Welcome to iCham Keyboard – the most optimized, lightweight, and smoothest Cham (Akhar
Thrah) keyboard designed for mobile devices and computers.
No need to learn a complex new keyboard layout, iCham brings a natural typing experience
like breathing thanks to its powerful core technology platform. Here are the "essences" and
how you can master iCham in just 1 minute!
Install iCham Keyboard now and confidently preserve your language in every message!
Tap the A/ꨀ button to instantly switch between 2 typing modes:
A (RUMIX): Type Latin, automatically converts to Akhar Thrah.
ꨀ (Akhar Thrah): Type traditional Cham script directly.
Tap the ⚡️ icon on the left to set up your personal text shortcuts.
Save time on your most frequently used words and phrases!
1. Rumix Typing Rule: "Type as you write"
We call iCham's typing method RUMIX (Rumi mix Telex boom Akhar Thrah).
iCham uses the extremely friendly Rumix typing rule. The simple principle is:
Independent vowels
Consonant + Vowel → Complete sound
You just need to input standard Latin characters. When you finish a word and press the
Spacebar or punctuation marks, iCham will immediately "transform" that Latin string into
standard Akhar Thrah script.
For Example: When you type adei and press Space, the result will be ꨀꨕꨬ.
Advantage: Extremely fast typing speed, no need to memorize strange key positions, smooth thinking while chatting.
2. Smart "Consonant Doubling" technique
One of iCham's breakthroughs is the ability to recognize special syllables through double-
tapping. Instead of typing cumbersome combinations, just double-tap the final consonant.
iCham's algorithm will automatically catch the beat and convert it into the corresponding
Akhar Thrah character. This pushes your typing speed to the maximum.
3. The powerful "Z" key: Perfect word-breaking solution
In Cham, typing complex compound words sometimes causes characters to stick together. To completely solve this, iCham turns the Z key (which is not in the Rumix alphabet) into
an invisible word-breaker "switch".
How it works: When typing two adjacent syllables that you want to separate, just insert a "Z" in between. iCham will neatly separate them without using a Space.
Especially, you can combine "consonant doubling" and the "powerful Z" within the same word. Both features work across Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android.
4. Exclusive "DiamondSandwich" core processing
The Cham Akhar Thrah script has complex rendering (vowels can be above, below, before,
or after consonants). To solve this, iCham is equipped with the DiamondSandwich core
algorithm.
It acts as a smart analyzer, automatically "sandwiching" and arranging vowels and consonants into their exact coordinates in a flash.
Thanks to DiamondSandwich, dropped characters, misplaced signs, or font rendering errors are 100% fixed.
5. Smart predictive bar & Perfect Dark Mode
Not only is iCham strong internally, but its mobile interface on iOS and Android devices is also meticulously designed:
Clean UI: Edge-to-edge keyboard layout, bouncy keys, and precise sizing minimize typos.
Native Dark Mode: iCham perfectly syncs with your device's system. Whether you're using Light or Dark mode, the keyboard and Predictive Bar will automatically switch colors smoothly, protecting your eyes and saving battery power.
6. C/E switch key & Super-fast "Lite-Rumix" mode (mobile devices)
iCham integrates a quick
C/E (Cham/English) switch right on the keyboard. In E mode, iCham features the smart "Lite-Rumix" rule to easily type special Rumi phonetic characters:
- E rule: type “ee” for é | “eee” for original ee.
- A rule: type “aa” for â | “aaa” for original aa.
Advantages: This feature is like a perfect shortcut. You don't need to install anything extra, switch to a Vietnamese keyboard, or memorize long key combinations; just double-tap and the correct Rumi text appears instantly!
7. Data Safety & Performance Optimization
7.1. Absolute security (100% Offline & No Data Tracking):
Although the iOS system requires enabling "Allow Full Access" during installation so the keyboard can cache and display the interface, iCham requires absolutely no internet. Everything happens locally on your device. Typing with iCham is 100% safe!
