Tamil Typewriting Course – Tamil99, Junior & Senior Grade
Tamil typewriting for the Government Technical Examination, taught on the Tamil99 layout the exam requires. Junior Grade at 30 words per minute, Senior Grade at 45 — with the keyboard software and layout chart free to download.
Why the layout matters more in Tamil
Tamil typewriting is examined by the Department of Technical Education, Government of Tamil Nadu at Junior and Senior Grade, the same as English. What is different is the input method, and it is the part candidates underestimate.
The syllabus fixes the Tamil99 keyboard layout for Tamil, and the Marutham font at size 12. Practising on a different layout — a phonetic scheme, or the older typewriter layout — builds finger memory you then have to unlearn in the exam hall.
Speed thresholds are the same as English: 30 words per minute for Junior Grade, 45 for Senior Grade. Reaching them while taking the COA certificate course certifies you at the corresponding typewriting grade in that language.
Tamil is a different problem from English at the same nominal speed, because a Tamil character is usually built from more than one keystroke. See below.
How Tamil99 works, and how the course teaches it
- The layout is syllabic, not alphabetic. Tamil99 puts the vowels and the consonants in separate zones and builds a letter from a combination: a consonant key, then a vowel key. That is the design of the layout and it is why a typing speed in Tamil is not directly comparable to the same number in English — more keystrokes go into each word.
- Learn the consonant zone first. The base consonant keys are learned as a block before any combination work, in the same way English typing starts on the home row and stays there.
- Then the vowel keys. The vowel modifiers are a small, fixed set. Once they are automatic, every consonant-vowel combination becomes reachable rather than memorised one at a time — which is the whole advantage of Tamil99 over rote layouts.
- Combinations, drilled. Consonant plus vowel, worked systematically across the grid so no combination is one you have never typed. The Tamil99 layout chart on this site sets the grid out in full.
- Words and sentences. Common Tamil words, then sentences, then full paragraphs — building rhythm rather than isolated accuracy.
- Timed passages. Speed measured in words per minute with errors counted, worked up to the grade threshold with a margin.
- Practice at home. The free CCE Tamil Keyboard software puts the same Tamil99 layout on any Windows machine, so practice between classes is on the same keys as the exam.
CCE Tamil Keyboard — type Tamil on any Windows PC
Our own Tamil input software, free from the downloads page:
CCE Tamil Keyboard, version 1.2.2 — about 270 KB, for Windows 10 and 11.
It provides the Tamil99 layout and the older typewriter layout, sits in the system tray, switches modes with Ctrl+Shift+T and can start with Windows. It works in any application, so practice can happen in whatever you already use.
Having Tamil99 available outside class is most of the difference between students who reach the grade and students who do not — the layout only becomes automatic with daily repetition.
Tamil Typewriting Junior Grade
Target: 30 words per minute on the Tamil99 layout.
Junior Grade covers the consonant and vowel zones, the full combination grid, and paragraph typing in Marutham at size 12. It is the grade most clerical notifications ask for, and for Tamil-medium candidates it is often the more useful of the two language certificates.
The work is in the combinations. Once a consonant-vowel pair no longer needs thinking about, speed follows on its own.
Tamil Typewriting Senior Grade
Target: 45 words per minute on the same layout.
Senior Grade is longer passages at a sustained rate, with the less common combinations, numerals and punctuation typed without hesitation. Candidates who plateau at Junior Grade speed are almost always losing the time on a handful of combinations they still have to think about — Senior Grade practice finds those and drills them out.
Tamil typewriting with COA and English
The COA course requires Tamil99 for its Tamil work too, so the layout learned here carries straight into the COA practical — and the syllabus certifies the speed you reach as a typewriting grade in its own right.
Many students take English typewriting alongside it, since the two are separate certificates, and Tamil shorthand. Classes run at Thirukkanur and Mundiyapakkam, and online.
How we teach it
Tamil99, the exam layout
Taught on the layout the syllabus mandates, so nothing has to be unlearned in the exam hall.
Free software to practise at home
CCE Tamil Keyboard puts Tamil99 on any Windows PC, so daily practice is on the same keys.
Combinations, not memorisation
Consonant and vowel zones learned as systems, so every combination becomes reachable rather than individually memorised.
Timed to the grade
Practice at 30 and 45 wpm with errors counted the way the examination counts them.
Tamil typewriting FAQ
Which keyboard layout does the Tamil typewriting exam use?
Tamil99. The Government Technical Examination syllabus fixes the Tamil99 keyboard layout for Tamil and QWERTY for English, with Marutham font at size 12 for Tamil.
What speed is needed for Tamil Typewriting Junior and Senior Grade?
Thirty words per minute for Junior Grade and forty-five for Senior Grade — the same thresholds as English, on the Tamil99 layout.
How do I type Tamil on my own computer to practise?
Download the free CCE Tamil Keyboard software from our downloads page. It is about 270 KB, runs on Windows 10 and 11, provides both the Tamil99 and typewriter layouts, and switches modes with Ctrl+Shift+T.
Is Tamil typing harder than English typing at the same speed?
It is a different task. Tamil99 builds most letters from a consonant key followed by a vowel key, so more keystrokes go into each word than in English. That is why the layout has to become automatic before speed work is worth doing.
Can I take both Tamil and English typewriting?
Yes. They are separate certificates on different layouts and are examined independently, so each grade stands on its own.
Where can I get the Tamil99 keyboard layout chart?
The Tamil99 layout chart is free to download from this page and from our downloads page.