About Sambhota Tutor

Our Mission

Sambhota Tutor is an Open Education Resource (OER) created in service of Open Science. Our mission is to make Tibetan script education accessible to learners of all ages and backgrounds, anywhere in the world.

This free, open-source tutoring system allows anyone to learn the fundamentals of Tibetan script at their own pace, without barriers of cost or access.

Why "Sambhota"?

This project is named after Thonmi Sambhota (ཐོན་མི་སམ་བྷོ་ཊ), the 7th-century Tibetan scholar and minister who is credited with creating the Tibetan script around 650 CE.

Sent by Emperor Songtsen Gampo to study in India, Thonmi Sambhota returned with knowledge of Sanskrit and Brahmi scripts. He adapted these to create a writing system perfectly suited to the Tibetan language, establishing a foundation for Tibetan literature, philosophy, and Buddhist scholarship that continues to this day.

What You'll Learn

• 30 Consonants - The complete Tibetan alphabet with pronunciation guides
• 4 Vowel Signs - How vowel markers modify consonant sounds
• Numbers 0-10 - Tibetan numerals and their spoken forms
• Example Words - Practical vocabulary for each letter

AI Tutor Feature

Sambhota Tutor includes an optional AI-powered assistant that can answer your questions about Tibetan script, pronunciation, and language basics. This feature uses the Google Gemini API, which offers a free tier for personal use.

To use the AI tutor:

1. Visit Google AI Studio
2. Create a free API key
3. Enter your key in the settings on the Learn page
4. Your key is stored locally in your browser only

Open Source

This project is fully open source. You can:

• View, modify, and improve the code
• Use it for educational purposes
• Deploy your own version
• Contribute translations or improvements

We welcome contributions from the community, especially from native Tibetan speakers and language educators who can help improve the accuracy and pedagogical value of this resource.

Technology

Sambhota Tutor is built with:

• Node.js & Express - Server-side framework
• Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS - No heavy frameworks for fast loading
• Noto Sans Tibetan - High-quality Unicode Tibetan font
• Gemini API - Optional AI tutoring capabilities

The project is designed to be easily deployable on platforms like Vercel, Netlify, or any Node.js hosting service.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to:

• The Tibetan language community for preserving this beautiful script
• Google for providing free access to Noto Sans Tibetan font
• The open education and open science communities
• All contributors and educators who help improve this resource

Contact & Contributing

Found a mistake? Have suggestions? Want to contribute?

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Submit a pull request with improvements
• Help translate the interface into other languages