7.2. Smart Backspace
Pressing backspace removes exactly the last element attached without breaking the whole character structure.
Hold it to delete whole words or sentences smoothly.
7.3. Ultra-light capacity:
Highly optimized source code. No battery drain, works flawlessly even on older phones like the iPhone 6s.
Tap the C/E key to quickly change the RUMIX typing state:
Mode C (Cham): Type Latin to output Akhar Thrah.
Mode E (English): Keep Latin characters, supports quick variants (e.g., aa → â, ee → é)
iCham understands your typing habits.
The algorithm analyzes context to provide accurate suggestions.
The more you type, the smarter it gets!
Enable iCham keyboard.
Type Cham using Latin characters (Rumix). Use C/E to switch modes.
Press Space or punctuation to enjoy the perfect Akhar Thrah text!
Wow, combining all the best features from DiamondSandwich, Z-key word separation, double consonants, and this C/E Lite-Rumix key, our iCham keyboard is truly a technological "castle." Every feature perfectly addresses the user's needs!
Download iCham now ⬇
Understand the basics and be able to clearly distinguish between concepts.
A writing system (Alphabet) is a set of characters, letters, and tone marks used to display a language (e.g., Akhar Thrah Cham, Rumi Cham, Vietnamese Quốc ngữ script, Nôm script...).
The displayed text (Font/Character encoding) is the appearance of text on the screen (based on the font and character encoding. For example: Noto Sans Cham font, Unicode character encoding).
Input Method/Typing Method is a method of assigning keys on a keyboard (usually an English/QWERTY keyboard) to create special characters or accent marks of that writing system (e.g., Rumix, Telex, VNI, VIQR, MS Vi Layout…).
Example of typing Vietnamese using the Telex method: if you press Dduwowngf nghieenj (or D0u7o7ng2 nghien65 in VNI), the displayed word will be: đường nghiện.
In short, you can use any input method; the main purpose remains the same: the
displayed word must be in the correct writing system you want to type.
👉 Regarding Rumi, you can refer to the book "Akhar Thrah 7 Harei" guide here: https://nguoicham.com/cdict/akhar-thrah-7-harei
👉 iCham is a Cham keyboard from Latin → Akhar Thrah, using Rumix input method.
For example: typing “adei” + space/enter → ꨀꨕꨬ
👉 iCham does not distinguish between uppercase/lowercase letters. So if you accidentally press the Shift/CapsLock key, it's okay.
8.1. Since iCham uses the default English keyboard layout (QWERTY), you can't type "é" or "â" directly. Instead, we use the "double-tap" trick, I've organized them in the Rumix input method as follows:
8.1.1. “é” = ꨃ and “é” = ◌ꨯꨮꨮ : Type "ee" anywhere. Ex:
- “ésan”, type: eesan → ꨃꨦꩆ
- “jaléng”, type: jaleeng → ꨎꨯ ꩂ
- “katé”, type: katee → ꨆꨓꨯꨮꨩ
👉 Special: If “é” = ꨃ is at the beginning of a word, you don't need double "ee", justone "e" works perfectly. Ex:
- “ésan”, just type: esan → ꨃꨦꩆ
- “éng”, just type: eng → ꨃꩂ
8.1.2. "â" has 2 cases:
⁕ Assigned to the 4 deities: ꨊ, ꨐ, ꨗ and ꨟ.
Method: Just type a normal "a".
Ex: type "mata" → ꨟꨓꨩ
type "nagar" → ꨗꨈꩉ
type "ama" → ꨀꨟꨩ
type "anakhan" → ꨀꨗꨇꩆ
⁕ "â" for takai kâk ꨲ :
- Type double "aa". Ex:
type "aang" → ꨀꨲꩃ
(if just “ang” → ꨀꩃ)
type "kraah" → ꨆꨴꨲꩍ
(if just "krah" → ꨆꨴꩍ)
type "takraa" → ꨓꨆꨴꨲꨩ
(if just "takra" → ꨓꨆꨴꨩ)
- Type “v” for ꨲ anywhere. Ex:
type “kravh” → ꨆꨴꨲꩍ
OR “krahv” → ꨆꨴꨲꩍ
type "amav" → ꨀꨟꨲꨩ
(vs "ama" → ꨀꨟꨩ )
(Adding "v" freely to add takai ꨲ is just like placing tone marks freely in Vietnamese Telex).
