How Japanese is typed
Japanese is typed with an ordinary keyboard using romaji: you type the sound in Latin letters and the computer turns it into kana. Type ka and you get か, shi gives し, tsu gives つ. This is how people type in Japan too, so practising it now carries straight over.
A few rules cover nearly everything:
- ん is typed nn (or n before another consonant, as in kanji → かんじ).
- Small っ comes from doubling the next consonant: kitte → きって, matcha → まっちゃ.
- Combined sounds add a y or an h: kya → きゃ, sha → しゃ, cho → ちょ.
- Long vowels in katakana use the dash key: su-pa- → スーパー.
- Punctuation: a full stop gives 。 and a comma gives 、.
Practising here
Type the romaji for the word shown and the practice box converts it into kana as you go. Words written in katakana (like コンビニ) are typed the same way. The usual written form with kanji is shown under each word so you also learn how it looks in real life.
The words and sentences come from everyday situations in the JFT-Basic: work, shopping, transport, health and getting around.
Why typing helps
The JFT-Basic is answered by choosing options on a computer, so the test does not ask you to type. Typing practice still helps you:
- Remember spellings of kana words, including small っ, ゃ, ゅ and ょ, which are easy to miss when reading.
- Hear the sounds in your head as you type them, which supports listening.
- Get by in Japan, where you will message your workplace, search for places and fill in forms.