🇯🇵 Free Japanese tool
Japanese keyboard online
Type in Latin letters and watch it turn into Hiragana & Katakana, or tap the keys below.
About the Hiragana & Katakana
Japanese is written with a mix of three scripts: kanji (Chinese characters) for most content words, and two syllabaries, hiragana and katakana, each with 46 basic characters. Both kana sets developed in the 9th–10th centuries from Chinese characters used for their sound (man'yōgana): hiragana from flowing cursive forms, katakana from fragments of characters. Each kana stands for a whole syllable such as ka or mi, and the two sets represent exactly the same sounds.
Kana is the friendly part of Japanese: most learners can read all of hiragana within one to two weeks, and katakana a week or two after. Learn hiragana first — it is used for grammar endings, particles and children's books — then katakana, which is used mainly for foreign loanwords (コーヒー kōhī "coffee") and emphasis. Once you know the 46 basic shapes, the voiced marks (゛ ゜), small ゃゅょ and small っ give you every sound in the language.
Learn every letter with sounds and example words on our Japanese alphabet page, or convert Japanese text back to Latin letters with the Japanese to Latin converter.
Questions
How do I type in Hiragana & Katakana without a Japanese keyboard?
Type the sounds in Latin letters in the first box and they're converted as you type (for example konnichiha → こんにちは), or click the letters on the on-screen keyboard. Then copy the result.
How do I add a Japanese keyboard to my phone or computer?
On iPhone: Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard → Japanese. On Android (Gboard): Settings → Languages → Add keyboard. On Windows: Settings → Time & language → Language → Add a language. On macOS: System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources.
Is it free?
Yes, and nothing you type is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.