Advanced input method options and tools
The Microsoft Input Method Editor (IME) can be used to enter East Asian languages that are installed on a Windows device:
Make sure an IME supported language, such as Japanese, is installed and selected. An IME language can be selected from the language icon in the system tray area of the taskbar. For more information on installing a language, see Install a language pack.
Tip
A language, such as Japanese, can also be selected by holding down the Windows logo key
on the keyboard and then selecting the Spacebar. Each selection of the Spacebar while holding down the Windows logo key
cycles through the installed languages.In the system tray area of the taskbar, right-click on the IME options
icon and then select the desired input mode. For example, for Japanese, select one of the following input methods:- Hiragana.
- Full-width Katakana.
- Full-width Alphanumeric.
- Half-width Katakana.
- Full-width Alphanumeric / Direct Input.
From the same IME options menu, select a desired option. For example:
- To open the IME pad, select IME pad.
- To open IME settings, select
Settings. - To add a word, select Add Word.
- To show the IME toolbar, select Show/hide IME toolbar.
Note
Different languages have different options in the IME options menu. For example, Japanese has the Add Word option.
The following are additional actions that can be done with IME for Japanese:
Enable cloud suggestions to find more candidates in Japanese
IME can find more candidates in Japanese by turning on cloud suggestion. Cloud suggestion uses Bing to help predict what will be written.
To turn on cloud suggestions:
Make sure Japanese is the currently selected language by selecting it from the language icon in the system tray area of the taskbar.
Tip
A language, such as Japanese, can also be selected by holding down the Windows logo key
on the keyboard and then selecting the Spacebar. Each selection of the Spacebar while holding down the Windows logo key
cycles through the installed languages.In the system tray area of the taskbar, right-click on the IME options
icon and then select
Settings.In the Time & language > Language & region > Options > Microsoft IME window, select General
.In the Time & language > Language & region > Options > Microsoft IME > General window, under Predictive Input, switch On the option
Cloud suggestion.In the Use Cloud suggestion window that appears, select the Yes button.
Tip
The Microsoft IME settings can also be reached using the following steps:
Select Start
and then select Settings
.When the Settings app opens, navigate to Time & language
> Language & region
.In the Time & language > Language & region window, under the Language section, select the ellipses
next to the desired language and then select
Language options.In the Time & language > Language & region > Options window, under the Keyboards section, select the ellipses
next to Microsoft IME and then select
Keyboard options.The following Microsoft IME shortcut can also be used to open the Microsoft IME settings:
Add a word to the Japanese dictionary
To manually add to the Japanese dictionary:
Make sure Japanese is the currently selected language by selecting it from the language icon in the system tray area of the taskbar.
Tip
A language, such as Japanese, can also be selected by holding down the Windows logo key
on the keyboard and then selecting the Spacebar. Each selection of the Spacebar while holding down the Windows logo key
cycles through the installed languages.In the system tray area of the taskbar, right-click on the IME options
icon and then select Add Word.In the Add Word window that opens:
- Add a new word and its meaning to the Japanese dictionary.
- Select the User Dictionary Tool button to edit an existing word in Microsoft IME User Dictionary Tool.