Microsoft IME :
>Settings > Time & Languange > Language > Add language (Japanese)
Google IME
>https://www.google.co.jp/ime/
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Press {ALT + Shift} to switch language
Press {ALT + Caps} to select Hiragana
Press {CTRL + Caps} to select Katakana
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Type kusa + space will convert to Kanji (草)
If you want, I can give you a few things my resourceful friend gave me to get started. Here's a pdf for grammar and a whole lot more which I'm looking forward to going through in its entirety (350 pages lol):
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/grammar_guide.pdf
This is also a nice chart to have on hand. Features Hiragana on the left and Katakana on the right:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Kana_chart.png
And in case you want to practice it with others or do what I did, here's a neat little installer to add Japanese into your keyboard options. Just pick the big blue center button:
There are also some neat subreddits around to engage with others if you're down for that, though I haven't used them myself.
/r/LearnJapanese/
/r/japaneseresources/
/r/penpals/
There is a link to a game there : https://www.google.co.jp/ime/___o/try.html
Seems like you try to 'catch' the character bubbles of the characters on the bottom of the screen. Just click your mouse and hold to extend the party horn and retract.
I'd like to suggest memorizing Hiragana and Katakana first still. As you've already described, learning grammar is almost impossible without memorizing alphabets even on English.
I am guessing your actual problem is the method of memorizing the each symbols. This is how Japanese are learning the symbols and memorizing for the first time: Memorize "A" "I" "U" "E" "O" first, then starting to write あ い う え お, then jump to another series of "K+A", "K+I" and so on. I'd like to suggest you installing Japanese keyboard layout program (I'd suggest google one since it's free and much better than Microsoft one, and often fixes your mispelling), opening a notepad, and start typing Japanese in alphabets then hit space to convert it into Kanji when necessary. In case you are wondering, yes Japanese uses alphabets in order to type Japanese language.
It should activate when you click on a textbox. If it doesn't I guess that's another bug. I don't have other suggestions, but I hope you find a solution. If you can't get it to work you can try Google IME instead. I haven't tried it myself but I see it recommended quite often.
You don't need to put stickers on your keyboard. What you need is an IME (input method editor) that allows you to switch keyboard languages.
A quick Google search shows issues with Japanese IME on Windows 10 since version 1803: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-other_settings/cannot-use-japanese-ime-after-upgrading-windows-10/566871ef-4760-443d-8fce-f96d73a992ab
The last page provides a 3rd-party solution, using Google IME for Japanese: https://www.google.co.jp/ime/
Thank you very much! I will give it a try soon. I found a link (for anyone who wants to try it for themselves): https://www.google.co.jp/ime/index.html#download
The best way is to use Google IME.
You only need to click the big blue button, it will bring you to an English page where you can download it.
Afterwards you have to set the input method. Then you can switch between English and Japanese input anytime by clicking Alt + Shift (and within the Japanese input you can switch between Hiragana/Kanji, Katakana and Romaji by clicking Alt + the key between tab and esc).
Here are instructions on the whole process in case you have questions: http://www.textfugu.com/season-4/social-learning/9-2/
Google's Japanese IME only suggests 繁栄 to me, and has been very reliable in the past.
You have the option to add words to both IMEs by right clicking the (A/あ/ア) button in the bottom right of the screen and clicking "Add Word".
(Make sure you actually have the right IME active)
It's difficult to get a Japanese IME (for typing in Japanese) set up nicely. It was somewhat easier with Mint, but neither are as simple as just installing the Google Japanese IME on Windows. On windows you just install the program. On KDE (and probably other DEs to varying degrees) you have to install mozc and fctix (and maybe something else) or use ibus, and figure out how the hell to configure it. I'm used to the Windows hotkeys (alt + ` to switch between English character mode and Japanese input mode) but that's already a hotkey in KDE, so I have to unbind that and mess around with three different program configs to figure out where I have to set that. Don't remember if it was a mozc or ibus thing, but last time I did it I had to use Ctrl instead of Alt. Every time I set it up it takes me two hours of googling and digging through settings menus. Plus if I use fctix I can't use it in programs installed as snaps (unsure about ibus).
Setting a "primary" monitor never really seems to matter? If I hit the meta key to open the program launcher I expect it to open on my main screen but it opens on the screen where I last added a panel I think, whatever it is it's never my main screen.
I have identical panels on every screen and I don't like having to configure them individually. I wish there was a way to mirror one set of panel settings to every screen. I have four screens. I added some clocks for other time zones in the one on my main screen, but I just never bothered adding them to all four panels.
