1

Regular users of conversational Hebrew might type in Hebrew quite often. They might type emails, instant messages, and Facebook posts, all in Hebrew.

I type in Hebrew far less often. Still, I might occasionally type the odd word or phrase in Hebrew — for example, perhaps while composing a post on Mi Yodeya. Maybe once every month or two, if that.

I know I can configure my computer so that I can switch keyboard layouts on demand. This will let me easily switch between Hebrew and English keyboard layouts.

I type Hebrew so rarely that I suspect I may have forgotten everything I've known about the standard Hebrew keyboard layout, multiple times.

On-screen keyboards such as the Mi Yodeya virtual Hebrew keyboard are nice, but typing with my mouse is a bit fiddly.

Is there an easier, faster way? Perhaps an "input method editor" (IME) which will allow me to type Hebrew using my fingers, but with less of a learning curve required.

6
  • 1
    its very easy begin with כ ח and add one letter when you have the mastery
    – kouty
    Apr 13, 2017 at 13:57
  • 1
    @kouty: Learning to touch-type in Hebrew requires regular practice. I don't practice often enough, and I don't want to practice regularly. So I might forget everything between every practice session.
    – unforgettableidSupportsMonica
    Apr 13, 2017 at 14:02
  • 1
    To each their own :) ...you could also use stickers; I can't vouch for them, personally, but my friends have reported great success in using those.
    – MTL
    Apr 13, 2017 at 15:53
  • @unforgettableid meta is for questions about using the site, not about Hebrew in general. But we have a meta question about typing in Hebrew on this site, so I've migrated it and marked it as a dupe. Feel free to move your answers here to the other question if they apply (I haven't read them carefully).
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 13, 2017 at 16:48
  • Odd -- a comment on the original post from Shokhet didn't move here in the migration but also isn't showing as deleted (so I can't undelete it). Here it is, for context: "See judaism.meta.stackexchange.com/q/13/5323. || I learned to type using Windows' on-screen keyboard -- even if you don't want to learn to type, you can use an on-screen keyboard to orient your fingers. The Windows OSK shows the Hebrew characters on the keys together with the English characters, so if you can two-hand-type in English, it's not so hard to do that with Hebrew."
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 13, 2017 at 19:04
  • @Shokhet: Hmmm. The on-screen keyboard (or stickers) wouldn't truly require any memorization; yet they still might require me to spend time searching before every keystroke. In the end, if a person types in Hebrew seldom enough, I suspect that "Google Input Tools" or "Heblish" would remain easier.
    – unforgettableidSupportsMonica
    Apr 14, 2017 at 16:33

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

You can use the Google Input Tools software. This software acts like a classical input method editor (IME). There's an online version, a Windows version, an Android version, and a Chrome version. (I presume the Chrome version works on Windows, Mac OS, Chrome OS, and some other platforms.)

It's all freeware.

The online version offers lots of options:

  • The typing option. You type a word in English, such as "mazal". It shows you a list of possible transliterations, ordered from most to least likely. (Google knows which Hebrew words are most common.) To accept the most-likely choice, you press the spacebar. To choose an alternative, you click on it or enter its number.
  • The Google onscreen keyboard. It doesn't support glide writing.
  • Handwriting recognition. This works well on cellphones and tablets. It's more awkward on computers, because drawing cursive Hebrew using a mouse is an awkward endeavor.

There's no vowel support.

The Android version appears to be divided into two parts:

  • There's the virtual keyboard, which supports tap typing, glide writing, and speech recognition. It has an optional "translate as you type" feature, which uses Google Translate.
  • There's also the handwriting recognizer, which is a separate app.
0

You can use a product called "Heblish".

  • The developer's "Web Heblish" product is free to use.

    • Basic use: You can see the quickstart page here, but that page doesn't really explain why some of the mappings have fallen where they've fallen. If you find that you use Heblish for more than two minutes a year, I highly recommend that you go through the tutorial instead.
    • Advanced use: If you need to type vowels, see the vowel tutorial. If you need to change the direction of letters or words, see the direction tutorial. Or you can see the full reference card.

  • The developer's "Windows Heblish" product costs money to buy. I've never tried it.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .