Japanese keyboard for wanikani?

[Arm]

I always did my reviews and lessons on an english keyboard but I had the idea of using a japanese keyboard for readings today. I was having a little bit trouble with it. Is there any point in using japanese keyboard on wanikani?

(I use wanikani on an apple device so I can just enable japanese keyboard)

[Vanilla]

@Arm

Is there any point in using japanese keyboard on wanikani?

No, it has built in hiragana and katakana conversion anyways.

[Davros007]

It’s definitely not necessary, but I like using the 12-key layout for reviews and lessons. It has definitely helped me to get more used to that keyboard format.

[Mrs_Diss]

the only reason to switch keyboards i could see would be if you were using a phone, and wanted to get used to flick-typing (or whatever it’s called, i’m just learning about that).

there are however possible disadvantages to using a japanese keyboard:

if on a macbook (for example), the keys you have to type are exactly the same whether you switch the keyboard or not (at least when using a standard us keyboard layout). but if using a japanese keyboard, it will fill in kanji automatically. these might simply be wrong. they might also show you that your answer is right/wrong and allow you to “cheat”. and i don’t actually know if WK will accept input in kanji, or only in hiragana…

[Rihn]

I found using a Japanese keyboard helped me to think of words in kana instead of the English alphabet. I also found it to be faster once I got used to it.

There’s reasons to use it and reasons not to, so it’s a personal choice in the end.

[Zeiosis]

There are two types of japanese keyboard: kana and romaji. afaik most japanese people use the romaji keyboard, because the keys are more central and so it’s easier to get used to (the kana keyboard maps 48 kana onto 47/48 keys, which is a lot to commit to muscle memory).

There’s no real point in using the romaji keyboard for WK, because it has the same function as the WanaKana converter and you’ll have to keep switching between keyboards.

However, if you choose kana layout, it seems to be a bit faster, but you’ll have to keep switching layouts. You’ll also have to disable ‘automatic conversion’ so you can have the proper experience (otherwise the system will predict and fill in kanji as you type.)

*if you use a tablet or mobile device the kana keyboard is the table type, which I don’t use personally. But if it’s a computer-type device then the kana keyboard follows what I said.

[Nemuitanuki]

I only use wanikani on mobile so switching keybkards is ideal for me
Helps me with text chatting speed with my Japanese friends too

[Joeni]

@Zeiosis

There are two types of japanese keyboard: kana and romaji. afaik most japanese people use the romaji keyboard, because the keys are more central and so it’s easier to get used to (the kana keyboard maps 48 kana onto 47/48 keys, which is a lot to commit to muscle memory).

One minor point; when it comes to physical keyboards there is functionally do difference. The JIS layout (much like the ANSI or ISO layouts used in the West) is a QWERTY keyboard. The difference is that it has kana sub legends and dedicated keys for switching from hiragana to katakana. For example, the Japanese Apple Magic Keyboard:

You’re correct that people in Japan almost exclusively use the QWERTY layout. I don’t know about your point regarding the keys being more central, unless you’re talking about the spread of commonly used keys. It’s very much a matter of it being pointless committing the kana to muscle memory when the IME works perfectly fine and you’ll be typing words in romaji often enough that it’s more convenient.