Vatteluttu
See a name or word in Vatteluttu, the rounded script that was used to write Tamil and Malayalam for centuries. Learn the letters step by step, and download a free Vatteluttu font. This is a first draft, and it has not been checked by a Vatteluttu expert yet.
1 · Your text
2 · Vatteluttu
Tamil reading
Vatteluttu has the same 18 consonants as Tamil, so text is first written in Tamil and this font shows it in Vatteluttu shapes. Letters Vatteluttu did not have (ja, sha, sa, ha) are folded into Tamil sounds. When you copy, you copy ordinary Tamil text; install the font to see it as Vatteluttu.
Six short lessons
1 · What Vatteluttu is
Vatteluttu (வட்டெழுத்து) is a rounded script that developed from Tamil-Brahmi. It appears in stone inscriptions in southern India from about the 4th century and was used to write Tamil and, later, Malayalam. It was used in Tamil Nadu until roughly the 9th to 10th century and in Kerala until about the 15th. The name is usually explained as “rounded script”, though other meanings have been suggested. Malayalam script and Koleluttu grew out of it.
2 · Same sounds as Tamil
Vatteluttu was made for Tamil, so it has the same sounds as Tamil: 12 vowels and 18 consonants. It has no letters for the Sanskrit sounds ஜ ஷ ஸ ஹ. That is why you can type ordinary Tamil and see it as Vatteluttu.
3 · Vowels
The vowels are அ ஆ இ ஈ உ ஊ எ ஏ ஐ ஒ ஓ ஔ. In the chart below you can see each one in Vatteluttu. Compare them with the Tamil letters next to them.
4 · Consonants
The consonants are க ங ச ஞ ட ண த ந ப ம ய ர ல வ ழ ள ற ன. Each carries the sound a by itself: க is ka. Many Vatteluttu consonants are simple curves and hooks, which is why it is called the round script.
5 · Vowel signs
To change the vowel, add a sign to the consonant, as in Tamil. In this font every consonant and vowel combination is drawn as one joined shape, so you only type Tamil. See the chart for all 216 combinations.
6 · Practise
Write your own name in the Lab above, then try the quiz: pick the right sound for each Vatteluttu letter.
Vatteluttu letter chart
Vowels
Consonants with every vowel
Click a cell to copy the Tamil text for it. The first column shows each consonant with a pulli (dot).
Semmozhi Vatteluttu font
A free font for the Vatteluttu script. Vatteluttu is not in Unicode, so you type ordinary Tamil and the font shows Vatteluttu. Use it in Word, Pages, Google Docs, websites and design apps. It has no Latin letters, so use another font for English text.
⬇ Download all (.zip)
TTF + WOFF + WOFF2 + licence + README. Recommended.
⬇ TrueType (.ttf)
For Mac, Windows, Linux and design apps.
⬇ Web font (.woff2)
For websites.
Mac
Double-click the .ttf, then Install Font.
Windows
Right-click the .ttf, then Install.
@font-face {
font-family: "Semmozhi Vatteluttu";
src: url("SemmozhiVatteluttu-Regular.woff2") format("woff2"),
url("SemmozhiVatteluttu-Regular.woff") format("woff"),
url("SemmozhiVatteluttu-Regular.ttf") format("truetype");
font-display: swap;
}Licence
Released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1: free for personal and commercial use, you can share and change it, you cannot sell the font by itself. Copyright 2026 The Semmozhi Project Authors.
Credit
The letter forms are based on e-Vatteluttu OT (2014) by Elmar Kniprath, used with his permission under the SIL Open Font License, and redrawn as our own smooth monoline pen strokes. We are grateful for his work on this script.
Status: draft. an automatic check compares the centre-line of each letter with the reference letters. Average agreement is 99.94%, and all 272 letters and syllables agree 99% or more, and the weakest agrees 99.1%. This checks our letters against the reference font, not against inscriptions or manuscripts, and no expert has reviewed it yet. All four Semmozhi fonts share one pen style: same stroke weight, smooth curves and tapered ends. Please do not use it as an exact copy of any one inscription.