8.2. Add takai ndak for the holy big guys ꨊ,ꨐ,ꨗ,ꨟ → ꨋ,ꨑ,ꨘ,ꨠ by double-typing the last character. Specifically:
8.2.1 "ng" → ꨊ, "ngg" → ꨋ. Ex:
ngai → ꨊꨰ nggai → ꨋꨰ
ngat → ꨊꩅ nggat → ꨋꩅ
anggan → ꨀꨋꩆ
8.2.2 "ny" → ꨐ, "nyy" → ꨑ. Ex:
nyai → ꨐꨰ
nyyai → ꨑꨰ
manyak → ꨟꨐꩀ
manyyak → ꨟꨑꩀ
8.2.3 "n" → ꨗ, "nn" → ꨘ. Ex:
nai → ꨗꨰ
nnai → ꨘꨰ
anak → ꨀꨗꩀ
annak → ꨀꨘꩀ
8.2.4 "m" → ꨟ, "mm" → ꨠ. Ex:
ama → ꨀꨟꨩ
amma → ꨀꨠꨩ
mai → ꨟꨰ
mmai → ꨠꨰ
mak → ꨟꩀ
mmak → ꨠꩀ
cammat → ꨌꨠꩅ
8.3. Type “s” for ꨧ and ꩋ
Type “ss” or “sh” for ꨦ
👉 If you habitually type "s" for all ꨧ, ꨦ, and ꩋ, iCham will usually correct it. But if it only pops out ꨧ instead of ꨦ, please retype using “ss” or “sh”.
8.4. Type “ppa” or “fa” for ꨛꨩ:
“f” for ꨛ (without balau):
- Type "ppak" (number 4) → ꨛꨩꩀ or "pakk" → ꨛꨩꩀ (type "pak" → ꨚꩀ)
👉 Special: If you habitually type “p” for ꨛ in words like "po", "pok", "campa", iCham still outputs correct ꨛꨯꨮ , ꨛꨯꨩꩀ và ꨌꩌꨛꨩ ꩞
👉 Summary: To be safe, get used to typing “ppa” (or "fa") → ꨛꨩ in all positions, especially when ꨛꨩ creates a new verb.
8.5. Separately assigning balau ꨩ and takai kik tut takai mâk dalam ꨫ using the "q" key to support the 'long vowel' style. Useful if you want to 'grow a beard' (add ꨩ) wherever you like. Specifically:
8.5.1. Type the "q" key for ꨩ right after a single/double vowel. Ex:
"cata" → ꨌꨓꨩ
Type "caqta" or "cqta" → ꨌꨩꨓꨩ
type "cek" → ꨌꨮꩀ.
Type "ceqk" → ꨌꨮꨩꩀ
type "muk" → ꨟꨭꩀ, to add ꨩ just type "muqk" → ꨟꨭꨩꩀ
type "amaik" → ꨀꨟꨰꩀ, to add ꨩ just type "amaiqk" → ꨀꨟꨰꨩꩀ (add "q" right after "ai")
8.5.2. Type the "q" key for ꨫ right after i. Ex:
type "takik" → ꨓꨆꨪꩀ, to get ꨫ just type “takiqk” → ꨓꨆꨫꩀ
8.5.3. Freely type the "q" key for balau ꨩ and ꨫ at the end of a word. Ex:
"mukq" → ꨟꨭꨩꩀ
"amaikq" → ꨀꨟꨰꨩꩀ
"takikq" → ꨓꨆꨫꩀ
👉 Special note: freely combine placing the ꨲ and ꨩ marks using the “q” and “v” keys.
