Start Writing in Lebanese with the new Lebanese Keyboard
Download the Lebanese Keyboard
Kelme's "Lebnéne - Lebanese keyboard" lets you easily write in Lebanese as it is pronounced, eliminating the need to use numbers as letters or navigate Arabic letters. Unlike traditional writing systems, which can be challenging for Lebanese speakers, our phonetic approach is intuitive and simple for native and non-native speakers. With Lebnéne, users can stay connected with friends and family in Lebanon and communicate effortlessly for work or personal projects. Download it now and experience the convenience of writing in Lebanese!
Are we writing "Arabic" with "European" letters?
Upon encountering the Kelme project, people wonder why we are writing “Arabic” with “European” letters. The language in question is not precisely Arabic, and the keyboard’s notes are not strictly European. Our Lebanese vernacular is commonly classified among the Neo-Arabic dialects. In truth, it is a pidgin born out of...
Comparing the Lebanese alphabet to some Latin and Semitic alphabets
After years of research, brainstorming, and surveying, we have succeeded in creating a modern Lebanese alphabet that consists of 35 letters reflecting the sounds of our most common vernacular. Check the alphabet compared to Arabic, Italian...
There’s Finally An App To Help You Type In Lebanese, Making Lebanese Convos So Much Easier
Enthusiasts behind the Kelme team unveiled the “Lebnéne” app that will help people type in Lebanese as a way to express their culture through Lebanese letters. The Kelme team includes Lebanese-language devotees from several domains who created a tool to help the Lebanese-speaking community around the world express themselves simply...
Compatible fonts
The Kelme writing system is a Unicode-compliant Latin-based writing system for the Lebanese and other Semitic dialects. It is natively supported on iOS and most Android devices, but designers and authors often prefer to have a choice of fonts when creating content in Lebanese.
The Kelme writing system consists of 84 characters, including uppercase and lowercase letters, consonants, vowels, and emphatic characters. Most of these characters are part of the Core Latin-based character collection, while a few others are part of the African and Beyond Latin-based character collections.
Many Latin-based fonts are currently being updated to support all Latin-based characters, including those used in the Kelme writing system. Currently, there are at least 100 fonts that support all of the Kelme characters. These fonts are available on Google Fonts for Free and on Adobe Fonts with a subscription.
A few recommended fonts: Noto Sans - Fira Sans - Noto Serif - Arimo -Anton - EB Garamond - and Questrial.
The alphabet: Aa Bb Čč Dd Ḍḍ Ee Ff Gg Ġġ Hh Ḥḥ Ii Jj Kk Ḳḳ Ll Mm Nn Ƹƹ Oo Pp Əɂ Qq Rr Ss Ṣṣ Tt Ṭṭ Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz Żż.
The full list of characters including uppercase and lowercase letters, consonants, vowels, and emphatic characters: AÁBCČDḌEÉFGĠHḤIÍJKḲLMNƸOÓPƏQRSṢTṬUÚÜVWXYZŻaábcčdḍeéfgġhḥiíjkḳlmnƹoópɂqrsṣtṭuúüvwxyzż.