Lipi: Bangla keyboard for Android, side by side with Ridmik

1. 01

   Why I built Lipi

   Ridmik is the keyboard Bangladesh knows. After years of typing on Ridmik, once I started building apps I wanted to try a Bangla keyboard of my own. I spent my effort on a few small things: remembering the word you pick, finding the word when you spell it a little differently, the number boxes in bKash and Nagad, and fitting tablets and foldable phones.

   Lipi follows the Avro Phonetic rules that Avro Keyboard created, the same rules Ridmik types with.

2. 02

   What Lipi does

   Lipi is a Bangla keyboard for Android. You type in English letters and it converts them to Bangla using the Avro Phonetic standard. Here is what each main feature does, with a plain example.

   Avro Phonetic typing. Type ami bangla likhchi and see আমি বাংলা লিখছি appear. The full Avro rule set is implemented: consonants, vowels, conjuncts, the backtick escape, and capital letters for hard sounds (T for ট, D for ড, Sh for শ).

   Learning loop. Tap a suggestion once, and Lipi records the link between what you typed and the Bangla word. The next time you type the same thing, the composing text itself shows your learned word — no need to tap again. The literal Avro conversion stays as a correction chip in case you want it.

   Variant-aware suggestions. Type fone and Lipi also looks up phone → ফোন. Type valo and it finds bhalo → ভালো. Common Avro spelling confusions are handled so you reach the word you meant.

   Probhat and Avro Direct layouts. Two fixed-Bangla layouts for people who prefer typing Bangla characters directly. প্রভাত (Probhat) is the standard open-source positional layout. অভ্র সরাসরি (Avro Direct) puts each key’s Avro phonetic Bangla equivalent on the QWERTY positions.

   Numeric keypad for payment apps. When you focus a number field (in bKash, Nagad, or an OTP screen), Lipi switches to a numeric keypad automatically. It sends the digits the way those apps expect, so they are not lost.

   Adaptive keyboard height. Lipi scales itself based on screen shape: shorter on landscape phones, taller on tablets in portrait. On a foldable phone, when you switch screens it measures again so the bottom row is not cut off.

   Grapheme-aware backspace. Bangla letters can span several small pieces joined together. One backspace tap deletes the whole visible character, not just one piece of it.

   Bilingual voice handover. The voice button asks the system’s speech recognizer to listen in Bangla when the keyboard is in Bangla mode, and in English in English mode. Lipi never touches the microphone itself.

   Settings in your language. When the keyboard is in Bangla mode, the settings page renders in Bangla. In English mode, it renders in English. No separate “UI language” toggle.

   Clipboard, snippets, user dictionary. A clipboard row above the keyboard holds your recent copies. Quick-text snippets let you save and insert paragraphs with one tap. The user dictionary lets you view, add, and delete learned words.

   Taka sign. The symbol layout includes ৳ on the first page, alongside standard punctuation.

3. 03

   Side by side with Ridmik

   Both keyboards type Bangla well. Here is where each one does things differently.

   Feature	Lipi	Ridmik Keyboard
   Avro Phonetic	Yes	Yes (ridmik.com)
   Probhat layout	Yes	Yes — plus Jatiyo, Arabic, Chakma (ridmik.com/keyboard)
   iOS version	Android only	Android and iOS (ridmik.com)
   Themes	Light, Dark, Auto (three themes)	100+ themes and a built-in theme builder (ridmik.com)
   Stickers and emoji	Standard Android emoji	Sticker and emoji set (ridmik.com/keyboard)
   Predictive suggestions	Yes, with on-device learned dictionary	Yes, with predictive suggestions and “learn from your typing” (ridmik.com/keyboard)
   Voice typing	Yes — uses your phone’s voice typing	Yes — voice typing (ridmik.com)
   Learning loop (tap once, next time automatic)	Yes — composing text changes to your picked word	Not stated on its listing
   Variant-aware lookup (fone→phone)	Yes	Not stated on its listing
   Adaptive height for foldables and tablets	Yes — automatic by screen shape	Keyboard height adjustment (ridmik.com/keyboard)
   Number field auto-detection (bKash, Nagad)	Yes — switches to numeric keypad	Not stated on its listing
   Grapheme-aware backspace	Yes — deletes whole visible Bangla character	Not stated on its listing
   Settings in Bangla	Yes — follows keyboard language automatically	Not stated on its listing

   Ridmik has strengths Lipi does not match: a theme builder with over a hundred themes, sticker packs, Jatiyo and Chakma and Arabic layouts, and an iOS version. People who like customizing how their keyboard looks, or who need layouts for Chakma or Arabic script, or who use an iPhone, may prefer Ridmik.

   What Lipi asks for on your phone

   Lipi asks for no permissions: no internet access, microphone, contacts or storage. Voice typing opens your phone’s own voice typing app.

4. 04

   What Lipi does not do yet

   Lipi does not support swipe-to-type (gesture typing). Manual split-keyboard width adjustment for wide screens is not yet available. The app is Android only and has no iOS version.

5. 05

   A thank-you to Ridmik’s makers

   Ridmik Labs has been building Bangla typing tools since 2012, and years of Bangla typing on phones stand on their work.

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