Em Casalena
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Type to Learn: The 2 Best Japanese Keyboards for Android Devices Students Will Love
Having a good Japanese keyboard is important if you’re learning the language.
Luckily, there are a ton of totally awesome and uniquely useful Japanese keyboards in the Google Play store that you can download right now to effectively communicate in Japanese through the World Wide Web.
We found the best of the best Japanese keyboards that Android has to offer and took the guesswork out of finding the perfect one for you.
Contents
- 3 Reasons to Install a Japanese Keyboard on Your Android Device Right Now!
- 2 of the Best Japanese Keyboards for Android to Raise Your Kana and Emoji Game
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
3 Reasons to Install a Japanese Keyboard on Your Android Device Right Now!
You could easily use the standard Japanese keyboard input that comes with most Android devices, so why bother looking into different keyboards?
1. You can access more than just kana. The basic Android keyboard is pretty cut-and-dry and used solely to type in Japanese. However, many downloadable Japanese keyboards for Android devices allow you to access common Western emojis as well as Japanese emojis.
If you want to make friends via Japanese social media, emoji access will give you a bit more personality!
2. The built-in Japanese keyboard for Android devices is pretty bland. Most of the keyboards we’re covering are visually customizable. That means you can get visually attractive themes with the click of a button.
3. There are some more bells and whistles that come with downloadable keyboards. In addition to being able to type in Japanese, many of these fancier keyboards allow for voice-to-text recognition, live translations and more attributes.
Now let’s find that perfect keyboard for you!
2 of the Best Japanese Keyboards for Android to Raise Your Kana and Emoji Game
Japanese Keyboard—English to Japanese Typing
This keyboard is ideal for beginners or intermediate learners who are comfortable enough with romaji to use a romaji-to-Japanese keyboard. It’s also perfect for newbies who’d prefer to use English, instead. It can save a ton of time compared to other keyboards that are kana based, especially if you aren’t very advanced in learning kana.
Using the app is easy: simply type in English and the text gets translated in real time to Japanese.
Installation is really easy, as well. Simply install and open the app, enable it as your default keyboard, choose a colorful keyboard theme that you love and you’re all set! Once it’s in place, you can press and hold the space key to switch back to your default English keyboard.
This keyboard is free to use with premium options available to remove ads.
Simeji Japanese Keyboard + Emoji
Do you prefer a keyboard that’s loaded with features? Simeji Japanese Keyboard + Emoji has a ton of bells and whistles that go above and beyond basic Japanese input.
With Simeji Japanese Keyboard + Emoji, you can create a custom keyboard background or choose from tons of different themes. You can also access different kaomoji and emoji instantly to add some personality to your chats. For those who don’t know, kaomoji are Japanese emoticons made from Japanese keyboard punctuation and kana.
Want to take it up a notch? This’s app’s sticker function has a ton of super cute stickers and GIFs to send to your friends.
If you’re less concerned about aesthetics and more concerned about communication quality, you’re also in luck! This keyboard has over two million Japanese phrases and words in its cloud-based dictionary.
Other features include voice input, a wide range of slang words registered, tons of preset phrases for quickly responding to friends on the go and super user-friendly input. Literally any level of learner can benefit from using this keyboard!
This app is free to use with ads and a premium service is available.
Did you find at least a couple of these stellar Japanese keyboards appealing? The basic Japanese keyboard for Android devices may be good enough for some, but it really feels nice to have a keyboard with more than just the basic functions.
Your phone is an awesome way to learn! In addition to one of these awesome keyboards, we recommend loading your phone up with apps so you can study some Japanese on your downtime throughout the day.
Duolingo is a start, where you can practice Japanese vocabulary in the form of games. There’s also FluentU, which uses authentic videos as the basis for language learning, paired with aids like interactive subtitles, multimedia flashcards and custom quizzes.
Now you can use your device to learn Japanese anywhere!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Em Casalena is a published author, freelance writer and music columnist. They write about a lot of stuff, from music to films to language.
