Notes on the Usage of the Windows Japanese IME
The Windows Japanese IME (Input Method Editor) allows you to input Japanese using your Latin keyboard.
My keyboard layout. This is a Spanish (Latin America) Keyboard.
Activating the IME
To activate, install the Japanese(Japan) - Microsoft IME keyboard layout. Then choose your key shortcut to quickly swap among languages. I chose Ctrl + LeftShift. Note that in Windows 11, you need to use ⊞ + Space (Windows Key + Space) to cycle among languages AND keyboard layouts. Using only the previous shortcuts only cycles among languages.
The language/keyboard selection is per window. Windows 11 allows a global language/keyboard selection.
Entering vowels with overbar (macron)
Add the English(New Zealand) - Maori keyboard layout. Then, to type a macron'ed vowel, use the key under Esc/over Tab as accent.
Basic Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Left Shift (Depends on your config) |
Cycle among input languages |
| Ctrl + CapsLock | Hiragana |
| Alt + CapsLock | Full-Width Katakana |
| Shift + CapsLock | Full-Width Alphanumeric |
| Alt + [Key under ESC / over TAB] In my layout, the key with |,°,¬ |
Disable/Enable IME Enter Half-Width Alphanumeric |
While typing
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| SpaceBar | Convert to best guess for kanji |
| F6 | Convert to Hiragana |
| F7 | Convert to Katakana |
| F8 | Convert to Half-Width Katakana |
| F9 | Convert to Full-Width Alphanumeric |
| F10 | Convert to Half-Width Alphanumeric |
Bōten and Wakiten in CSS
In Japanese writing, it is not practical to emphasize text by applying bold, italics/obliques or underlining, neither applying color background for the same purpose. Although it depends on the author, furigana dots are used (mostly very sparingly) for emphasis. They are called 傍点 (ぼうてん), 圏点 (けんてん) or 脇店 (わきてん), meaning "side mark". (Usage example: 漢字に傍点を付ける。(かんじにぼうてんをつける) To add furigana dots to kanji.)
In CSS, you can add them by using a styled span with the text-emphasis property in FireFox, and using the -webkit- prefix in most other browsers.
| Value | Example |
|---|---|
| dot | こんな感じ |
| open dot | こんな感じ |
| circle | こんな感じ |
| open circle | こんな感じ |
| double-circle | こんな感じ |
| open double-circle | こんな感じ |
| triangle | こんな感じ |
| open triangle | こんな感じ |
| sesame | こんな感じ |
| open sesame | 開けごま！ |
NOTE: The text-emphasis property is not supported by Edge as of 2020 Q2.
Japanese Colors
The name of a few colors in Japanese.
Page last modified July 20, 2020.
