Indian English Checker: Fix Indianisms and Email Tone
Paste an email or message. The checker marks phrases that are normal in Indian offices but confusing abroad, flags stiff or over-casual tone, and gives you a cleaner version to copy.
“Kindly do the needful and revert back at the earliest” is perfectly clear in Bengaluru and Noida. To a client in Sydney or Chicago it reads as stiff at best and confusing at worst. None of it is “wrong” English; it’s Indian English, and it’s worth knowing which phrases travel and which don’t. This checker finds over 45 of them.
Paste your email
Works best on work emails, WhatsApp messages to clients and cover letters.
Privacy: the check runs inside your browser. Your text isn’t sent anywhere.
How do you use the indian english checker?
- Paste your text. An email, a LinkedIn message or a cover letter works. Or try the sample email first.
- Press Check my English. Red marks are Indianisms. Amber marks are tone: too stiff or too casual.
- Read the reason for each mark. Each numbered item says what to use instead and why.
- Copy the suggested version. Read it once. A rule can’t know your context, so adjust anything that changed your meaning.
What the checker looks for
It marks three kinds of phrase. Red marks are Indianisms: phrases that are standard in India and odd or misleading elsewhere. Amber marks are tone: phrases that are correct but read as a government notice, or so casual they don’t belong in a work email.
| You wrote | Try instead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Kindly revert back | Please reply | Revert means go back to an earlier state |
| The meeting is preponed | The meeting’s been brought forward | Prepone is used only in India |
| PFA the invoice | I’ve attached the invoice | Shorthand many readers won’t know |
| I have a doubt | I have a question | Elsewhere, doubt means disbelief |
| Please check the same | Please check it | “The same” as a pronoun is legal-letter style |
| Today itself | Today | “Itself” for emphasis is an Indian pattern |
| Respected Sir | Dear Mr Rao | Reads like a school application |
Getting the tone right
Most Indian office email errs on the stiff side, because many of us learnt letter writing from formal application formats. Short sentences, “please” instead of “kindly”, and starting with the point instead of “This is to inform you that” make the same email sound confident and warm. The full rules, with templates, are in our email writing guide, and business English covers the spoken side of the same habits.
The suggested version is a starting point. A rule can’t know your context, so read it once before you send.
What kinds of Indianisms are there?
Most fall into four groups. Knowing the group helps you spot new ones the checker hasn’t seen yet.
| Type | Examples | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Doubled words | revert back, return back, discuss about, repeat again | The verb already contains the extra word |
| Translated phrases | out of station, good name, do one thing, cousin brother | Hindi and other Indian languages, word for word |
| Old office English | do the needful, PFA, herewith, the same, kindly | British government letters from a century ago |
| Tense patterns | I am having a doubt, I am knowing him, since two years | Indian languages use continuous and “since” differently |
Linguists treat Indian English as a full variety of English with its own vocabulary, so none of this is “bad English”. “Prepone” is even in some dictionaries now. The question is only who’s reading.
When should you fix them, and when not?
Fix them when you’re writing to a client abroad, a recruiter at a global company, a university admissions office or a visa officer. Those readers don’t share the code, and a phrase like “kindly revert” can read as odd at exactly the moment you want to sound sharp.
Leave them when you’re writing to your own team in Pune or Gurugram. Everybody understands “prepone the meeting”, and swapping in “bring forward” won’t win you anything. Pick your battles.
Your emails go out every day. Make each one count.
A checker catches phrases. A tutor fixes the habits behind them, using your own emails as the lesson. Book a ₹299 1-on-1 demo and bring an email you’ve written.
Book a ₹299 Demo ClassFrequently Asked Questions
What are Indianisms in English?
Indianisms are words and phrases that are standard in Indian English but unusual elsewhere, such as “do the needful”, “prepone”, “revert back”, “out of station” and “cousin brother”. Many are translations from Hindi or leftovers from older British office English. They aren’t mistakes, but they can confuse readers outside India.
Is “do the needful” wrong?
It isn’t grammatically wrong, and it was once common in British English. Today it’s used almost only in India, and readers elsewhere find it vague because it doesn’t say what you want. Write the actual request instead: “Could you approve the invoice by Friday?”
What should I write instead of “kindly revert”?
Write “Please reply” or “Could you let me know by Thursday?” Outside India, revert means to go back to an earlier state, so “revert back” can puzzle the reader. A clear question with a time works better than either phrase.
Does the checker store what I paste?
No. Everything runs inside your browser on this page. Your text isn’t sent to WizMantra or anyone else, and it’s gone when you close the tab.
Can it check grammar too?
It focuses on Indianisms and tone, not full grammar. It does catch a few grammar patterns common in Indian English, like “I am knowing” and “discuss about”. For full grammar practice, try our English quizzes.
Should I avoid Indian English completely?
No. Indian English is a valid variety of English used by hundreds of millions of people. The point is choice: know which phrases travel well, and switch when your reader is outside India.
Is Indian English a real variety of English?
Yes. Indian English is one of the largest varieties of English in the world, with its own vocabulary and patterns, documented by linguists for decades. Using it in India is normal. The checker exists for the moments your reader isn’t Indian: a client abroad, a foreign recruiter, a visa or university application.
What are the most common Indianisms in office email?
“Do the needful”, “kindly revert”, “PFA” or “please find attached”, “prepone”, “the same” used as a pronoun, “today itself” and “Respected Sir”. Together they make up most of what the checker flags in real emails.
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