Hinglish keywords: how Indian users mix scripts in Play Store search.
Search for "ghar ka kharcha" and you are searching in Hindi with an English keyboard. Few ASO tools handle it. Here is a manual method that works.
Your English listing ranks for "budget planner". Your user typed "kharcha app". That gap is where Hinglish keyword research pays.
Why Hinglish happens
Indian scripts have many more letters than the Latin alphabet, which makes typing them on a phone harder, and many users keep English as the device language for that reason. They still think in Hindi, so they type Hindi words in Latin letters. Reverie, an Indian language-technology company, gives the example of "घर का खर्चा कैलकुलेटर" resonating more than "budget planner" in Hindi-speaking regions. Typed on an English keyboard, that becomes something like "ghar ka kharcha".
We have not found any reliable public data on the split between Hindi-script, Hinglish and English searches on Google Play. Treat any confident percentage you see as a guess, including vendor claims.
A five-step research method
- Collect user language. Read your reviews, support tickets and social comments for Hindi words written in Latin script. These are the terms your users already use.
- Probe Play autocomplete. On a phone set to English with an Indian account, type the first letters of each candidate slowly and record what Play suggests. Repeat with spelling variants ("kharcha", "kharch", "karcha").
- Check your own search terms. Play Console's acquisition reports show which search terms already bring visitors. Look for transliterated terms you never targeted.
- Cross-check demand off-store. Google Trends and YouTube search suggestions, set to India, show whether a Hinglish phrase is common.
- Score and shortlist. Keep terms that appear in at least two sources and describe what the app actually does.
Where to use them
| Field | Use Hinglish? | How |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Rarely | Only if the Hinglish term is the main way people describe the app |
| Short description | Sometimes | One natural phrase, if it reads well to an English (India) reader |
| Full description | Yes | In sentences a person would write: "Track ghar ka kharcha, bills and UPI spends in one place." |
| Hindi-script listing | No | Use proper Hindi there; Hinglish belongs in the Latin-script listing |
What not to do
- Don't list every spelling variant. Repetition and keyword lists in the description break Google Play's metadata policy.
- Don't use Hinglish the app's audience wouldn't. Users in Tamil Nadu don't search in Hinglish.
- Don't forget the website. Ask Play and Gemini read it too; see aligning your site with your listing.
This sits inside our ASO for India playbook. We are building a Hinglish term list from the consoles we work in and will publish it once it is large enough to be useful.
Questions people ask
What are Hinglish keywords?
Hindi words or phrases typed in Latin script, such as "ghar ka kharcha", often mixed with English. Many Indian users search this way because their phones are set to English.
How do I find Hinglish keywords for my app?
Collect terms from reviews and support messages, probe Play Store autocomplete on an Indian account, check Play Console search terms, and confirm demand in Google Trends and YouTube.
Should Hinglish go in my Hindi listing?
No. Use proper Hindi in the Hindi-script listing. Hinglish belongs in your English (India) listing, written naturally.
Want this mapped onto your product?
See how our ASO work runs, or send your store link and a founder will reply personally.
