Type Japanese with Roman Letters

Q: How do I type ん?

Type n. If a vowel follows, it waits to see whether you meant a different syllable (kinen becomes きねん). If you really want ん before a vowel, add an apostrophe: kin'en gives きんえん. If n is the last letter you type in a word, it stays shown as an underlined n until you press space or Enter to confirm; that's the moment it becomes ん.

Q: How do I type the small っ?

Double the next consonant: kekkon is けっこん. Typing it once, as kekon, gives けこん instead. It only recognizes a doubled identical consonant, so まっちゃ needs the doubled-c spelling maccha; typing matcha won't insert っ automatically.

Type the romanization you already know and it converts to Japanese kana automatically. Japanese already has a standard romaji input convention, and this follows the same rules your phone or computer already uses. Nothing new to learn.

Double the consonant for a small っ: kekkon kekon

Try it:

How it works

Type a romanized word, like konnichiwa. It converts live, with no candidates to pick.
ん: type n. If a vowel follows, it waits to see whether you meant a different syllable: kinen becomes 「きねん」. If you really want ん before a vowel, add an apostrophe: kin'en gives 「きんえん」. If n is the last letter you type in a word, it stays shown as an underlined n until you press space or Enter to confirm; that's the moment it becomes ん.
っ (small tsu): double the next consonant, e.g. kekkon is 「けっこん」; typing it once as kekon gives 「けこん」instead.
Long vowels: repeat the vowel letter, e.g. okaasan is 「おかあさん」. For the katakana-style long-vowel mark, type a hyphen: ke-ki gives 「ケーキ」.
Use the buttons above to switch between hiragana and katakana display anytime; your romaji doesn't change.
Press space or Enter to confirm, then copy and paste wherever you need it.

Current limitations

The small っ only recognizes a doubled identical consonant: for 「まっちゃ」type the doubled-c spelling maccha. Typing matcha won't insert っ automatically. Everything you type stays in your browser, and nothing is sent to a server.

Romanization table

し can also be typed si, ち as ti, つ as tu, ふ as hu; the じ row also accepts the zy-prefixed spellings (e.g. zya); both spellings work.

Plain sounds (46)

あa いi うu えe おo かka きki くku けke こko さsa しshi すsu せse そso たta ちchi つtsu てte とto なna にni ぬnu ねne のno はha ひhi ふfu へhe ほho まma みmi むmu めme もmo やya ゆyu よyo らra りri るru れre ろro わwa をwo んn

Voiced & semi-voiced (25)

がga ぎgi ぐgu げge ごgo ざza じji ずzu ぜze ぞzo だda ぢdi づdu でde どdo ばba びbi ぶbu べbe ぼbo ぱpa ぴpi ぷpu ぺpe ぽpo

Palatalized (33)

きゃkya きゅkyu きょkyo ぎゃgya ぎゅgyu ぎょgyo しゃsha しゅshu しょsho じゃja じゅju じょjo ちゃcha ちゅchu ちょcho ぢゃdya ぢゅdyu ぢょdyo にゃnya にゅnyu にょnyo ひゃhya ひゅhyu ひょhyo びゃbya びゅbyu びょbyo ぴゃpya ぴゅpyu ぴょpyo りゃrya りゅryu りょryo

FAQ

Do I need to install anything to use this Japanese keyboard?

No. It's a web tool: open the page and start typing. There's no system input method to switch.

How is this different from the Japanese IME built into my phone or computer?

The typing rules are nearly identical: romaji converted to kana. The difference is you don't need to switch on or enable a Japanese input method first, which matters when you're on someone else's computer or your system doesn't have one ready.

How do I type ん?

Type n. If a vowel follows, it waits to see whether you meant a different syllable (kinen becomes きねん). If you really want ん before a vowel, add an apostrophe: kin'en gives きんえん. If n is the last letter you type in a word, it stays shown as an underlined n until you press space or Enter to confirm; that's the moment it becomes ん.

How do I type the small っ?

Double the next consonant: kekkon is けっこん. Typing it once, as kekon, gives けこん instead. It only recognizes a doubled identical consonant, so まっちゃ needs the doubled-c spelling maccha; typing matcha won't insert っ automatically.

If I switch between hiragana and katakana, does it change what I've already typed?

No. The buttons only switch how it's displayed. They don't touch your romaji or anything already confirmed, so switching anytime is safe.

Is there an app?

Not yet. You can add this page to your phone's home screen from your browser's menu, and it'll open with a tap, just like an app.

Why I built this

After the Korean keyboard problem was solved, Japanese was next: phones and computers already have a built-in romaji input method, but it isn't always ready right when you need it, say on someone else's computer, or for a quick one-off word. This version reuses the same underlying engine.