How does a Japanese IME turn romaji into kana?

A romaji-input IME matches the letters you type against a fixed table of syllable spellings. When a complete sequence such as shi or kya is recognised it is replaced by the corresponding kana, which you can then convert to kanji with the space bar.

Why can some sounds be typed more than one way?

Several kana accept multiple spellings. し can be typed shi or si, つ can be tsu or tu, and じ can be ji or zi. Both forms reach the same kana, so you can use whichever feels faster.

How do I type the small tsu (sokuon) っ?

The small っ that doubles a following consonant is produced automatically by typing that consonant twice, for example kk for っか. You can also type it directly with xtu or ltu when it stands alone.

How do I type ん at the end of a word?

Because n can start other syllables, an IME waits to see what follows. Type nn or n apostrophe to commit ん, especially before a vowel, so that na is not produced instead.

Does this cover katakana too?

Yes. The same romaji sequences produce katakana when the IME is in katakana mode, so each row lists both the hiragana and katakana result for the keystrokes shown.

Japanese IME Input Reference

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The Japanese IME input reference lists the romaji keystrokes that produce each kana in a standard romaji-input method editor. Typing Japanese on a Western keyboard means spelling each syllable phonetically and letting the IME substitute the correct hiragana or katakana. Knowing the exact sequences — especially the irregular ones — makes typing far faster.

How it works

A romaji IME holds an internal table mapping letter sequences to kana. As you type, it watches for a complete match: ka yields か, shi yields し, and a combination like kya yields the contracted きゃ. Voiced sounds use the same base letters with a different consonant — ga for が, za for ざ, ba for ば — while the plosive p-row such as pa produces the handakuten ぱ. The table below is searchable by either the romaji or the kana, and shows both the hiragana and katakana output, since the keystrokes are identical and only the IME mode differs.

Tips and edge cases

A few sequences trip up beginners. The s-row exception shi, the t-row chi and tsu, and the h-row fu do not follow the simple consonant-plus-vowel pattern, though alternate spellings like si, ti, tu and hu also work. The small っ that doubles a consonant is generated by typing that consonant twice — kk, tt, ss — or directly with xtu/ltu. The syllabic ん needs nn or n' to commit before a vowel, otherwise na would appear. Everything here is a static reference computed in your browser; nothing is uploaded.