# How do post kana with an American keyboard?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-post-kana-with-an-american-keyboard/76568>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 16, 2001, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-post-kana-with-an-american-keyboard/76568 "2001-08-16T15:30:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-post-kana-with-an-american-keyboard/76568/1 "2001-08-16T15:30:10Z")

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My computer can read kana, and kanji too (well, some of the time) but I’ve never been able to figure out how to type in kana myself. How is it done? Does anyone have the codes? For that matter, does anyone know where I can get kanji codes? Thanks.

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**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-post-kana-with-an-american-keyboard/76568/2 "2001-08-16T19:24:11Z")

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Your question contains insufficient data to answer correctly. Is it a Mac, Wintel, Unix, etc?

All these computers use an “IME” (input method editor or something like that). Some systems come preinstalled with the ability to display kana/kanji but no IME to input it. Solution: install an IME.

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**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-post-kana-with-an-american-keyboard/76568/3 "2001-08-16T20:03:11Z")

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Plain-Jane Compaq IBMclone, Windows 95. If Wintel means Intel processor, that’s it.

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**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-post-kana-with-an-american-keyboard/76568/4 "2001-08-16T20:43:46Z")

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I’m not sure how this works in Win95, I have only done this with Win98 and higher. If 95 is like all the others, you just need to go to Windows Update and download the Japanese IME. Do not install the Internet Explorer Japanese menus kit unless you want the menus in Japanese.  
Once the IME is installed, there should be a little gadget in the lower right of the screen, you can click on it and change from English to Japanese input. In Japanese mode, you just type the kana, like if you want to type the character “ka” then you type the letters k and a, then hit return to accept that kana. Use the shift key to type in katakana insted of hiragana. To convert to kanji, you type the kana for that kanji, them hit the space bar and a list of kanji appears.