📱 How to Type Japanese on Your Smartphone 📱

Want to chat in Japanese with your Japanese friends? In this blog, we'll show you everything you need to know ― from choosing a keyboard to typing tricky sounds!

💬 Why Type Japanese on Your Phone? 💬

Have you ever wanted to send a message in Japanese to a Japanese friend, but didn't know how to type it? 📨

Good news ― once you understand how Japanese typing works on a smartphone, it's actually faster and easier than you might think!

In this blog, we'll cover the two types of Japanese keyboards, why most Japanese people use Kana input, and how to master the popular Flick input method. 🚀

Two Types of Japanese Keyboards ⌨️

There are two main ways to type Japanese ― and the one you choose makes a huge difference!

Romaji Input（ローマ字入力）💻

Type Japanese using the English alphabet. Common on laptops and PCs.

→ e.g. n-i-h-o-n → にほん

Kana Input（かな入力）📱 ✓ Recommended

Type using a Japanese syllable keyboard. Used by most Japanese people on smartphones!

🤔 Why do most Japanese people use Kana input on smartphones? 🤔

Simple ― you can type with just one hand! The kana keyboard is designed for small screens and thumb-typing, making it much more comfortable than stretching across a full Romaji keyboard.

Imagine holding your phone in one hand and typing smoothly with your thumb ― that's kana input. With Romaji input on a small screen, you end up using both hands and awkwardly hunting for every letter. 🤏 Much less comfortable!

Plus, using Kana input is also a great way to practice hiragana! 🎯

Flick Input ― The Fastest Way! 👆

Among Kana input methods, Flick input（フリック入力） is by far the most popular in Japan ― and once you get the hang of it, it's incredibly fast! ⚡

Think of each key as holding 5 kana at once. Tap to get the first one, or swipe in a direction to pick the others!

The idea is simple: Japanese has only 5 vowels (あ い う え お), so one key covers an entire row of the 50-sounds chart.

How Flick Works ― Example: the「あ」key

The same pattern applies to every row! The「か」key gives you か・き・く・け・こ, the「さ」key gives さ・し・す・せ・そ, and so on.

💡 Why is Flick so fast?💡

Japanese has only 5 vowels, which means every sound fits neatly into a 5-direction swipe.

Combined with smartphone one-handed use becoming the norm, Flick input became the natural choice for Japanese speakers ― and it can be for you too!

Japanese 'Flick' groups five kana on one key; swipe directions pick a vowel.

 🔧 Typing Special Sounds 🔧

Once you know Flick input, you need to handle a few special kana. Here's how!

Small size つ

Tap「つ」→ tap the “小” button（゛）→ get「っ」

Small size やゆよ（きゃ、しゅ、etc.）

Tap「や・ゆ・よ」→ tap the “小” button（゛）→ get「ゃ・ゅ・ょ」

The long vowel （ー）

Swipe right on「わ」→ get「ー」

カタカナ Katakana ― conversion

Type in hiragana → press the convert button（変換）→ select katakana!

e.g. にほん → 変換 → ニホン

💡 Quick tip💡

For voiced consonants like「が・ざ・だ」, tap the base kana, then tap「゛」― it works the same way!

🎉 You're Ready to Type Japanese! 🎉

Start with the kana keyboard, practice flick input, and you'll be texting in Japanese in no time.

Your Japanese friends will be impressed! 🇯🇵

Jirō