Enter Japanese text using a Japanese input source on Mac
After you set up a Japanese input source, there are two ways you can enter Japanese text: Live Conversion and traditional conversion.
Use Live Conversion
Live Conversion automatically converts hiragana characters into relevant Japanese text, including kanji, as you type. This eliminates the need to press the Space bar for individual word conversions.
On your Mac, switch to a Japanese input source.
Click the Input menu in the menu bar, then do one of the following:
Choose Live Conversion (so that a checkmark appears next to it in the menu).
Choose Open Japanese - Kana Settings or Open Japanese - Romaji Settings, click Japanese - Kana or Japanese - Romaji in the sidebar, then select Live Conversion.
In an app, type the hiragana characters. You can:
Type the entire word so that all possible conversions appear.
Press the Space bar one or more times to show additional candidates. To confirm the candidate, press the Return key.
Press the Escape key to recover the hiragana characters you typed with the conversion underline.
Use traditional conversion
When you use traditional conversion, type the text in hiragana, then convert it to kanji.
On your Mac, switch to a Japanese input source (choose Hiragana).
Click the Input menu in the menu bar, choose Open Japanese - Kana Settings or Open Japanese - Romaji Settings, click Japanese - Kana or Japanese - Romaji in the sidebar, then deselect Live Conversion.
Important: This turns Live Conversion off.
In an app, type the hiragana characters. You can:
Convert the characters to the recommended candidate: Press the Space bar.
Choose a different conversion candidate: Press the Space bar until the candidate window opens, then select a candidate.
To confirm the candidate, press the Return key.
Use autocorrection
On your Mac, switch to a Japanese input source.
Click the Input menu in the menu bar, choose Open Japanese - Kana Settings or Open Japanese - Romaji Settings, then click Japanese - Kana or Japanese - Romaji in the sidebar.
Select “Correct spelling.”