Bijoy to Unicode Converter
Convert Bangla between Bijoy (SutonnyMJ) and Unicode. Runs in your browser.
About this bijoy to unicode converter
This tool converts Bangla text from the old Bijoy encoding (the SutonnyMJ font) to standard Unicode, and back again. It is for anyone holding Bijoy documents that show up as "Avwg evsjvq Mvb MvB", and for anyone who has to hand Unicode text to a print shop that still works in SutonnyMJ.
You paste, it detects the direction, and the result updates as you type. Press Swap and the result goes back into the input the other way round. Nothing is uploaded, so you can paste official letters and land records without a second thought.
Features
Letters land in the right order
Bijoy stores ি, ে and ৈ before the consonant and the reph after it. The converter moves them across whole conjuncts, so স্তি and নির্দেশ come out right. Split o-kar and ou-kar are joined, and chandrabindu goes after the vowel sign.
The full SutonnyMJ table
About 190 glyph codes and over 140 conjunct forms are mapped, including ক্ষ্ম, ন্তু, স্ত্র, ঙ্খ and the ra, ya and ba-phala shapes.
Auto-detect, with a safety net
The tool counts characters from the Unicode Bengali block (U+0980 to U+09FF) to decide the direction. Force the wrong one and it tells you.
Honest warnings
Going to Bijoy, you see which conjuncts have no SutonnyMJ glyph, which letters the font can't draw, and how many English letters will turn into Bangla shapes.
Old files welcome
Open a .txt saved as UTF-8 or as ANSI (Windows-1252), and save Bijoy output as ANSI for programs that garble UTF-8. Symbols that became invisible control characters during copying are repaired.
How to use the bijoy to unicode converter
- 1Paste Bijoy or Unicode Bangla text, or open a .txt file. The direction is detected for you.
- 2Read the converted text as you type. Press Swap to convert it back the other way.
- 3Copy the result or download it, then set the font to SutonnyMJ for Bijoy text.
When to use it
Publishing old documents
Turn notices and reports typed in Bijoy into Unicode so they can go on a website, into an email or into a database that people can search.
Preparing print copy
A designer asks for SutonnyMJ text for a poster or a layout built years ago. Convert your Unicode draft and send it.
Filling an old office template
Many forms were built around SutonnyMJ. Type in Unicode on your phone, convert, and paste into the form.
Cleaning up after conversion
Old Bijoy files often repeat the same typing slip. Convert first, then fix a recurring mistake in one pass and count the words in the Bangla text.
What is the difference between Bijoy and Unicode?
Bijoy is a keyboard and font system that became the standard for Bangla in Bangladesh before Unicode was widely supported. It reuses the codes of Latin letters. In SutonnyMJ, the code for "K" is drawn as ক and "v" as the aa-kar া. So the text only looks like Bangla while that font is applied. Open it anywhere else and you see Latin letters.
Unicode gives every Bangla letter its own code point in the Bengali block, U+0980 to U+09FF. Any Bangla font can show it. Phones type it. Search engines read it. There is one cost: in UTF-8 each Bangla letter takes 3 bytes, while a Bijoy glyph takes 1 byte in Windows-1252. So আমি is 9 bytes and its Bijoy form Avwg is 4.
Why can't you just swap the characters?
Bijoy stores glyphs in the order you see them. Unicode stores letters in the order you say them. A plain lookup table gets these wrong:
- Pre-base vowel signs. আমি is stored as Avwg, with ি before ম. Unicode puts it after ম, and after the whole conjunct when there is one.
- Split vowels. কো is ে, then ক, then া (†Kv). Unicode uses the single sign ো, and ৌ works the same way.
- Reph. In ধর্ম the reph sits on ম, so Bijoy types it last (ag©). Unicode puts র্ first.
- Ra with ya-phala. র্যাব needs a zero width joiner (U+200D) so it isn't read as a reph on য.
Why does the converted text look different in search or code?
The Unicode output is normalized to NFC, the form defined in Unicode Standard Annex #15 and used by most keyboards and websites. One surprise: য়, ড় and ঢ় are stored as a base letter plus a nukta (U+09BC), because their single code points are excluded from NFC composition. They look identical. If a database search misses a word, check that both sides use NFC.
Putting Bangla in a web address is another gotcha. Each letter becomes three percent-escapes, so percent-encode the Bangla words before you share the link.
How do you fix boxes or English letters after converting?
English letters mean the Bijoy text is not in SutonnyMJ, or the font isn't installed. Select the text and set the font.
Boxes mean the opposite. Unicode text is sitting in SutonnyMJ, which has no Unicode shapes. Switch to Noto Sans Bengali, Kalpurush, SolaimanLipi or Nirmala UI.
Why use Mavros
| Mavros | Typical upload sites | |
|---|---|---|
| Where your text goes | Stays in your browser | Often sent to a server |
| Kar and reph order | Reordered across whole conjuncts | Sometimes left on the wrong letter |
| Direction | Auto-detected, with a mismatch warning | Two buttons, easy to press the wrong one |
| Conjuncts with no glyph | Listed under the result | Changed without notice |
| ANSI .txt files | Opened and downloaded | Paste only |
| Sign-up or ads in the way | None | Common |
Tips
- Use the Copy button instead of retyping. Some SutonnyMJ conjuncts contain an invisible soft hyphen (U+00AD).
- Convert only the Bangla parts of a mixed document. English inside Bijoy text is read as Bangla glyphs.
- Not sure the conversion is clean? Press Swap, convert back, and compare the two versions line by line.
- If an old program shows odd symbols after pasting, try Download ANSI .txt and open that file instead.
- For other Bangla and English clean-up jobs, browse the text tools.
Questions
How do I convert Bijoy to Unicode?
Paste the Bijoy text into the box and copy the Unicode result on the right. The direction is detected for you, and the output updates as you type.
How do I convert Unicode to Bijoy?
Paste Unicode Bangla, copy the result, and set the font to SutonnyMJ where you paste it. Without that font the Bijoy text shows as Latin letters.
Why does my Bijoy text look like English letters?
Because Bijoy stores Bangla in the codes of Latin letters. It only looks like Bangla in a Bijoy font such as SutonnyMJ. Apply the font, or convert the text to Unicode so it reads correctly everywhere.
Why do I see boxes after converting?
Your Unicode text is set in SutonnyMJ, which has no shapes for Unicode Bangla. Change the font to a Unicode Bangla font such as Noto Sans Bengali or Kalpurush.
Is SutonnyMJ the same as Bijoy?
No. Bijoy is the keyboard and encoding, and SutonnyMJ is the most common font made for it. Other Bijoy MJ fonts generally use the same codes, so their text usually converts the same way.
Does it work with Avro?
Yes. Avro types Unicode, so you can paste Avro text and convert it to Bijoy, or convert Bijoy to Unicode and keep editing it with Avro.
Can it convert a Word or PDF file?
Not directly. Copy the text out of Word or the PDF and paste it, or open a .txt file. Bold, tables and font sizes are not kept.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs entirely in your browser, and nothing you paste is sent to a server.