf, .txt
Where it runs
Conversion
In your browser
Your text
Not uploaded
Why people use this tool
Old Bamini notices, letters and memoirs, turned into Tamil you can post, email and search.
Old files, readable again
Notices, articles and letters typed in Bamini become text anyone can read and search without the font.
Spots the wrong font
Tamil text in TSCII or other old fonts is not Bamini. You get a note pointing to the right converter.
Ready to share
Unicode Tamil works on Facebook, WhatsApp, email and websites. On a phone, share it straight from the page.
Stays in your browser
The conversion runs on your device. Your text is not uploaded to our server.
English left alone
Words in English, numbers and email addresses are kept as they are. Only the old-font text is changed.
Words to check are marked
If a word does not look like a real word after conversion, it is underlined so you can check it.
How to convert Bamini to Unicode
Four steps, all of them in your browser. Nothing to install and no account.
Open the old file.
Open the Bamini document in Word or your layout app and copy the text.
Paste it here.
The Tamil appears in Unicode as you paste.
Read through it.
Underlined words did not convert cleanly. If most of the text looks wrong, the file may use another Tamil font.
Copy, share or save it.
Copy the Unicode text, share it from your phone, or download a Word file.
What's kept, and what to check
The text comes across as it was typed. A few things are worth a look before you use it.
What's kept
What comes across
Paragraphs.
Breaks between paragraphs and lines stay.
Vowel signs.
Split vowels such as கொ and கோ are joined back into one Unicode letter.
English and numbers.
Copied unchanged.
Check before use
Look at these
Marked words.
Read each underlined word against the Bamini original before you share it.
Headings in other fonts.
A heading in a decorative Tamil font may not be Bamini. Convert it separately.
Windows has Latha and Nirmala UI for Tamil, and phones in India and Sri Lanka show it without a download. The Word file comes with Latha already set.
Tricky letters we test
Old Bamini files are full of these. Each pair below is this page's own output, made when the site was built.
| Bamini keys | Unicode | What makes it hard |
|---|---|---|
| Bamini keys=yq;fhTld; | Unicodeஸ்ரீலங்காவுடன் | The word starts with =, a symbol key. It has to be read as ஸ்ரீ and opened out into four Unicode characters. |
| Bamini keysUf;\hd; | Unicodeருக்ஷான் | The backslash in f;\h is a letter, not punctuation: க் and ஷ join into க்ஷ. |
| Bamini keysuh[gf;~ | Unicodeராஜபக்ஷ | Baamini files type ஷ on ~ where Bamini uses \. Both are read as ஷ. |
| Bamini keysnfhOk;G | Unicodeகொழும்பு | The n typed before f is the first half of ொ. It moves after க and joins h as one vowel sign. |
| Bamini keysNfhupf;iffs; | Unicodeகோரிக்கைகள் | N before the letter and h after it make ோ. Later, if is typed ை first and becomes கை. |
| Bamini keysnfsjkd; | Unicodeகௌதமன் | s is usually the letter ள. After n and f it is the length mark of ௌ instead. |
| Bamini keys[dhjpgjp | Unicodeஜனாதிபதி | An opening bracket, [, starts the word. Bamini draws ஜ on that key, so it is converted, not kept. |
| Bamini keyskf;fis | Unicodeமக்களை | The ; is a pulli, not a semicolon, so f;f is க்க. The i before s becomes ை after ள. |
| Bamini keysmjpgH | Unicodeஅதிபர் | Some files type ர் as H rather than u;. Both spellings are read as ர். |
| Bamini keysj kpo ; | Unicodeதமிழ் | Copied from a PDF with spaces inside the word. The pieces are joined back into one word before conversion. |
Questions
Answers to common questions about Bamini to Unicode.
Why does my Bamini text show as English letters?
Bamini follows the Tamil typewriter keyboard: the file holds English keys and the font paints them as Tamil. Without the Bamini font, a computer shows the keys, for example jkpo; instead of தமிழ். Unicode stores each Tamil letter as itself, so any phone shows it.
How do I convert Bamini to Latha?
Convert here, then download the Word file, which has Latha set. Latha is a Unicode font, so Bamini to Latha and Bamini to Unicode are the same job.
The result is full of wrong letters. What happened?
The text was probably not typed in Bamini. Sri Lankan and Indian files also use TSCII and other Tamil fonts. Try the Tamil font converter, which checks several. Text typed in Baamini is fine here, because it uses the Bamini layout.
Can I convert text from a Bamini PDF?
Copy the text out of the PDF and paste it here. PDFs often add spaces inside words, and those are joined for you. If boxes paste out instead of letters like jkpo;, the PDF did not keep its Bamini text.
Will it work on my phone?
Yes. Paste the text on your phone, then copy or share the result. Paste rather than type, because the keyboard may change the letters.
Is my text uploaded?
No. This Bamini font converter runs in your browser, and your text is not sent to our server.
Other tools in the set
Converters for other old fonts and the other direction. Each one runs in your browser.