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 Preferences or Open Japanese - Romaji Preferences, then select the Live Conversion checkbox.
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.
Press the Left Arrow key to recover 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 Preferences or Open Japanese - Romaji Preferences, then deselect the Live Conversion checkbox.
Open the Input Sources pane for me
Important: This turns Live Conversion off.
In an app, type text in a document.
Do one of the following:
To convert the text to the recommended candidate, press the Space bar.
To choose a different conversion candidate, press the Space bar twice to open the Candidate window, then select an item from the list.
To confirm the candidate, press the Return key.
You can turn on autocorrection to avoid spelling mistakes. Click the Input menu in the menu bar, choose Open Japanese - Kana Preferences or Open Japanese - Romaji Preferences, then select “Correct spelling.”