Change Japanese preferences on Mac

Input modes

Select the checkbox for each input mode you want to use.

Caps Lock action

Set the Caps Lock key to quickly switch input modes from Hiragana to either Katakana or Romaji.

For example, if you choose “On for ‘Katakana’ input,” pressing Caps Lock switches your input mode from Hiragana to Katakana.

Shift key action

Set the Shift key to allow typing Katakana or entering Romaji mode.

If the “Windows-like shortcuts” checkbox (described below) is selected, this option automatically changes to “Enter Romaji mode.”

Typing method

Choose Romaji or Kana. The Romaji method is useful when you’re not using a Japanese keyboard; text you type is automatically converted to hiragana.

Live Conversion

Select the checkbox to turn on Live Conversion, which automatically converts hiragana into relevant Japanese text, including kanji, as you type.

Correct spelling

Automatically correct Japanese spelling errors or suggest candidates as you type.

Windows-like shortcuts

Set your keyboard to behave like a Windows keyboard, and use Windows-like shortcuts.

When you set this option, the “Shift Key action” option is automatically changed to “Enter Romaji mode.”

Candidate window

Specify the font and font size to use in the Candidate window.

Predictive candidates

Have the Candidate window predict the most likely candidates for completing text as you type, based on what you previously typed and selected.

Convert with punctuation

Turn on the ability to convert text using punctuation marks (specified in the Punctuation setting, described below) instead of pressing the Space bar.

Romaji layout

Set the keyboard layout to use for the Romaji typing method. By default, the typing method uses the most recent keyboard layout you used; if you want to always use a specific layout, set it here.

Punctuation

Specify the punctuation marks you want to use to convert text.

“/ “ key generates

If you use a JIS keyboard, set whether you enter a slash (／) or a middle dot (・) when you press the Slash key.

“¥” key generates

If you use a JIS keyboard, set whether you enter a backslash (＼) or a Yen sign (¥) when you press the Yen key.

Full-width numeral characters

Select the checkbox to enter numbers as full-width characters, which align with Japanese characters.

Specialty dictionaries

The list of speciality dictionaries available to you.

To export a specialty dictionary, select the dictionary in the list, then drag it to the desktop or to any folder in the Finder.

To import a specialty dictionary file or a text file you created, drag the file into the “Specialty dictionaries” box; or Control-click the box, then choose Install Dictionary from the shortcut menu.

If you want a dictionary that’s available on your Mac and iOS devices, use a user dictionary. See Edit and use your user dictionaries.

Conversion learning

As you convert kana to kanji, the input method learns your preferred conversions and shows them first in the Candidate window to save you time and effort. If you find those conversions become less accurate, click Reset to clear the conversion history and restart the learning.