Common Punjabi typing mistakes
In the Punjabi typing test a word is either right or wrong. One missing addak or a wrong matra makes the whole word a full mistake, which costs you 5 characters. These are the errors that appear again and again in candidates' results, and how to stop making them.
1. Typing sihari before the letter
Sihari (ਿ) is written before the consonant, so many beginners press it first. In Unicode the order is always consonant first, then sihari. The font moves it to the left for you.
- ਕਿ = K F (correct: letter, then sihari)
- ਲਿਖ = N F Shift+K
2. Forgetting addak
Addak (ੱ) doubles the next consonant. It is typed before the letter it doubles, and it is very easy to leave out at speed.
- ਪੱਕਾ = H Shift+4 K E
- ਵਿੱਚ = B F Shift+4 ;
Words like ਵਿੱਚ, ਇੱਕ, ਉੱਤੇ and ਗੱਲ appear in almost every passage. Drill them until you type the addak without thinking.
3. Mixing up tippi and bindi
Tippi (ੰ) and bindi (ਂ) both add a nasal sound, but they are different characters on different keys, and the test treats them as different words. Tippi usually goes with mukta, sihari, aunkar and dulainkar; bindi with most other vowels.
- ਸੰਤ = M X L
- ਮਾਂ = C E Shift+X
4. Pair bindi letters
Letters such as ਸ਼, ਖ਼, ਗ਼, ਜ਼, ਫ਼ and ਲ਼ have a dot (nukta) at the foot. Type the base letter, then the nukta key. If the passage has the dot and you leave it out, the word is wrong.
- ਜ਼ = P ]
- ਸ਼ਹਿਰ = M ] U F J
5. Half letters: pairi rara and pairi haha
Letters written at the foot of another, such as the ੍ਰ in ਪ੍ਰ or the ੍ਹ in ਪੜ੍ਹ, are made with the halant key followed by the letter.
- ਪ੍ਰ = H D J
- ਪੜ੍ਹ = H Shift+J D U
Check carefully whether the passage has ਪ੍ਰ (with pairi rara) or ਪਰ (with a full rara). They look similar at a glance but are different words.
6. Wrong vowel length
Sihari and bihari (ਿ and ੀ), aunkar and dulainkar (ੁ and ੂ), and lavan and dulavan (ੇ and ੈ) sit close together. Saying the word in your head as you type helps you pick the right one.
7. Spacing errors
Joining two words or splitting one word with an extra space is a half mistake. Press Space once between words, never twice, and do not put a space before the danda.
8. Skipping or adding words
When your eyes jump from one line of the passage to the next, it is easy to skip a word or a whole line, and every skipped word is a full mistake. Keep your eyes moving smoothly through the passage, and if you lose your place, look for the last word you typed before you continue.
How to find your own pattern
Everyone has a few personal errors that repeat. After each typing test, read the word-by-word result and count which kind of mistake appears most. Then spend the next day's warm-up on just that. Akhar's weak keys drill does this automatically from the keys you miss.
9. Numbers and punctuation
Passages often include years, amounts or counts. Some passages use Gurmukhi numerals such as ੧੯੪੭ and others use ordinary digits such as 1947. Type exactly what the passage shows, because the two are different characters. The same goes for commas, the danda ।, the double danda ॥, hyphens and quotation marks.
10. Bihari and the vowel carriers
Words that start with a vowel use a carrier letter: ੳ, ਅ or ੲ. On the INSCRIPT keyboard most full vowels have their own keys, such as ਈ, ਏ and ਓ. Typing the carrier and then a matra often looks almost the same on screen but is stored differently, so the checker marks it wrong. Use the full vowel key the layout gives you.
11. Words that look alike
Some pairs differ only by one small mark and change meaning completely, for example ਸਤ and ਸੱਤ, ਪਤਾ and ਪੱਤਾ, or ਮਲ and ਮੱਲ. When you type from memory instead of from the passage, you will often type the wrong one. Keep your eyes on the reference text.
Accuracy matters more than you think
Each full mistake costs 5 characters, which is a whole word. In a 10-minute test at 32 words per minute, eight full mistakes take about 40 characters off your net total and pull your accuracy down by around two and a half percent. A candidate who would comfortably pass can fail on accuracy alone. Cutting your mistakes in half is usually easier than adding five words per minute, and it has a bigger effect on the result.
A good target in practice is no more than four or five full mistakes in a 10-minute passage. If you regularly make more, slow down by a few words per minute until your accuracy is consistently above 95%.