Language input keys, which are usually found on
Japanese and
Korean keyboards, are keys designed to translate letters using an
input method editor (IME). On non-Japanese or Korean keyboard layouts using an IME, these functions can usually be reproduced via
hotkeys, though not always directly corresponding to the behavior of these keys.
Keys for Japanese keyboards

The
OADG 109A and older 109 keyboard layouts which are the standard for
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
have five dedicated language input keys:
* halfwidth/fullwidth (hankaku/zenkaku ) at the top left key of the keyboard;
* alphanumeric (eisū ), combined with non-language specific key ;
* non-conversion (muhenkan ), on the left of the space bar;
* conversion (henkan ), on the right of the space bar;
*hiragana (), on the right of the space bar, next to .
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
keyboards designed for
Mac OS X
macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
have two language input keys: alphanumeric () and kana ().
The keyboards for
NEC
is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...
PC-9800 series, which was dominant in Japan during the 1980s and early 1990s, have three language input keys: kana (), (no transfer, same as non-conversion), (transfer, same as conversion).
For non-Japanese keyboards, the following shortcuts can be used for typing Japanese on English keyboard with Windows:
* switch between languages (IMEs)
* switch to Hiragana
* if in alphanumeric mode change to Hiragana, then switch to Katakana
* switch between full-width Hiragana ↔ full-width alphanumeric (romaji)
* (Grave Accent) switch between kana ↔ half-width alphanumeric (romaji)
* (Tilde) toggle kana/direct input
* no conversion, all previous characters are accepted "as is" (all propositions from IME are rejected)
* convert current word (last characters) to the first word in the list of proposals
* convert to the 2nd-6th word in the list
* convert selected word/characters to full-width hiragana (standard hiragana): ホワイト → ほわいと
* convert to full-width katakana (standard katakana): ほわいと → ホワイト
* convert to half-width katakana (katakana for specific purpose): ホワイト → ホワイト
* convert to full-width romaji, all-capitals, proper noun capitalization (Latin script inside Japanese text):
* convert to half-width romaji, all-capitals, proper noun capitalization (Latin script like standard English): ホワイト → howaito → HOWAITO → Howaito
Half-width/Full-width
toggles between entering
half-width or full-width characters (if 2 versions of same character exists) when IME is on and in Katakana mode or Alphanumeric mode. After MS-IME 98, and also change between IME on and off like Kanji Key.
Kanji
Used to switch between entering mainly Japanese (IME on) and English text (IME off). It is not found as a separate key in the modern Japanese 106/109-key keyboard layout. On the
Common Building Block (CBB) Keyboard for Notebooks, as many 106/109-key keyboards, the Kanji key is located on the .
It is found as a separate key on the IBM PS/55 5576-001 keyboard. On the IBM PS/55 5576-002 keyboard, it is mapped to the left
Alt key.
Alphanumeric
toggles alphanumeric characters. In the Japanese 106/109-key layout, it is located on the
Caps Lock key. Pressing Alphanumeric/Caps Lock key alone actually means alphanumeric function, a user has to press key to get the caps lock function.
Conversion
is used to convert kana to kanji. In the Microsoft IME, Conversion selects conversion candidates on highlighted input, and is used to display the previous candidate, or ''zenkōho'' (前候補). The alt version of this key is also pronounced ''zenkōho'' (全候補), which means "all candidates", shows all input candidates.
Non-conversion
specifies that the kana characters entered are not to be converted into kanji candidates.
Katakana/Hiragana/Rōmaji
used to switch between hiragana or katakana characters. It can also be found for switching between hiragana, katakana and rōmaji as shown below. or
(this feature is printed as on the same key) toggles between rōmaji input and direct kana input in some IMEs (e.g. Microsoft IME).
Keys for Korean keyboards

The standard keyboard layout for
IBM PC compatible
An IBM PC compatible is any personal computer that is hardware- and software-compatible with the IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) and its subsequent models. Like the original IBM PC, an IBM PC–compatible computer uses an x86-based central p ...
s of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
is almost identical to the U.S. layout, with some exceptions:
*
Hangul
The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...
characters are printed on the keys.
* On the top of the key, the
backslash
The backslash is a mark used mainly in computing and mathematics. It is the mirror image of the common slash (punctuation), slash . It is a relatively recent mark, first documented in the 1930s. It is sometimes called a hack, whack, Escape c ...
is replaced with the (
Won sign
The won sign , is a currency symbol. It represents the South Korean won, the North Korean won and, unofficially, the old Korean won.
Appearance
Its appearance is "W" (the first letter of "Won") with a horizontal strike going through the ...
) or both of them are printed. The backslash has the shape of the Won sign including system fonts such Gulim (굴림) and Malgun Gothic (맑은 고딕). Note that vertical bar () is also replaced as the broken bar on some South Korean keyboards, but the broken bar in
Unicode
Unicode or ''The Unicode Standard'' or TUS is a character encoding standard maintained by the Unicode Consortium designed to support the use of text in all of the world's writing systems that can be digitized. Version 16.0 defines 154,998 Char ...
(U+00A6) is not inputted by most of Korean IMEs.
* Keyboards with a small key and large "backwards-L" shaped key are commonly used in South Korea.
* There are two additional keys: ''Han/Yeong'' (or ''HanYeong'') and ''Hanja'' (or ''Hanja'') keys. They do not exist as independent keys on some keyboards.
Han/Yeong (한/영)
It toggles between entering Korean (
Hangul
The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...
) and English (
ISO basic Latin alphabet
The ISO basic Latin alphabet is an international standard (beginning with ISO/IEC 646) for a Latin-script alphabet that consists of two sets (uppercase and lowercase) of 26 letters, codified in various national and international standards and u ...
).
Many computer systems support alternative keys or key sequences for keyboards without the Han/Yeong key. It is absent from the keyboards of most portable computers in South Korea, where the right key is used instead. On the right key of these devices, only "한/영" (Han/Yeong) or both "한/영" (Han/Yeong) and ''Alt'' are printed.
Hanja (한자)
It converts Hangul to Chinese characters (
hanja
Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period.
() ...
) or some special characters.
Many computer systems support alternative keys or key sequences for keyboards without the Hanja key. It is absent from the keyboards of most portable computers in South Korea, where the right key is used instead. On the right key of these devices, only "한자" (Hanja) or both "한자" (Hanja) and ''Ctrl'' are printed.
Notes and references
External links
Japanese keyboards
{{keyboard keys
Computer keys