日本語の道
Kanji

Kanji written in kana, with spaces between words.

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Latin letters under Japanese lines

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キーボードTyping Japanese

Set up a Japanese keyboard

The quizzes and drills are answered in kana and kanji, typed with a Japanese keyboard. Most learners type in English letters and let the keyboard turn them into kana: taberu becomes たべる, and the keyboard then offers 食(た)たべる. Most phones and computers have one built in; it only needs adding.

Kana is enough almost everywhere: the quizzes and most drills accept a word in kana, so you only need to pick the kanji on the kanji cards.

Menu names change a little between versions, so the steps say where to look. If a name differs on yours, search your settings for “keyboard” or “Japanese”.

iPhone and iPad

Add the keyboard

  1. Open Settings, then General, then Keyboard, then Keyboards.
  2. Choose Add New Keyboard, then Japanese, and pick Romaji (a full English-letter layout, the easiest start). Kana is the flick layout Japanese phones use; you can add it later.

Switch to it

  1. Tap the globe key below the letters to move to the next keyboard, or touch and hold it to pick one from a list.

Type kana and kanji

  1. Type the word in English letters: taberu shows たべる (on some versions kanji appear as you type).
  2. The bar above the keys offers spellings: tap 食(た)たべる for the kanji, or たべる for kana.
  3. While a word is still being typed, the space key moves through the suggestions and the return key keeps what's shown.

Android (Gboard)

Add the keyboard

  1. If your phone uses another keyboard (many Samsung phones do), install Gboard from the Play Store and choose it, or add Japanese to the keyboard you have.
  2. Open Gboard's settings (the gear in its toolbar, or Keyboard in your phone's Settings).
  3. Choose Languages, then Add keyboard, then Japanese (日本語), and pick the QWERTY layout to type in English letters. 12 keys is the flick layout Japanese phones use.

Switch to it

  1. Tap the globe key to change keyboards.

Type kana and kanji

  1. Type the word in English letters: taberu shows たべる.
  2. The row above the keys offers spellings: tap 食(た)たべる for the kanji, or たべる for kana. Swipe the row for more.
  3. While a word is still being typed, the space key moves through the suggestions and the enter key keeps what's shown.

Windows (Microsoft IME)

Add the keyboard

  1. Open Settings, then Time & language, then Language & region (Language on older versions).
  2. Add a language, choose Japanese (日本語) and install it. The Microsoft IME comes with it. Leave “Set as my Windows display language” unticked, unless you want Windows itself in Japanese.

Switch to it

  1. Press Windows key + Space to change input language. The taskbar then shows the IME's mode: A for English letters, あ for hiragana.
  2. Change the mode by clicking A or あ, with Alt + ` (the key above Tab), or with the 半角/全角 key on a Japanese keyboard.

Type kana and kanji

  1. Type taberu and the line shows たべる, underlined while it is open.
  2. Press Space to turn it into kanji (食(た)たべる); press Space again for the next choice, then Enter to keep it. Enter alone keeps the kana.
  3. F7 turns what you've typed into katakana, before you press Enter.

Mac

Add the keyboard

  1. Open System Settings, then Keyboard, then Text Input (Input Sources), and choose Edit.
  2. Press +, choose Japanese and the Romaji input source, then Add.

Switch to it

  1. Press Control + Space, or the 🌐 key on recent keyboards, or choose from the input menu in the menu bar (it shows あ while you type Japanese).
  2. If letters stay English, check Caps Lock: Keyboard settings can make it switch between ABC and Japanese.

Type kana and kanji

  1. Type taberu. On most Macs kanji appear as you type (食(た)たべる): this is Live Conversion.
  2. Press Space for other choices, then Enter to keep the one shown.
  3. To keep kana, press Control + J (hiragana) or Control + K (katakana) before Enter, or turn Live Conversion off in the input menu.

Typing kana in English letters

Most kana are a consonant and a vowel (ka か, shi し). These are the ones that aren’t:

To writeTypeFor example
んnn; a single n is enough before a consonant other than yhon → ほん, konnya → こんや (konya gives こにゃ)
Small っ (a held sound)the next consonant twice; tch or cch before chkitte → きって, matcha → まっちゃ
Small ゃ ゅ ょy after the consonant; sh and ch need no ykyaku → きゃく, shashin → しゃしん
A small kana on its ownx or l firstxtu or ltu → っ, xya → ゃ
Loanword soundsthi, dhi, fathi → てぃ (ti gives ち), fa → ふぁ
ー (a long vowel in katakana)the hyphen key (-), or ー on a phoneko-hi- → こーひー, then convert to コーヒー
。、？ and ・. , ? on a computer; / for ・ on Windows and MacHai, sou desu. → はい、そうです。
を (the object particle)wowo → を
The particles は and へha and he, as they are writtenha → は (said wa)
Katakana wordsthe word in letters, then convertpan → ぱん → パン

Ready to try it? Type it gives you lesson lines to copy. The kana drill and the quiz questions that ask for a reading in romaji are the exception: switch back to English letters for those, or the keyboard turns the answer into kana.