Type Japanese on a computer or phone

Windows and Mac: turn on Japanese Romaji input

Windows 11: open Settings → Time & language → Language & region. Add Japanese if needed, then check Microsoft IME under its language options. Use the taskbar input selector or Windows + Space to switch to Japanese. Choose Hiragana, shown as あ, and check that the typing method is Romaji.

Mac: open System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit. Use the add button to select Japanese – Romaji. Switch to that input source and choose Hiragana from the Input menu. Type ka in a text field to check for か. If a single letter produces an unrelated kana, check whether direct Kana input is selected.

ん: use nn on its own, and an apostrophe at a boundary

For a standalone ん, type nn. When the next sound begins with a vowel or y, an ASCII apostrophe separates the sounds: kan'i gives かんい, and shin'you gives しんよう. Without the boundary, the n can join the next letters as な or にゃ.

For んな, split it visibly as n'na. Treat nn as the input for ん when practising; a run of n letters needs care because the following vowel can change how the input is grouped. Check the kana before choosing a candidate.

Small っ: double the following consonant

Type gakkou for がっこう: the doubled kk creates っか. Kitte gives きって. To insert っ on its own, use xtu or ltu, then continue typing. For まっちゃ, maccha follows the same repeated-consonant pattern; ma + xtu + cha makes the pieces explicit.

Keep n as its own special case. Use the ん inputs in the previous section for that sound, and xtu or ltu when you specifically need small っ. For example, xtu followed by na spells out っな.

Small ゃゅょ, voiced sounds and ぢづ

Kya produces きゃ, while kiya produces きや. In the first, ゃ is small. Type xya or lya for a standalone ゃ; use xyu or lyu for ゅ, and xyo or lyo for ょ. A short check of the character size catches many name-entry mistakes.

On a Romaji keyboard, ga produces が and pa produces ぱ. Use di for ぢ, du for づ, and wo for を. Typing the pronunciation you hear can lead to a different character: ji and zu produce じ and ず, so compare the spelling in your original text.

Long vowels: the ー key and the kana spelling

In Japanese Romaji input, the hyphen key produces the long-vowel mark ー. Try ko-hi- to enter こーひー, then choose コーヒー from the candidates or use the Katakana shortcut below.

For words normally written in hiragana, follow the kana spelling: gakkou gives がっこう, and ookii gives おおきい. Keep the う or い in the original word when practising. The long-vowel mark in a Katakana word and the hyphen in an English name serve different jobs.

Space for candidates; F7 or Control-K for Katakana

In Microsoft IME, Space first converts the text and another press opens the candidate list. Select the form you want, then press Enter. While composing a reading, F7 converts it to full-width Katakana. For example, type toukyou and review 東京 or トウキョウ before confirming.

On Mac, Space opens or cycles conversion candidates and Return confirms them. Control-K converts the current text to Katakana; F7 is also listed, with Fn needed on some keyboards. Live Conversion may already suggest kanji as you type. Use the Input menu and the displayed candidates to check the current mode.

Add Japanese Kana on iPhone, or 12-key Japanese in Gboard

iPhone: open Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard. Choose Japanese and the Kana layout. In a text field, hold the globe or keyboard-switch button and select the Japanese keyboard. Choose Romaji instead if you prefer typing Latin letters.

Android with Gboard: open Gboard settings → Languages → Add keyboard → Japanese. Select 12-key and finish setup. If Japanese is already installed, open its language settings and enable 12-key. Open a note and check that keys such as あ, か and さ appear.

Flick from the centre: あ, left い, up う, right え, down お

Tap あ for あ. Start on the same key and slide left for い, up for う, right for え, or down for お, then release. The main rows follow that vowel order: on か, a downward flick gives こ; on な, a left flick gives に.

On Gboard’s Japanese 12-key layout, flick わ upward for ん. Practise こんにちは in five actions: か down, わ up, な left, た left, then tap は. Pause between letters while you learn where your finger needs to start.

If repeated taps cycle one key’s letters, check the flick-only option. Gboard places it under Settings → Languages → Japanese (12-key) → 12-key layout settings → Flick only. With flick-only enabled, consecutive centre taps can enter repeated centre letters, such as はは.

Phone small letters, ゛゜ and the long-vowel mark

On the Gboard layout shown in Android’s official guide, first enter the base kana, then use the 大⇔小 modifier key. It changes は to ば with one tap or a left flick, and to ぱ with two taps or a right flick. For っ, enter つ by flicking た upward, then use the modifier to make it small. や, ゆ and よ can likewise be changed to small ゃ, ゅ and ょ.

Gboard groups ー under わ. Hold the key to inspect its choices, then move to ー and release. On iPhone or another keyboard, follow the visible choices and modifier labels on that layout. Try がっこう, きゃ and コーヒー in a note before entering a longer message.