Ex: typing "anavqk" or "anakqv" or "anakvq" will all boom → ꨀꨗꨲꨩꩀ
8.5.4. Also falling under the category of "long vowel" for the /ɔ/ sound, iCham with Rumix mode solves this by double-typing "oo" in "ao" to create "aoo". Specifically:
"rimaong" → ꨣꨪꨟꨯꨱꩃ (normal)
"laoong" (double "oo") → ꨤꨱꩃ
8.6. Special Punctuation:
“//” or “zz” or “xx” → ꩜
“./.” or “..” → ꩟
“...” → …
8.7. Shortcuts / Fast Typing:
Alongside the Fast Typing feature (Windows), iCham also supports shortcuts for certain words where their langlikuk (in the Rumi system) is separated from the adjacent letter. For example:
cb → ꨌꨝꨩ tp → ꨓꨚꨩ
mt → ꨟꨓꨩ cwan → ꨌꨥꩆ
rmwan → ꨣꨟꨥꩆ
aang k smar duah jlan ktut → ꨀꨲꩃ ꨆꨩ ꨦꨠꩉ ꨕꨶꩍ ꨎꨤꩆ ꨆꨓꨭꩅ
👉 Note: The shortcut might lose its effect if the word contains 2 adjacent characters (in the Rumi system) forming a single consonant (e.g., kh, gh...) or a consonant cluster (kr, kl...) + vowel(s). Ex:
dr → ꨕꨣꨩ dra → ꨕꨴꨩ
kr → ꨆꨣꨩ kra → ꨆꨴꨩ
kl → ꨆꨤꨩ kla → ꨆꨵꨩ
8.8. The "Consonant Doubling" Technique
You simply need to double-tap the final consonant. This feature prevents your hands from stalling, pushing your typing speed to the absolute maximum. For example:
type “kaing” → ꨆꨰꩃ ; double the final consonant gg: kaingg → ꨆꨁꨪꩂ
type “tait” → ꨓꨰꩅ ; double the final consonant tt: taitt → ꨓꨁꨪꩅ
type “main” → ꨟꨰꩆ ; double the final consonant nn: mainn → ꨟꨁꨪꩆ
type “maik” → ꨟꨰꩀ ; double the final consonant kk: “maikk” → ꨟꨁꨪꩀ
type “taah” → ꨓꨲꩍ ; double the final consonant hh: taahh → ꨓꨀꩍ
8.9. The Powerful "Z" Key: The Perfect Word-Breaking Solution
In Cham, typing complex compound words sometimes causes characters to accidentally stick together or the system to misidentify syllables. To completely resolve this issue, iCham has turned the Z key (which does not exist in the Rumix alphabet) into an invisible word-breaking "switch".
How it works: When you type two adjacent syllables but want to separate them clearly, just insert the letter Z in between. iCham will instantly break the word neatly and smoothly without you having to use the Spacebar. This is a highly effective tool for anyone who wants to type Cham text with extreme accuracy and professionalism. For example:
lia → ꨤꨳꨩ
add Z: liza → ꨤꨪꨀꨩ
lii → ꨤꨳꨫ
add Z: lizi → ꨤꨪꨁꨫ
kaing → ꨆꨰꩃ
kazing → ꨆꨁꨪꩂ
tait → ꨓꨰꩅ
tazit → ꨓꨁꨪꩅ
Specially, you can combine "consonant doubling" and the "powerful Z key" right within the same word you are typing.
The "consonant doubling" and "powerful Z" techniques are designed to replace the soft hyphen "-", which used to cost you time switching back and forth between the 123 and ABC keyboards on mobile devices. From now on, you just execute word-breaking directly on the ABC keyboard.
Both iCham's "consonant doubling" and "powerful Z" solutions work seamlessly on Windows, MacOS, and mobile devices (iOS, Android).
