How to Fix Marathi Text Showing as Boxes or Question Marks
Seeing empty boxes, question marks, or strange English letters instead of Marathi text? Here are the common reasons and simple ways to fix them.
Marathi text can appear incorrectly for different reasons. The right solution depends on what you see on your screen.
Empty Boxes or Squares (□□□)
If you see empty squares or boxes (tofu symbols) instead of Marathi letters, your phone or computer may not have a font that supports Devanagari characters installed.
Install or use a standard Unicode Marathi font such as Mukta, Noto Sans Devanagari, or Noto Serif Devanagari. After installing a font, close and reopen your browser or design software.
Download Mukta.ttf →Question Marks (???) or Black Diamonds
If Marathi text appears as question marks or black diamonds, the file or website may not be using the correct text format. This happens when Marathi Unicode text is saved or read using the wrong character encoding.
Always use UTF-8 encoding for Marathi text. For an HTML page, add the following inside the <head> section:
When saving a text file in Notepad or another text editor, choose UTF-8 if the application gives you an encoding option.
Strange English Letters or Symbols
If Marathi text copied from an old PDF, DTP file, or printing document appears as strange English letters or symbols, the text was created using an old legacy Devanagari font. The text looks like Marathi only when that original proprietary font is installed.
Convert the old text into modern Unicode Marathi. After conversion, you can use the Marathi text on WhatsApp, Instagram, websites, and modern apps without losing formatting.
Open Marathi Font Generator / Converter →Broken Letters or Misplaced Vowel Marks
Sometimes Marathi letters can appear separated or vowel marks can appear in the wrong place when using Photoshop or other graphic design software. For example, a combined letter may not look correctly joined.
- Open Adobe Photoshop.
- Go to Edit → Preferences → Type on Windows (or Photoshop → Settings → Type on macOS).
- Look for the Text Engine Options.
- Select World-Ready Layout if available.
- In older Photoshop versions, choose the option that supports Middle Eastern and South Asian text.
- Click OK and restart Photoshop if needed.
- Type or paste your Marathi Unicode text again.