How to Read the Japanise Kana Keyboard

Sooooo. I didn't really find any posts nether "texting" in Japanese and no extensive ones under "keyboard" so I thought this could be my post for the month (cuz someone beat me to the chase with my other idea :sweat_smile: ). Plus I was incredibly confused when I kickoff picked upward the keyboard and information technology's a VERY helpful resource in learning Japanese (in my humble opinion) for looking upwards words and socialising with others online to practice.

Okay and so hither goes an overly detailed tutorial:

1. You will find the keyboard in settings under general. Then you scroll down to keyboards and then click on the top option keyboards.

This will show you lot what keyboards you already (I already accept the Kana keyboard lol) and you press add together new keyboard.

Afterward scrolling downwardly to Japanese and pressing the language, yous will be presented with the pick of Kana or Romaji.

You can cull both at once or just the Kana keyboard for now - I volition speedily explain the romaji keyboard at the end.

And now y'all have a keyboard at your disposal.

2. When you open up upwardly a note or website to type into, you will be able to select the keyboard from the keyboards yous accept. If you only have English and Japanese and then y'all can just tap the little globe shape and it will change direct away. Otherwise, if you have emojis or multiple languages, and then you can concord the world and and so drag your thumb up to the language you want.

I'll just quickly what the buttons other than the kana do.

The ABC button leads to an English 'keypad' where you lot can write English words and admission numbers though this is probably slower than switching dorsum to an English keyboard. The button with the face leads to the extensive lists of those emoticon things (I don't know the name sorry). The bottom right is similar an enter push button - y'all can printing it once to finish typing (i.e. A sentence is done) and then press it again to go to the next line. The push button under the backspace acts like space bar. If y'all want to use it as a space bar you have to press the enter button to consummate the texting. Otherwise pressing it will scroll through the suggested autocorrections (I'll become to that in a minute). Finally the little button on the contrary side of the confront with the one where you can tap and choose the punctuation. Automatically it is a comma (forgive me if I'm wrong) only you tin can modify information technology is the 'autocorrections box'.

3. Okay and then this is probably where most people get stuck.

"At that place's only x characters what am I supposed to do?" "Where'due south the katakana? Where'south the kanji?"

I'll explain the first question first - there are three ways to go the different letters other than the -A sounds on the forepart folio.

a) By clicking the same character twice quickly you will get the -I audio instead. Clicking it three times will give the -U sound, 4 times is the -Due east audio and v is -O. I'll explain や、わ and ん in a moment. This is pretty deadening and if yous want to type the same character twice then you take to wait a chip. It's similar the old school phones with numbered keypads and the letters underneath where you have to to click several times to send a letter (my Japanese friend has a cute footling blue 1 and she has to practice this but in Japanese).

b) For this method you have to printing and hold the -A sound of the equivalent Kana that you desire. I.e. Concord な if you want の or hold ら if you want る. Subsequently a moment the grid volition show upward with the sounds in each direction and you just drag your finger towards the one you want and let get.

This is also slow (perhaps fifty-fifty slower than method A if you're not used to method A) and that'southward a drawback.

The direction of the sounds is always consistent, -I sound will always be to the left and the -E to the right and then on.

Here I will include the exceptions, や and わ buttons.

The や push unfolds and has the sounds in the correct places with the Katakana brackets replacing the missing sounds.

The わ push button is different and the を sound is the the left, ん is above and the long vowel symbol is to the right.

c) this method is just a much faster version of method B and is likely what native Japanese texters use (forgive me if I'chiliad wrong). This means yous cull the same equivalent -A sound of the grapheme yous want and then you immediately drag your finger in the advisable direction and permit go. I'll testify y'all what comes up with N- sounds equally an example.

Ni

Nu

Ne

No

This quickly types the kana that you want and is really useful merely it takes a chip of exercise to memorise directions that y'all want then Method B or A is amend for when you lot first brainstorm.

4."Okay now I want to type the muddied sounds, yous know ga, ba, pa-"

Certain, this is simple as well. First pick the character that the sound is derived from (i.due east. は if yous're trying to become ぱ). Then you volition notice that the button that was previously the face has now changed. You can tap this once to get ば or for は merely tap twice for ぱ.

"And what about the piffling kan-" yeah okay. Here yous type the letter of the alphabet you want 'smallified' and you tin see that every bit well every bit the dingy sounds there is a little 小 (meaning "piffling") - I actually only just noticed this little 小, it's pretty neat. And then aye, tapping that for a vowel, や/わ character or つ volition brand it the pocket-sized version.

five. Now that's safely out of the way, I'll explain exactly how useful the 'autocorrecting box' I mentioned earlier is.

E.g. I want to blazon 夕(evening) then I utilize the keypad to type せき. Now I am able to select 夕 from the box and my kana will exist changed to the kanji I chose. Taadaa!

And if it can't be found on the peak box you can expand information technology to go a long list of suggestions.

And in this box yous tin get your Katakana too.

Due east.g. I want to blazon my blood brother'south name Max. I put in the kana and then I can quickly select the Katakana equivalent to right to. This Katakana option shows upwards for annihilation you type in (forgive me if I'm wrong).

BONUS [ROMAJI KEYBOARD]:

Looks like this on the selection menu

Even though I personally find the Kana keyboard to be more fun and beneficial, I'd recommend the romaji for beginners or people in full general who just desire to focus on writing rather than remembering directions. With this keyboard, it looks identical to an English keyboard simply as you type the sounds are automatically converted to equivalent hiragana characters. From there you can select your kanji or Katakana corrections. It's nice and useful but it doesn't test yous much, information technology'due south confusing to have near identical looking keyboards and you lot would demand to know the romaji spellings every bit opposed to hiragana spellings for all the words you want.

Eastward.yard. I typed in ryoku and information technology became りょく. However spelling it ryouku wouldn't work.

And that'south about it. That took me way manner manner likewise long merely I think I'm proud. Run across y'all later.

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Source: https://aminoapps.com/c/japaneseschool/page/blog/japanese-kana-and-romaji-keyboards-and-how-to-use-them-for-texting-ios-only/qk4e_zwzuRudE71j7nNbYlvYJ1Lg2KN248g

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