This page describes normal (not aggressive) Japanese input method. If you are familiar with the Japanese kana-kanji conversion method, you can skip this page.
The most widely used Japanese input method is the kana-kanji conversion method. In this method the user first input a hiragana string (either from a Japanised keyboard or by using Latin transcription), then invoke a kana-kanji conversion program by hitting some hot key. The conversion program looks up a dictionary to find a kanji string that corresponds to the inputted hiragana string. Generally two or more kanji strings correspond to the same hiragana string. So the result of the conversion may be different from what you want. In that case you hit the 'next candidate' key to get another kanji string. Then you hit the 'confirm' key to select the new result, or hit the 'next candidate' key once again to get yet another kanji string, and so on. Often, the lastly selected kanji string increases its priority and will be the first candidate for the next conversion.
For example, let's suppose that you want to input the kanji string
(machine). First you type its Latin transcription
"kikai" from keyboard. The input string is
automatically converted into the hiragana string
.
This process is automatic, and you do not have to hit conversion key
at this stage because the Latin to hiragana conversion is
deterministic.
Now the time to hit the 'conversion' key to get the kanji string.
Click! Oops, it gave you
(occasion). Though this word is also written as
in hiragana, it is not what you intended. (The first character
happens to be the same, but it is just a coincidence.) So you hit the
'next candidate' key. Click! No, it's
(strange), whose hiragana spelling is also the same. You have to hit
the 'next candidate' key once again. Click!
.
Yeah, that's it!
As you can easily understand, this process is boring and awkward. You have to type the Latin transcription, hit some special keys, then look at the display to check the result. All of these are just for a single word. I am lazy and I do not want to do like that.
The most annoying thing is that you are forced to look at the display to check the result of conversion. This means touch typing is impossible. Professional typists often disable the priority increment function so that the order of each kanji candidate will not change. Then they learn by heart the correspondence between the kanji string and its order. With this method you do not have to look at the display.
| To get
(occasion), |
type | 'kikai [click]'. |
| To get
(strange), |
type | 'kikai [click] [click]'. |
| To get
(machine), |
type | 'kikai [click] [click] [click]'! |
But such a method is out of the question for me. I do not want to remember how many times I have to hit special keys for each word. Then what shall I do?