Bengali digit two

Use Bangla INSCRIPT and press the top-row 2 key.

As of 2026, on Windows add Bengali (India), select Bangla INSCRIPT, and switch layouts with Windows + Space. With that fixed layout active, the top-row 2 key produces ২. Bangla Phonetic works differently: type a transliteration and choose a suggestion. For Bangla 2, INSCRIPT gives a predictable fixed key map.

What does ২ mean?

It is the digit for two; in Bangla, two is called dui.

The history of the Bengali digit two runs through a wider Indian numeral tradition. Indian numeral forms are attested at Nana Ghat in the early third century BCE. In Bengal, numeral figures appear in the Gupta period on copper plates used for era dates; the forms change through the Pala period and later records from the Sena period and Varman period. Manuscripts preserve Bengali numeral writing from the 15th through 18th centuries, though the exact path to modern ২ is hard to trace.

These were practical numerals: copper plates recorded eras and rulers' years of reign, while manuscripts carried the changing forms. The numeral family runs from Brahmi, an early Indian script, through Gupta-era forms into regional forms of eastern India. Bangla and Assamese use the same digit set, so ২ alone identifies a writing tradition, not which language a line is in.

Why does ২ look different in another font?

It is the same text character; the font draws its outline.

A font change can alter the curve without changing the value. A square or broken glyph means the font may lack Bengali characters. Handwriting varies too: shortened or incomplete strokes can make recognition harder.