How to Write in Japanese on a Mac

Mac users can write in Japanese after choosing a language preference.

European-based languages such as French, Norwegian and English use many of the same characters, referred to as Roman characters, in their alphabets. Advances in the Mac OS X operating system allow for languages with non-Roman characters to display properly on the computer. However, if you want to input non-Roman characters, such as Japanese characters, you have to turn on that option in the Macintosh System Preferences.

Things You'll Need

• Japanese keyboard (optional)

Instructions

1. Go to the "Apple" menu in the top-left corner of your screen. Select "System Preferences."

2. From the "View" menu, click on the "Languages & Text" (in 10.6) or "International" (in 10.5). Click on the "Input Sources" tab (in 10.6) or "Input Menu" tab (in 10.5).

3. Check the box for "Kotoeri" in the "Select input methods to use" menu.

4. Check the box to "Show Input menu in menu bar" so you can switch between languages in any application

5. You can choose from "Romaji," "Hiragara" or "Katakana" for alphabet options. You will type Japanese in roman characters ("Romaji") on your keyboard to have them transformed into the alphabet you chose. Alternatively, you can use a Japanese keyboard.

References

• Christopher Bolton: Japanese for Your Mac