I think you might be on the wrong subreddit. I don't recognize the language you are writing in. Japanese is written in Japanese characters not Latin characters. You use a keyboard like this: https://www.google.co.jp/ime/
Now if someone were to ask about the お in front of 好き in the sentence "ケーキはお好きですか。", I would tell them that we sometimes put お and sometimes ご in front of Japanese words to make the sentence sound more polite.
Ah I see.
There should be a way to set up the IME software with the English keyboard layout. I used to use an English keyboard years ago and I definitely had that setup. I think I was using Google's IME software at the time.
Few other options for typing anything on your computer:
Easiest way:
- Open JP to EN GoogleTL -> Turn on input method (little あ at bottom right) to start writing in Japanese -> write kusa (or anything) -> press down arrow on your keyboard once (as it shows possible kanji's for the kana's you wrote) -> copy/paste from there.
A bit more complicated way but it pays off if you're gonna use Japanese regularly:
- Download Google Japanese IME -> Follow the instructions here to enable it on your computer -> press home + space keys until you choose the Japanese input (do the same to change back to English) -> write anything anywhere -> press down arrow until the kanji you want to write shows up -> done.
It is so much easier to type in Romaji and let the OS convert it to Japanese. Here is a guide for a Mac Setup. I even assigned a Function key to toggle between English and Japanese.
My friend with a Windows PC said that they use the Google Japanese IME. They are functionally similar.
Have fun learning Japanese!
I'm completely sidestepping your question, but I really hated the default Microsoft IME (and I couldn't resize on my old PC either). I've switched to Google IME for 5 years and I love every bit of it. Google uses its search engine result in their conversion list, so newer terms MIME doesn't recognize are suggested. You can remap keys and import user dictionary from MIME too.
The letters ぢ and づ are mostly used to indicate that a ち or つ has undergone rendaku. They're also somewhat of an artifact of pre-1946 spelling reform Japanese.
As an aside, I recommend you install Google's Japanese IME so that you can type in Japanese. That way you don't have to try to explain which kana/kanji you're referring to and can instead just type them with your keyboard.
その通りです。(Just want to show that I do what I preach.)
Google's Japanese IME is the best in my opinion. After you have installed it you can cycle through your keyboards by pressing Alt + Shift on Windows. (like with every other digital keyboard)
Shift + Caps toggles between English and Japanese suggestions.
Alt + Caps switches to Japanese suggestions but with Katakana as the default when there is no match.
You can select suggestions with Tab or arrow keys. And select them or your own text with Enter.
I had the same problem you are describing op, I just gave up on MS IME and started using google IME which is like 200% better anyways since it updates usage directly with google.
For me, it goes like this:
shift+alt switch between jpn and eng
(while in jpn) shift+caps switch between different inputs of jpn
(while in jpn) alt+caps katakana
(while in jpn) ctrl+caps hiragana
the software saves the last jpn input you used. For example, if I leave the input on katakana and I switch between eng and jpn, I will get katakana input next time I switch, but If I do it with hiragana then I'll get hiragana next time.
EDIT: I commented on this below, but for other people reading this comment... You can also add any shortcut you desire with google IME, here is a pic of where you want to change that setting
More info on why I chose Fcitx + mozc:
On the framework side, my choices were Fcitx, IBus, SCIM, and uim.
My engine choices were Anthy, libkkc, and SKK.
Anthy's latest release was in 2009, so I've decided to pass on that one, which is a shame since it's the only one that works with all of the frameworks.
Mozc is an open-source version of the Google Japanese Input IME, so it probably has to be good.
And it turns out that Fcitx is the only one to support Mozc in the official repositories.
That's how I came to my decision.
You can use Microsoft/Google IME to recognize the Kanj then use Translate to get it's reading. Also GTranslate have a handwrite tool.
EDIT:
Here's a test with MSIME: https://imgur.com/a/leq1I
Google didn't recognize the kana or romaji, even in the Translate web.
OK, I have the same Win8 and use IME, and was going to say that it works fine for me.
But then I remembered, I use Borderless Windowed. Some people even report that option actually gives better performance than full screen. And I actually like it better because I can Alt-Tab more easily.
I will check mine later to see exactly how I do it, but if you still want to use full screen, you can see if Google IME works better. Some people were using that at ARR launch when they were having problems with Microsoft IME. https://www.google.co.jp/ime/