Kruti Dev Font: Kruti Dev 010 to Unicode Converter and Guide

What Is Kruti Dev Font and Why Does It Show Gibberish?

Before Unicode was common in India, Hindi fonts used a trick. They took the normal English character codes and drew Hindi shapes on them. So when you press d with Kruti Dev selected, the file still stores the English letter d, but the font draws क. Type dey and you see कमल.

This is why Kruti Dev is called a legacy or non-Unicode font. The Hindi only exists in how the font draws it. That causes problems:

• Send the file to someone without the font, and they see Hkkjr instead of भारत.
• Change the font to Arial or Mangal, and the whole page turns into English letters.
• Google cannot search it as Hindi, and phone apps cannot read it.
• Copying it into WhatsApp or an email sends gibberish.

A Unicode font like Mangal, Nirmala UI or Noto Sans Devanagari works differently. Each Hindi letter has its own code, so भारत stays भारत in any Unicode font on any device.

Kruti Dev to Unicode Converter: How to Use It

1. Open your old Word file or PDF text that was typed in Kruti Dev.
2. Select the text and copy it. It may look like English gibberish once copied, which is normal.
3. Paste it into the left box of the converter above.
4. Copy the Unicode Hindi from the result box.
5. Paste it anywhere. In Word, set the font to Mangal, Nirmala UI or any other Unicode Hindi font.

Read the result once before using it. Rare joined letters or symbols can need a small fix by hand. This also works as a krutidev to Mangal font converter, because Mangal is a Unicode font: once the text is Unicode, you just pick Mangal in Word.

Need the other direction? A Unicode to non-Unicode font converter turns Unicode Hindi back into Kruti Dev codes. That is only useful for old software or an office format that still accepts nothing but Kruti Dev. For anything new, keep Unicode.

Kruti Dev Font Keyboard Layout and Typing Tests

The Kruti Dev font keyboard follows the Remington layout, the same key positions as the old Hindi typewriters. A few things to know:

• You type with the normal English keyboard setting on. The font changes what you see, not what the keys send.
• The short i matra (ि) is typed before the letter, as on a typewriter. Many half letters and conjuncts have their own keys or key pairs.
• A printed Kruti Dev font chart (key map) helps a lot while you learn. Your typing institute or practice software usually gives one.

In government typing tests you will usually see two options:

Remington typists can move to Mangal using a Remington (GAIL) style keyboard, so the key positions feel familiar. Always check the official exam notice for which font and layout are allowed, and practise on that exact setup. Our Mangal font guide covers the Unicode side.

Kruti Dev Font Download: Read This First

We do not host font files on this site. Kruti Dev fonts have been passed around as freeware for many years, but the licence terms are unclear, and many download pages are full of ads, fake buttons and bundled software. Whether you search for a Kruti Dev font download, a krutidev font download or a Devlys 010 font download, the same rules apply:

• Ask your typing institute, office IT team or exam body for the file they use.
• Get it only from a source you trust, and scan the file before opening it.
• A real font file ends in .ttf or .otf. Never run a .exe that claims to be a font.
• Avoid "all fonts" zip packs from unknown sites.

To install on Windows 10 or Windows 11, right-click the .ttf file and choose Install. Then pick Kruti Dev 010 in the font list of Word. For Android mobile, most phones do not let you add a font to the whole system. The easier way is to convert Kruti Dev text to Unicode with the converter above, since every Android phone already shows Unicode Hindi.

Kruti Dev 010, 011, 055 and Other Versions

The Kruti Dev family has many numbered fonts, such as Kruti Dev 010, 011, 055 and more. The numbers mark different designs in the family, some bolder or more decorative. Kruti Dev 010 is the plain standard one used for typing tests and office work. A Kruti Dev 055 font download or Kruti Dev 011 font download gets you a different design, not a newer update of 010. People who search for a Kruti Dev 10 font download usually mean the same 010 font. Be wary of any "Kruti Dev all font download" pack from an unknown site.

Other legacy Hindi and Marathi fonts you may meet:

• Devlys: another non-Unicode Devanagari family, with Devlys 010 being the common one in typing work.
• Chanakya: a legacy Hindi font family often seen in older print and publishing files.
• Shree Lipi: a commercial Indian-language software package with its own font set. A Shree Lipi font converter changes its text to Unicode.
• Shivaji font: an older non-Unicode font widely used for Marathi.

Each legacy font family can store letters with different codes. So use a converter made for that exact font. A Kruti Dev converter will not give correct output for Shree Lipi text.

Should You Still Use Kruti Dev?

Use Kruti Dev only when an exam, court or office clearly asks for it. For everything else, a Unicode Hindi font is better: it works on phones, websites, email and search, and it never turns into gibberish. If you want decorated Hindi text for an Instagram bio or WhatsApp status, try our Hindi font style tool. To compare Kruti Dev with fonts like Mangal and Poppins, see our popular fonts list.