Step 1: Get your computer set up for using Japanese.
You don’t need a special keyboard or software, so just follow these steps to get started.
If you are using a Mac, go to System Preferences, then select International, then choose Input Menu at the top of the window. Make sure you check the box next to Kotoeri and the one next to hiragana (you can do others if you like, but check those at least).
If you are using Windows you need MS-IME, which is already on your hard disk if you use Windows XP, Vista, or 7.
If you use Windows XP:
- Go to the Start Menu and choose Control Panel.
- Select Date, Time, Language and Regional Options.
- Click Add other languages.
- Click the Details… button.
- You will get a window entitled “Text Services and Input Languages.” Ignore the first drop-down menu and click on the Add… button.
- Select Japanese, then select Microsoft IME, then click OK.
- Now look in the lower (or upper) right corner of your desktop, and you should see a little box with “EN” in it. If you click on it you can choose English (EN) or Japanese (JP) input.
If you use Vista:
- Go to the Start Menu and choose Control Panel.
- Select Clock, Language, and Region.
- Beneath Regional and Language Options choose Change keyboards or other input methods.
- There will be 4 tabs at the top. Choose Keyboards and Languages. Then click on the Change Keyboards… button.
- You will get a window entitled “Text Services and Input Languages.” Ignore the first drop-down menu and click on the Add… button.
- Select Japanese, then select Microsoft IME, then click OK.
- There will be a list of “installed services” including English and Japanese. Confirm your choice by clicking OK at the bottom of the window.
- Now look in the lower (or upper) right corner of your desktop, and you should see a little box with “EN” in it. If you click on it you can choose English (EN) or Japanese (JP) input.
Step 2: Switching between language modes.
For the Mac, go to the task bar at the upper right corner of the screen, and click on the flag. Select Hiragana. In place of the flag you should now see あ in the task bar. You are now ready to type.
For Windows XP or Vista, go to the task bar on the lower right corner of the screen and click on EN, then select Japanese. You should now see JP in the task bar. Next to that you will see a paintbrush, and a capital “A.” Click on the A to get the input modes, and then select Hiragana. You are now ready to type.
Step 3: Typing
To type hiragana, input the words as they are spelled in Roman letters. For example, to get ひらがな you would type “hiragana” and the letters will automatically change as you type.
There will be a line under the word as you type (more on than in a moment), so when you are finished with the word hit “enter” and the line will disappear.
To get ん you have to type “n” twice.
To get a long vowel as in きょう you need to type “u” (”kyou” in this case).
To get a small つ you need to type the following consonant twice. For example, まって is written “matte.”
For small や, ゆ, and よ just type as you would spell it in Roman letters. べんきょう is spelled “benkyou.”
For は and を you type “ha” and “wo.”
To type katakana, either choose katakana from the input menu, or just hold down the shift key as you type.
To type kanji, write the word in hiragana (e.g. べんきょう), then hit the space bar. The underlined word will now change to kanji (e.g. 勉強). If the kanji is correct, hit “enter” and you are finished. If the kanji is not correct (there are lots of synonyms), keep hitting the space bar until you get the kanji you need.
Coscom.co.jp has an excellent primer on typing Japanese, complete with lessons you can complete online. If you are just learning how to type in Japanese, this is a fantastic resource.
