The keys in Russian
The keys are ЙЦУКЕН on Flikzi’s honeycomb, with the letters where a computer keyboard has them: hexagons with no gaps between them, in rows of 12, 11 and 9. Twelve keys across are narrower than the ten of the Latin keys.
The three rows
| Row | Keys, and what a flick down types |
|---|---|
| Top | й1ц2у3к4е5н6г7ш8щ9з0х=ъ% |
| Middle | ф@ы#в$а_п&р-о+л(д)ж;э~ |
| Bottom | я*ч"с'м:и/т!ь?б№ю… |
A tap types the letter. A flick up types its capital, so there is no shift key. A flick down types the digit or mark shown under it. ?123 and ☺ are half keys at the two ends of the middle row. The comma is left of the bottom row; right of it are the full stop and enter. The space bar is below: swipe left on it to delete. Every gesture.
Russian letters
Touch and hold a letter and its other forms open above it. In Russian a held key offers its Russian letters: slide to one and lift. Most of the time you won’t need it, because the letters come with the words.
| Hold | It offers |
|---|---|
| е | ё |
Typing Russian on Flikzi
- Autocorrect that allows for a neighbouring key, a missed letter, an extra tap and swapped letters
- The word you are typing, and words that finish it, in the strip above the keys
- Next-word predictions after each space
- A flick up for a capital, a flick down for the digit or mark under the letter
- Russian’s own letters with the words, or from holding a key
- Your own words and phrases, learned on your phone
Every letter but ё has a key, and ъ is the last key of the top row. Twelve keys share the width that ten Latin keys take, so they are narrower, and you don’t have to hit each one exactly: Flikzi reads where every tap landed and allows for a neighbouring key, so привеи becomes привет. The word it will put in leads the strip above the keys, and space or a full stop puts it in.
ё comes with the words: type еще and Flikzi writes ещё. Where the plain letters are a word too, as with все and всё, Flikzi goes by the words before and keeps the other one in the strip. For a ё on its own, hold е and slide.
The gestures are the ones the Latin keys have. Flick a letter up for its capital and down for the digit or mark under it: the top row gives 1 to 0, then = and % on х and ъ. The comma and the full stop have a key at the left of the bottom row.
With Flikzi Pro, the mic at the right end of the strip types by voice in Russian, when the speech recogniser on your phone has that language. Voice typing.
Russian with your other languages
A phone already set to Russian starts with it on. Otherwise pick Russian in Flikzi’s settings, under Language: the free version types one language, and Russian can be it. With Flikzi Pro, open Several languages to switch on as many as you use, then flick up on the left of the space bar to move to the next one, or flick up and hold for a picker. The space bar shows Русский while you type Russian, and the picker lists it as РУ.
Often typed with Russian: Ukrainian, English, Polish. All 23 languages.
Where the words come from
The word list comes from the Android Open Source Project’s LatinIME dictionaries (Apache License 2.0), with word counts and next-word data from the Tatoeba sentence collection (CC BY 2.0 FR). It all ships inside the app and runs on your phone, so nothing you type is sent anywhere. Open-source licences.
Questions
Is Flikzi’s Russian keyboard free?
Yes, if Russian is the language you type: the free version of Flikzi types one language of your choice, with every flick on the letters and the space bar. Typing Russian alongside other languages, and switching between them with a flick, needs Flikzi Pro, a one-time purchase of US$4.99 before tax. Every new install gets 14 days of Pro free.
Is Flikzi’s Russian layout ЙЦУКЕН?
Yes. The letters are where a Russian computer keyboard has them, with ъ at the end of the top row. Only ё has no key: it comes with the words, or from holding е.
How do I type ё?
In a word, type е and the word brings it: еще becomes ещё. For ё on its own, hold е, slide to ё and lift.
Does Flikzi send what I type in Russian anywhere?
No. The dictionary and the engine are inside the app, and nothing you type leaves your phone. Flikzi has no internet permission, so it cannot send anything. It asks for your contacts or the microphone only if you turn on contacts’ email addresses or voice typing, and it works without them.