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Is there a practical and easy way to type ĉ, ĝ and so on on an Android phone?

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7 Answers 7

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If you want to type fast and in a lot of languages, and because of that you don't have a good relationship with autocomplete, I can also recommend MessagEase. This is not a Qwerty-based layout, but a completely new one with only 9 keys which enables you to get to common speeds of around 30 WPM with the fastest of the world typing around 85 WPM on their phones, which is faster than most people type on a physical keyboard.

It is good for Esperanto and other languages because instead of long-pressing for accents, you can compose accents.

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Android's built-in Google Keyboard supports Esperanto out of the box and includes autocorrect. Simply go into your keyboard settings and enable Esperanto as one of the languages.

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  • In more recent versions of Android, Esperanto sadly is not a provided language. I can't find a solution for that as of yet. Dec 23, 2020 at 5:16
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    I'm running the newest version of Android (11) and I still have it as an option. Dec 23, 2020 at 10:03
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    It is also listed in the official supported languages list : support.google.com/gboard/answer/… Dec 23, 2020 at 10:09
  • I have a Pixel 5 with Android 11 and it's not on my list (of supported languages when I want to add one). I wonder what the difference is? Dec 24, 2020 at 18:34
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    And finally, the list of languages supported by GBoard and those supported by the Android OS can be different. They are different things. Dec 24, 2020 at 18:36
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I use the app “AnySoftKeyboard” (free, from the Google Play Store) with the US layout. When you hold down some of the keys, you get a popup with the possible accented characters related to that letter. So holding down c will show you a popup, where you can find ĉ, holding down s you can get to ŝ and so on.

I think there is also a way to add a separate Esperanto layout without installing any apps but my phone does not seem to have it (Android 6.0). It, however, might replace some of the English letters, plus it is a separate layout, so a bit inconvinient for me (I also have Bulgarian, so that would make it a third layout). I guess someone else could post an answer describing that method better.

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    Once you've downloaded AnySoftKeyboard, you can download the Esperanto Language Pack to get an actual Esperanto keyboard and dictionary.
    – legoscia
    Aug 30, 2016 at 11:03
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    Yes, I should have mentioned that there is an Esperanto pack for AnySoftKeyboard but that makes it pretty much the same as the stock Google Esperanto keyboard layout. I personally prefer ASK with US because that doesn't add a separate layout just for Esperanto, which as I said, in my case would not be convinient because it would be my third layout. That's really the only reason that I'm not using the stock Esperanto layout. But it might be good for other people. Aug 30, 2016 at 11:13
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You can use Google Keyboard now it supports Esperanto with autocompletion

Google Keyboard Image

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    Just to add that AFAIK you can long-press H to get Ĥ. Please confirm whether that is true. Aug 30, 2016 at 8:39
  • Yes that's right
    – benahm
    Aug 30, 2016 at 8:46
  • I'm trying to remember who developed the Esperanto keyboard map for Android. I know I remember the discussion about it several years ago, and it took a long time to get it included. I think Jacob Nordfalk did the work. Sep 19, 2016 at 1:24
  • This is obsolete with current versions of Android, I recommend SwiftKey (see other answers) Dec 23, 2020 at 5:36
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SwiftKey Keyboard has languages input, including that for Esperanto. I can then use the keyboard for both English and Esperanto at the same time, with word prediction for either one.

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SwiftKey is superior solution on Android(100-500mn users). https://support.swiftkey.com/hc/en-us/articles/201598431-What-languages-are-currently-supported-for-SwiftKey-on-Android-

It supports most languages, has smart auto predict/correct between English and Esperanto. As I use Cyrillic, I only have to slide the spacebar for the 2 keyboards. The special Esperanto letters are behind the Latin equivalents (long press), but autosuggest will detect correct EO words (eg. aceti aĉeti aĉetis). You can swipe much faster with AI prediction. It also learns/improves prediction from your texts.

I wish Microsoft had such smart implementation on Windows. They are behind in EO implementation.

Edit: Just discovered that speaking to it is much faster, however, EO support is not there. It will try other languages instead. English is extra fast.

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  • This should be the accepted answer. Gboard and Android itself no longer have support for Esperanto. And SwiftKey seems to be a far better keyboard experience than GBoard to begin with. Dec 23, 2020 at 5:35
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Gboard works just fine. Those who say Esperanto is no longer available are incorrect. Settings > System > Languages & input > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Languages > Add language > Esperanto

(Posted as an answer instead of a response ro a comment because insufficient reputation.)

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