Not really, even Japanese people use romaji input.
No. JIS keyboards are anachronistic amongst Japanese people.
I remember in the mid 1990s working on a software project in Tokyo that had support for JIS input and to QA test that part they literally had to get a part timer who was a fluent JIS typist to sit and run through all the normal operations using that keyboard.
Apart from that, in 30 years, I have never seen anyone use it.
However, if you buy a Japanese keyboard and just want the funky kana on the keys then go for it. You can use romaji input and you do get the extra keys to switch state in Japanese.
If you’re typing in Japanese frequently, then yes. Not because of the hiragana input, but the additional keys on the physical keyboard save a lot of time. Mouse clicking and selecting from menus disrupts the flow.
If you’re talking about the actual layout of the keys then the Japanese layouts suck ass compared to a standard US layout. My wife has a Japanese version of a Macbook Pro and it’s borderline unusable because you have to hunt for keys all the time. Touch typing for special characters goes out the window.
Fun fact
> The JIS standard layout includes Japanese kana in addition to a QWERTY style layout. The shifted values of many keys (digits, together with :* ; + – =) are a legacy of bit-paired keyboards, dating to ASCII telex machines and terminals of the 1960s and 1970s.
I prefer JIS even without ever using the kana input. MacBook Pro
It’s so much easier to switch languages and typing in Japanese (via romaji) is also easier (if you include all the special characters they have)
Re-learning shortcuts may drive you crazy too. I use a Japanese keyboard but wish I never bothered..but im also used to it now… 🫣
Using only romaji input I find a Japanese keyboard much faster and easier to type on than a US keyboard. This is especially true if you have to switch back and forth a lot such as while coding.
If you type a lot in Japanese and English , even with ローマ字, it’s very worth it to change to a JIS layout. JIS layout has a ton of additional buttons that really helps you to switch from hiragana to katakana, dedicated button to switch from Japanese to English, and access to various symbols that rarely used abroad but is common in Japan.
You need to adjust a bit but you’ll love it if you type bilingually. I really love my JIS layout laptop
Tl;dr it’s not the hiragana input that’s beneficial, it’s the additional buttons in a JIS keyboard that’s very useful, just buy it if you’re in Japan
Nope… I mean being able to type on a Japanese layout keyboard (normally) is handy, but the hiragana layout is not necessary. I haven’t met a single person in my company who can do that or would prefer it to normal input.
I don’t like JIS layout keyboard. Symbol position difference- ( ) @ ” + : ; , small space bar, enter, and backspace key fucks me up. US ANSI or nothing.
If you plan on working at an old fashioned Japanese company, you should get used to a JIS layout. Primarily the position of the @ and some other symbols is what trips you up at first.
But no one, not even the 60 year old bosses I’ve seen at the many old-school Japanese companies (think top-100 valued companies that have been around for over 100 years) types using the kana input. EVERYONE used romaji input, even on the JIS keyboard. (the JIS keyboard merely shows you the kana on the keys, but you have to set up the IME to use that layout. No one does. Everyone uses romaji)
To get a US QWERTY keyboard, you need to be a developer at a newer tech firm (ie. founded in last 20 years) and ask for one explicitly when you get on-boarded.
Unless the company uses Macbooks by default. Apple Japan sells US keyboard layout Macbooks by default to enterprises and they have to specially order JIS.
Me personally, I worked many years at larger, older companies and got so used to JIS that my home PC is also JIS just so I don’t mistype all my @ symbols etc.
Switched my ANSI keyboard for a JIS keyboard. Typing Japanese on a ANSI keyboard is a bit of a pain and since I do most of my typing at work I decided to get a JIS keyboard for home as well as it just makes things easier.
Don’t think you have to really learn anything to use one, more like getting used to it.
You do not have to use the same layout at the physical keyboard. You can use a physical JIS and type English as on a US layout.
If you have some basic programming chops, check this out:
You can basically program it to intercept keys from any keyboard and remap it to whatever you want.
Not sure about JIS, but if you want something really wacky look into thumb-shift keyboards! They’re generally quite expensive/hard to find but you can make one yourself from an Ergodox
If nothing else it’s an interesting idea!
How nice a keyboard? If you’re going mechanical, you should go US layout in case you want to change up your keycaps some time. Far more options that way.
