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News and Info

2/10/25You can now change the main theme color to the Genki II color scheme via the settings manager! Click here to learn more about this new setting.
1/15/25Happy New Year! With the new year, comes new projects! Click here to learn about what I have planned for 2025.
12/14/24I've been slowly rolling out ads on my website recently. They're optional for this project, however, so please click here to learn more about this update.
10/26/24Click here to learn about the recent updates made to the website as well as my future plans.
Interested in learning Japanese? Check out our guide for more information on how to learn the language, as well as useful tools that you can utilize in your studies!
Looking for more self-study resources? Visit the official self-study room for Genki or check out some of the resources in the readme on GitHub.
Want to stay up to date on the latest changes made to Genki Study Resources? You can follow updates via GitHub, Twitter, or Ko-fi. Feel free to also contact us on the forum if you have any questions or feedback.
Have a question about the site? Check out the FAQ! If you can't find an answer to your question, feel free to contact us via GitHub's issues and we'll try to answer your question in a timely manner.
Find a bug or mistake on the site? Want to submit a suggestion or give us feedback? Check out the report page for more information. We'd love to hear from you!
Don't have a network connection all the time? Genki Study Resources can be used offline as well! Head on over to the download page to get the latest release.
If you found this tool helpful for studying with Genki, please consider making a donation to help support my work. Thank you!

How to Type in Japanese

To start typing in Japanese and taking full advantage of our writing exercises you'll need to setup an IME (Input Method Editor). It's a fairly simple process and highly recommended if you want to learn how to write in Japanese on your computer. Choose a guide from the list below to setup an IME for your operating system.

Typing Practice

Here's a few suggestions for practicing typing once you've got your IME set up:

Tips for the Microsoft IME

Below is a list of tips and tricks for making effective use of the Microsoft IME. These shortcuts may work for other IMEs as well. You can use the button below to open a textarea and test out some of these tips firsthand.

Shortcuts

Typing ん／ン

Some people may get confused when trying to type "n" in hiragana and katakana, because it doesn't immediately convert to the kana. There are 3 conditions which will convert n into ん／ン that are listed below.

  1. The most common method of conversion is simply to type the next kana: shinri = しんり (this only works if the next kana typed isn't a, i, u, e, o, ya, yu, or yo).
  2. The next common method of conversion is typing "n" twice in a row: nn = ん／ン. You can also prefix n with x to convert it: xn = ん／ン.
  3. Lastly, you can press the space bar to convert the kana or open the conversion list. (this is only applicable if n is underlined)

Try them out to get the hang of typing n and choose the method that works best for you.

Typing Small Kana

Small kana can by typed by prefixing the romaji with X. See the examples below and give them a try, too.

Typing Contracted Kana

Typing contracted kana is pretty easy if you already know the romaji for them. If you don't, we highly suggest practicing the Hiragana Combos and Katakana Combos exercises. To type contracted kana, you simply type the romaji for it and the IME does the rest.

Typing Double Consonants

Double consonants (i.e. kk, pp, ss..) always have the first of the pair converted to a small tsu (ssa --> っさ). See the examples below and try typing them in a textpad to get a feel for them.

Typing Kanji

Typing kanji is easier than you might think. All you need to do is type out the kana and then press the space bar (while the kana is underlined) to convert the kana to kanji. If the kanji isn't the one you wanted, press the space bar again to scroll through the conversion suggestions (you can use the arrows keys as well once the list is focused). Here's some examples that you can try typing.