Many must have already wondered what the computer keyboard used by the Japanese looks like. This is because in Japan writing does not have letters as we commonly know. Before understanding the keyboard, it is important to know the script used by them, which are logographic kanji (symbols that represent whole words) and syllabic kana (a pair of syllabaries, the hiragana).
There are at least 50,000 kanji alone, most of them in disuse. And according to the Japanese government, elementary school students should have knowledge of at least 1,026 symbols, while secondary school students should have 2,136.
So if a keyboard were to be used the kanji system it would have to be considerably big to fit so many symbols! And these logograms are not even able to give an idea of how the words are pronounced.
Hiragana and Katakana are used with the syllabary function so that each symbol represents a letter to make writing easier. Each symbol has 43 characters. This idea is the same as that used for Japanese keyboards.
With the shift, alt, and other auxiliary keys, it is possible to trigger rarer syllables. And as you write in hiragana, corresponding kanji options appear to use. There are specific keys for the language itself. For example, in Brazil, there is '' ç '' and in countries like Spain, there is '' ñ ''.
We also recommend reading: KANA: Definitive Guide to Hiragana and Katakana - Japanese Alphabet
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Japanese keyboard accent in 10 steps
For those who use the Japanese keyboard, it may be difficult to place accents on words, this is because the keyboard driver generally does not dead keys in order to combine two keys to generate the accented character on Windows operating systems.
As a solution, you can install an additional accent drive to allow you to accent Roman letters using a Japanese keyboard. This tip also works for other international keyboards that don't have accents in your language.
Step 1: the Driver
- the necessary accentuation driver and save the .zip file to your computer.
Step 2: Install the Driver
- Unzip the driver files.
- Run the "Setup" file to start the installation.
Step 3: Restart the system
- Restart your computer for the changes to be applied.
Step 4: Configure the Default Keyboard
- Press the Windows key + R.
- Type "osk" (without quotes) and press Enter.
- Open the Control .
- Go to "Clock and Region" > "Language".
- Click on "Options" next to "Portuguese (Brazil)".
- In the "Text services and input languages" window, under "Default input language", select "Portuguese (Brazil) - Japanese dead keys".
- Remove any other keyboard listed under "Portuguese (Brazil)".
Ready! Now you can use your Japanese keyboard with the correct accent in Windows.
virtual japanese keyboard
For those who live outside Japan and are learning the language, it is essential to be as familiar with writing as possible. One way to do this is by having the virtual keyboard for mobile or computer to write in hiragana and katakana format.
The keyboard is available on the website Lexilogos and allows you to write in any language (even those that do not have letters) through the Windows keyboard itself and already has over 90 languages available.
But to find the kanji, just type it into the site's search engine: ROMAJI and click ENTER. You'll then see several radicals and just select the kanji you're looking for. However, you can simply set your computer or cell phone to write in Japanese.
For Android phones: the Google Japanese Text Input app from the Play Store. Once installed, enable the keyboard in Settings -> Select input method -> Keyboard layout -> QWERTY.
For iPhones and iPads: Go to Settings -> General -> Keyboards -> Add New Keyboard -> Japanese – Romaji -> Done.
For Windows computers: Access Settings -> Time & Language -> Region & Language -> Add a language -> 日本語 Japanese -> Next -> disable the option "Set as my Windows display language", select Handwriting -> Install -> Click on the language icon -> Select Microsoft Japanese IME -> Click on the letter "A" once and it will change to あ.
For Mac computers: Go to System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Input Sources -> + select “Japanese” and “Add” -> Click on the flag near the date and time at the top of the screen -> Select Hiragana.