Otherwise, eh, there are pros and cons, I regularly use both and while my preference is still US, I don’t go out of my way to avoid JIS either. It’s fine, you get used to it fairly quickly.
Edit: both layouts but using Romaji input on both – like most people do.
I have an HHKB with JIS layout, I like way more over ANSI layout even though i use romaji input and all the dedicated buttons for language input is quite nice aswell. I also prefer the big enter like in ISO layouts.
Translator here.
If you’re switching between J/E a lot, having the dedicated switch key is an absolute non-negotiable.
If you only occasionally need to type your address or whatever in Japanese, then it’s probably not worth committing to the switch, you can just fumble through it.
As others have already mentioned, there are a few dedicated keys on JIS which make actually typing Japanese a lot easier, but for me the bigger issue is that punctuation marks are in different spots on JIS layout keyboards. So like you can you install the Japanese keyboard layout next to your US keyboard layout in Windows and use a key combo like ctrl + shift to change between them or whatever, but if you wanna type an apostrophe when you’re in the Japanese keyboard, you’ll have to re-learn where that is (shift + 7, BTW). Also parentheses are shifted one key over.
So you’ll be blindly guessing where your punctuation marks are for a good while.
I’d say if you’re in Japan long term and typing in Japanese as least semi-regularly it is ABSOLUTELY worth getting a JIS keyboard.
The layout may be worth getting used to if you intend to live here in the long run and expect to buy your computers here (and assuming those brands do not sell US-keyboard versions, which some/many(?) actually do).
As for the direct kana input though, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody use it. I had a (Japanese) friend in uni who said her sister used it.
Personally, I’ve been here for 15 years but I don’t necessarily intend to stay here all my life. So I’ve gone the other way – I only get US keyboards now, because that’s a layout I can find here and I’ll be likely to find in most other countries as an option (I’m originally from Germany, FWIW, so both of these are not my “native” layout). Japanese input and input switching on pretty much any keyboard is easy, and IMO the added convenience of having a special key to do so does not outweigh the annoyance of having to get used to other key’s moving if I switch to a different keyboard layout.
Standard JIS keyboard is better than standard US if you utilize keys around space key. For example, to switchJapanese IME On/Off key like MacBook Keyboard is what I must have. If you don’t input Japanese frequently or your input is slow, it’s not much worth. Still, some people may find other usage for thumb keys like custom keyboard users.
I’ll echo what others have said – it’s not worth learning Kana entry (nobody uses it, it’s totally unnecessary) but it is definitely worth switching to JIS layout anyway if you’re going to be typing in both Japanese and English. The Japanese keyboard includes a couple of extra buttons which help when switching between Romaji and Kana, full-width and half-width etc, which are really really useful.
I use a UK layout mechanical keyboard at home and a JIS laptop at work and every time I need to type in Japanese at home it really gets in the way. I have to switch keyboards with win+space, then switch to Kana with another button combination, then when I switch back to typing in English my symbols are all in different places and there’s no £ key so I end up having to switch back to the UK layout. It’s such a pain, honestly. My next personal keyboard will be JIS. The only disadvantage is the tiny spacebar.
.
I think it’s crazy to learn a new layout if you’re already proficient with the EN-US layout.
At my company, we are instructed to use hiragana input for text entry tasks.
It’s because they say it’s faster than Romanized input
Japanese keyboard is better because it has dedicated buttons for romaji/kana, but nobody uses the actual keyboard for typing kana, they type romaji.
I’ve never seen a Japanese person use JIS
gosh no. I so regret on buying that kind of pc… Took me 3 days to get rid of jp language from it.
Are you building a mechanical keyboard?
So what kind of nice keyboard are you going to get?
I think JIS is worth for symbol input, like being able to quickly put underscore without shift, the buttons to quickly shift between romaji hiragana and katakana is also nice. Something like Logitech keyboard that have both US and JIS could be an option, so you can always go back
I had to use JIS keyboard for two years at my job. I hoped I’ll get used to it, but gave up after about two years. The main reason: I couldn’t get used to symbol keys. I’d say JIS is a bit less ergonomic because of short backspace and backspace buttons. But it’s something I managed to used to.
32 comments
Not really, even Japanese people use romaji input.
