Japanese Keyboard
Type "nihongo" and you get にほんご, or ニホンゴ in katakana. Double a consonant for a small tsu ("kitte" is きって), and add an apostrophe for ん before a vowel ("kin'en" is きんえん).
How to use
- Type in romaji, such as konnichiwa, in the box. The kana appears below as you type, and you can switch between hiragana and katakana.
- Or open Kana keys to tap the JIS layout on screen. The small letter on each key is the physical key that types it on a Japanese keyboard.
- Press Copy and paste the text into any app. This page only makes kana, so kanji conversion still needs your device's own Japanese input method.
How it works
Romaji is read from left to right, taking the longest spelling that matches. "shi", "si" and "ti" are all accepted, as in common IME settings: shi and si give し, chi and ti give ち, tsu and tu give つ, and fu and hu give ふ. Hepburn, Nihon-shiki and Kunrei spellings all work.
A repeated consonant makes a small っ: "kitte" is きって and "gakkou" is がっこう. "tch" works too, so "matcha" is まっちゃ. A single n becomes ん before a consonant ("shinbun" is しんぶん). Before a vowel or y it starts a syllable (na, nya), so write an apostrophe to get ん there: "kan'i" is かんい, while "kani" is かに. Typing nn also gives ん, and "konnichiwa" is こんにちわ.
Small kana are typed with x or l in front: "xtu" is っ, "xya" is ゃ, "xa" is ぁ. Loanword sounds work as well: "fa" is ふぁ, "thi" is てぃ, "wi" is うぃ, "vu" is ゔ, "che" is ちぇ. Katakana mode converts every kana in the result, so "ti-" becomes チー and "vaiorin" becomes ヴァイオリン.
The JIS kana layout (the layout printed on Japanese keyboards) puts each kana on a key, such as た on Q, か on T, ん on Y and は on F. ゛ and ゜ are added after a letter: か then ゛ makes が, and は then ゜ makes ぱ. The Small key toggles a letter between big and small, such as つ and っ.
Romaji cheat sheet
| To type | Type | Also works |
|---|---|---|
| し | shi | si |
| ち | chi | ti |
| つ | tsu | tu |
| ふ | fu | hu |
| じ | ji | zi |
| ん | n before a consonant, n' before a vowel or y | nn |
| っ | double the consonant (kk, tt) | xtu, ltu |
| ー | - | |
| ゃ ゅ ょ | xya xyu xyo | lya lyu lyo |
| を | wo |
Why this is not a full IME
A real Japanese input method also turns kana into kanji by looking at the whole sentence. This page does only the first half: it writes the sounds. That is enough to copy furigana, kana-only text, names in katakana, or a word you want to search for, and to practise where the keys are. For everyday typing, add the Japanese keyboard in your phone or computer settings.
Typing tips
- ん before a vowel needs an apostrophe: "kin'en" is きんえん, while "kinen" is きねん.
- Long vowels in hiragana are written with the extra vowel (toukyou, ookii). Katakana uses the bar ー, so type a hyphen: "ra-men" gives ラーメン.
- Punctuation maps from the keyboard: a comma gives 、, a period gives 。, square brackets give 「」 and a slash gives ・.
FAQ
Does this convert to kanji?
No. It converts romaji to hiragana and katakana only. Kanji conversion needs a dictionary and sentence analysis, which is what the Japanese input method on your phone or computer does.
How do I type a small tsu (っ)?
Double the next consonant: kitte gives きって. You can also type xtu or ltu. Before ch, "tch" works: matcha gives まっちゃ.
How do I type ん?
Type n before a consonant, so shinbun is しんぶん. Before a vowel or y, add an apostrophe: kan'i is かんい. Typing nn also works. A lone n at the very end is turned into ん when you copy.
What is the JIS kana layout?
It is the kana-input layout printed on Japanese keyboards, standardised as JIS X 6004. Each kana has its own key, so you type か with one key and not k and a. Most people type romaji instead, but the layout is useful if you use a Japanese keyboard.
Why do some keys look so small on my phone?
The JIS layout has 13 keys in its widest row, so on a narrow screen each key is small. Turn the phone sideways for larger keys, or use the romaji box on a phone.