8.10. Character Spamming
You can spam a long string of just a single character, and iCham will render it beautifully and as flawlessly smooth as Ngoc Trinh. For example:
kkk → ꨆꨆꨆꨩ
hhhhh → ꨨꨨꨨꨨꨨꨩ
aaa → ꨀꨀꨀꨩ
oooooooooo → ꨅꨅꨅꨅꨅꨅꨅꨅꨅꨅꨩ
8.11. iCham supports final G → ꩁ
8.12. Using the "-" Sign to Isolate Individual Characters
In case you want to write individual characters instead of a complete word, simply add a hyphen "-" (Soft hyphen) right in front of it. This solution is incredibly handy for teaching the Cham script. Specifically:
-- → ◌
-q → ꨩ
-ii → ꨪ -iii → ꨫ,
-ei → ꨬ
-uu → ꨭ
-e → ꨮ -eee → ꨯꨮ
-oo → ꨯ
-aii → ꨰ
-ao → ꨯꨱ -aoo → ꨱ
-aa → ꨲ -av → ꨲ
-ia → ꨳ
-rr → ꨴ
-ll → ꨵ
-ua → ꨶ
-a → ꨀ -i → ꨁ
-u → ꨂ -ee → ꨃ
-ai → ꨄ -o → ꨅ
-k → ꨆ -kh → ꨇ
-g → ꨈ -gh → ꨉ
-ng → ꨊ -ngg → ꨋ
-c → ꨌ -ch → ꨍ
-j → ꨎ -jh → ꨏ
-ny → ꨐ nyy → ꨑ -nj → ꨒ
-t → ꨓ -th → ꨔ
-d → ꨕ -dh → ꨖ
-n → ꨗ -nn → ꨘ -nd → ꨙ
-p → ꨚ -pp → ꨛ -f → ꨛ
-ph → ꨜ -b → ꨝ -bh → ꨞ
-m → ꨟ -mm→ꨠ -mb → ꨡ
-y → ꨢ -r → ꨣ -l → ꨤ
-w → ꨥ -s → ꨧ -ss → ꨦ
-sh → ꨦ -h → ꨨ
-K → ꩀ -G → ꩁ
-Ng → ꩂ -NG → ꩂ
-Ngg → ꩃ -NGg → ꩃ -NGG → ꩃ
-C → ꩄ -T → ꩅ
-N → ꩆ -P → ꩇ
-Y → ꩈ -R → ꩉ
-L → ꩊ -S → ꩋ
-M → ꩌ -H → ꩍ
👉 Note: iCham with the Rumix typing method is case-insensitive when typing a complete word, but it does apply Capital/Lowercase distinctions when isolating individual characters belonging to the Akhar Matai (final consonants) table in the Akhar Thrah writing system.
👉 Instead of using the hyphen "-", you can replace it with the “z” or “x” key. For example, if you want to display the character ꨆ, you can type “-k”, “zk”, or “xk”, and they will all yield the same exact result → ꨆ.
👉 If you want to use "-" to form a compound word without a space, type (--) twice and you'll get a single hyphen (-). For example: type "buei--baiy" → ꨝꨶꨬ-ꨝꨰꩈ.
The Space key hides 2 incredible features working across all modes:
Double Tap: Boom! Instantly type the signature Cham punctuation mark ꩞.
Long Press: Turn the entire keyboard into an invisible Trackpad to move the cursor and edit text effortlessly.
No need to switch keyboards!
Tap the 🙂 icon to send thousands of expressive emojis directly from within iCham.";
iCham automatically saves dozens of your most recently used emojis in the ꨝꨣꨮꨭ ꨗꨫ tab.
With Akhar Thrah mode, iCham gives you the perfect double-tap, long-press selection experience for characters and punctuation marks.
Let's explore iCham!
No complex switching needed, just use these tap gestures:
Double Tap: Instantly call up special characters or consonant clusters.
Long Press: Reveal a popup menu for vowel variants and sub-consonants.
For support or inquiries regarding iCham Keyboard, please contact us at vanikan@gmail.com. We are committed to preserving the Akhar Thrah heritage.
Thanks.