No. JIS keyboards are anachronistic amongst Japanese people.
I remember in the mid 1990s working on a software project in Tokyo that had support for JIS input and to QA test that part they literally had to get a part timer who was a fluent JIS typist to sit and run through all the normal operations using that keyboard.
Apart from that, in 30 years, I have never seen anyone use it.
However, if you buy a Japanese keyboard and just want the funky kana on the keys then go for it. You can use romaji input and you do get the extra keys to switch state in Japanese.
If you’re typing in Japanese frequently, then yes. Not because of the hiragana input, but the additional keys on the physical keyboard save a lot of time. Mouse clicking and selecting from menus disrupts the flow.
If you’re talking about the actual layout of the keys then the Japanese layouts suck ass compared to a standard US layout. My wife has a Japanese version of a Macbook Pro and it’s borderline unusable because you have to hunt for keys all the time. Touch typing for special characters goes out the window.
Fun fact
> The JIS standard layout includes Japanese kana in addition to a QWERTY style layout. The shifted values of many keys (digits, together with :* ; + – =) are a legacy of bit-paired keyboards, dating to ASCII telex machines and terminals of the 1960s and 1970s.
I prefer JIS even without ever using the kana input. MacBook Pro
It’s so much easier to switch languages and typing in Japanese (via romaji) is also easier (if you include all the special characters they have)
Re-learning shortcuts may drive you crazy too.
I use a Japanese keyboard but wish I never bothered..but im also used to it now… 🫣
Using only romaji input I find a Japanese keyboard much faster and easier to type on than a US keyboard. This is especially true if you have to switch back and forth a lot such as while coding.
If you type a lot in Japanese and English , even with ローマ字, it’s very worth it to change to a JIS layout. JIS layout has a ton of additional buttons that really helps you to switch from hiragana to katakana, dedicated button to switch from Japanese to English, and access to various symbols that rarely used abroad but is common in Japan.
You need to adjust a bit but you’ll love it if you type bilingually. I really love my JIS layout laptop
Tl;dr it’s not the hiragana input that’s beneficial, it’s the additional buttons in a JIS keyboard that’s very useful, just buy it if you’re in Japan
Nope… I mean being able to type on a Japanese layout keyboard (normally) is handy, but the hiragana layout is not necessary. I haven’t met a single person in my company who can do that or would prefer it to normal input.
I don’t like JIS layout keyboard. Symbol position difference- ( ) @ ” + : ; , small space bar, enter, and backspace key fucks me up. US ANSI or nothing.
If you plan on working at an old fashioned Japanese company, you should get used to a JIS layout. Primarily the position of the @ and some other symbols is what trips you up at first.
But no one, not even the 60 year old bosses I’ve seen at the many old-school Japanese companies (think top-100 valued companies that have been around for over 100 years) types using the kana input. EVERYONE used romaji input, even on the JIS keyboard. (the JIS keyboard merely shows you the kana on the keys, but you have to set up the IME to use that layout. No one does. Everyone uses romaji)
To get a US QWERTY keyboard, you need to be a developer at a newer tech firm (ie. founded in last 20 years) and ask for one explicitly when you get on-boarded.
Unless the company uses Macbooks by default. Apple Japan sells US keyboard layout Macbooks by default to enterprises and they have to specially order JIS.
Me personally, I worked many years at larger, older companies and got so used to JIS that my home PC is also JIS just so I don’t mistype all my @ symbols etc.
Switched my ANSI keyboard for a JIS keyboard. Typing Japanese on a ANSI keyboard is a bit of a pain and since I do most of my typing at work I decided to get a JIS keyboard for home as well as it just makes things easier.
Don’t think you have to really learn anything to use one, more like getting used to it.
You do not have to use the same layout at the physical keyboard. You can use a physical JIS and type English as on a US layout.
If you have some basic programming chops, check this out:
https://1upkeyboards.com/shop/controllers/usb-to-usb-converter/
You can basically program it to intercept keys from any keyboard and remap it to whatever you want.
Not sure about JIS, but if you want something really wacky look into thumb-shift keyboards! They’re generally quite expensive/hard to find but you can make one yourself from an Ergodox
If nothing else it’s an interesting idea!
