Greek (Extended) Typing Speed Test
Free Online Greek Extended Keyboard – The Complete Precomposed Polytonic Range
The Greek Extended keyboard is named for the Unicode block it covers: Greek Extended (U+1F00–U+1FFF), the range holding every precomposed polytonic character. Where a general polytonic layout gives you the marks you need for reading and writing ancient Greek, this one is built for people who need the complete set — including the forms that appear only in critical editions, epigraphy, and typeset classical text. It runs free in your browser with nothing to install.
What this layout adds. Alongside the breathings and accents, it provides the iota-subscript forms with breathings — ᾀ, ᾐ, ᾠ — and, crucially, their capital iota-adscript counterparts ᾈ, ᾘ, ᾨ. Those capitals are the ones nobody can find. When classical text is set in capitals — a title, a chapter heading, an inscription, a running head — the subscript iota is written beside the letter rather than beneath it (προσγεγραμμένη, adscript), and it needs its own characters. Assembling them by hand is unreliable; here they are single keys.
Why the complete range matters. Scholarly Greek is unforgiving about precision. A critical apparatus, a papyrological transcription, or an epigraphic edition may need a character that appears twice in a whole corpus, and substituting a visually similar one corrupts the text for anyone searching, sorting, or collating it later. The Greek Extended block exists precisely so that every accented, breathed, and subscripted form has one canonical representation. This layout exposes that range directly instead of sending you to a character map.
Perfect for: editors preparing critical editions, papyrologists and epigraphists, doctoral students transcribing manuscripts, typesetters working on classical texts, lexicographers, and anyone whose Greek must survive being searched and compared rather than merely read.
Which Greek layout should you use? For everyday polytonic prose — essays, quotations, liturgical text — the Greek Polytonic layout is simpler and faster. Choose Extended when you need the complete precomposed inventory, and especially when you need capitals with iota adscript. For modern monotonic Greek use the standard Greek keyboard. Switch with the Layout dropdown above.
Your privacy is guaranteed – all typing happens 100% locally in your browser. Nothing you write is sent to a server, stored, or logged.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Greek Extended keyboard?
It is a layout covering the Unicode Greek Extended block (U+1F00–U+1FFF), which holds every precomposed polytonic Greek character — vowels carrying breathings, accents, and the iota subscript in all their combinations, including capital forms.
How is it different from the Polytonic keyboard?
The Polytonic layout gives you what ordinary ancient-Greek reading and writing needs. Extended goes further and covers the complete precomposed range, most importantly the capital iota-adscript characters ᾈ, ᾘ and ᾨ. Use Polytonic for prose and quotations; use Extended for critical editions, epigraphy, and full Unicode coverage.
What is iota adscript and why do capitals need it?
In lowercase, a silent iota is written beneath the vowel (ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ — subscript). When the text is set in capitals, that iota is written beside the letter instead (ΑΙ, adscript, as in ᾈ). Capital adscript forms are needed for titles, headings, and inscriptions, and they are the characters most people cannot find on any standard layout.
Why not just assemble characters with dead keys?
Because it is error-prone and the result is often not the canonical character. Scholarly Greek gets searched, sorted, and collated, and a visually similar substitute breaks all three. Using the precomposed character from the Greek Extended block guarantees your text matches everyone else's.
Who actually needs this layout?
Editors of critical editions, papyrologists, epigraphists, doctoral students transcribing manuscripts, typesetters of classical texts, and lexicographers — anyone whose Greek has to be machine-comparable rather than merely legible.
Do these characters display everywhere?
On any modern system, yes. The Greek Extended block is long-established Unicode and is supported by current operating systems and by fonts with proper Greek coverage. Rarer forms may need a scholarly font such as one of the standard Unicode polytonic faces to render at their best.
Is this Greek keyboard free?
Yes, completely free. There is no cost, no registration, no account, and no limit on how much you type. The site is supported by advertising, which is what keeps the keyboard free to use for everyone.
Does it work on mobile phones and tablets?
Yes. The layout is fully responsive and works on Android and iOS phones, tablets, Chromebooks, Windows, and macOS. On a touchscreen you tap the letters directly, which makes it practical on a device with no Greek keyboard installed.
Is my typing private?
Completely private. All processing happens locally in your browser using JavaScript. Your text is never transmitted to a server, never stored, and never logged, so it is safe for personal work and unpublished research.
Can I use this for modern Greek?
You can, but there is no reason to. Modern Greek has used monotonic orthography since 1982 — one accent, no breathings — so the standard Greek keyboard is the right tool. Extended exists for classical and scholarly work.
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