How nice a keyboard? If you’re going mechanical, you should go US layout in case you want to change up your keycaps some time. Far more options that way.
Otherwise, eh, there are pros and cons, I regularly use both and while my preference is still US, I don’t go out of my way to avoid JIS either. It’s fine, you get used to it fairly quickly.
Edit: both layouts but using Romaji input on both – like most people do.
I have an HHKB with JIS layout, I like way more over ANSI layout even though i use romaji input and all the dedicated buttons for language input is quite nice aswell. I also prefer the big enter like in ISO layouts.
Translator here.
If you’re switching between J/E a lot, having the dedicated switch key is an absolute non-negotiable.
If you only occasionally need to type your address or whatever in Japanese, then it’s probably not worth committing to the switch, you can just fumble through it.
As others have already mentioned, there are a few dedicated keys on JIS which make actually typing Japanese a lot easier, but for me the bigger issue is that punctuation marks are in different spots on JIS layout keyboards. So like you can you install the Japanese keyboard layout next to your US keyboard layout in Windows and use a key combo like ctrl + shift to change between them or whatever, but if you wanna type an apostrophe when you’re in the Japanese keyboard, you’ll have to re-learn where that is (shift + 7, BTW). Also parentheses are shifted one key over.
So you’ll be blindly guessing where your punctuation marks are for a good while.
I’d say if you’re in Japan long term and typing in Japanese as least semi-regularly it is ABSOLUTELY worth getting a JIS keyboard.
The layout may be worth getting used to if you intend to live here in the long run and expect to buy your computers here (and assuming those brands do not sell US-keyboard versions, which some/many(?) actually do).
As for the direct kana input though, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody use it. I had a (Japanese) friend in uni who said her sister used it.
Personally, I’ve been here for 15 years but I don’t necessarily intend to stay here all my life. So I’ve gone the other way – I only get US keyboards now, because that’s a layout I can find here and I’ll be likely to find in most other countries as an option (I’m originally from Germany, FWIW, so both of these are not my “native” layout). Japanese input and input switching on pretty much any keyboard is easy, and IMO the added convenience of having a special key to do so does not outweigh the annoyance of having to get used to other key’s moving if I switch to a different keyboard layout.
Standard JIS keyboard is better than standard US if you utilize keys around space key. For example, to switchJapanese IME On/Off key like MacBook Keyboard is what I must have. If you don’t input Japanese frequently or your input is slow, it’s not much worth. Still, some people may find other usage for thumb keys like custom keyboard users.
I’ll echo what others have said – it’s not worth learning Kana entry (nobody uses it, it’s totally unnecessary) but it is definitely worth switching to JIS layout anyway if you’re going to be typing in both Japanese and English. The Japanese keyboard includes a couple of extra buttons which help when switching between Romaji and Kana, full-width and half-width etc, which are really really useful.
I use a UK layout mechanical keyboard at home and a JIS laptop at work and every time I need to type in Japanese at home it really gets in the way. I have to switch keyboards with win+space, then switch to Kana with another button combination, then when I switch back to typing in English my symbols are all in different places and there’s no £ key so I end up having to switch back to the UK layout. It’s such a pain, honestly. My next personal keyboard will be JIS. The only disadvantage is the tiny spacebar.
.
I think it’s crazy to learn a new layout if you’re already proficient with the EN-US layout.
At my company, we are instructed to use hiragana input for text entry tasks.
It’s because they say it’s faster than Romanized input
Japanese keyboard is better because it has dedicated buttons for romaji/kana, but nobody uses the actual keyboard for typing kana, they type romaji.
I’ve never seen a Japanese person use JIS
gosh no. I so regret on buying that kind of pc… Took me 3 days to get rid of jp language from it.
Are you building a mechanical keyboard?
So what kind of nice keyboard are you going to get?
I think JIS is worth for symbol input, like being able to quickly put underscore without shift, the buttons to quickly shift between romaji hiragana and katakana is also nice. Something like Logitech keyboard that have both US and JIS could be an option, so you can always go back
I had to use JIS keyboard for two years at my job. I hoped I’ll get used to it, but gave up after about two years. The main reason: I couldn’t get used to symbol keys.
I’d say JIS is a bit less ergonomic because of short backspace and backspace buttons. But it’s something I managed to used to.