Japanese phone keyboard

You know that feeling when youre trying to find that perfect app and nothing quite does the trick?

You might shrug¯_(ツ)_/¯ and say it just cant be helped.

Wait, whats that? You happen to be looking for an awesome Android Japanese keyboard so you, too, can make cool emoji and type like a pro?

Rejoice! ヽ( ´ ｀ )ノ Youve come to the right place.

All silliness aside, having a good Japanese keyboard is important if youre learning the language.

Luckily, there are a ton of totally awesome and uniquely useful Japanese keyboards in the Google Play store that you can download right now to effectively communicate in Japanese through the World Wide Web.

Not all Japanese keyboards are perfect. But dont worry: We found the best of the bestJapanese keyboards that Android has to offer and took the guesswork out of finding the perfect one for you.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

3 Reasons to Install a Japanese Keyboard on Your Android Device Right Now!

You could easily use the standard Japanese keyboard input that comes with most Android devices, so why bother looking into different keyboards?

1. You can access more than just kana. The basic Android keyboard is pretty cut-and-dry and used solely to type in Japanese. However, many downloadable Japanese keyboards for Android devices allow you to access common Western emojis as well as Japanese emojis.

If you want to make friends via Japanese social media, emoji access will give you a bit more personality!

2. The built-in Japanese keyboard for Android devices is pretty bland. Most of the keyboards were covering are visually customizable. That means you can get visually attractive themes with the click of a button.

3. There are some more bells and whistles that come with downloadable keyboards. In addition to being able to type in Japanese, many of these fancier keyboards allow for voice-to-text recognition, live translations and more attributes.

Now lets find that perfect keyboard for you!

5 of the Best Japanese Keyboards for Android to Raise Your Kana and Emoji Game

Your phone is an awesome way to learn! In addition to one of these awesome keyboards, we recommend loading your phone up with apps so you can study some Japanese on your downtime throughout the day.

One app no Android device should be without is the FluentU app.

FluentU takes authentic videoslike music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talksand turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Click here to check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

Try FluentU for FREE!

Google Japanese Input

If youre looking for something simple, well-programmed and easy to use, look nofurther than Google Japanese Input!

Optimized for all Android devices, this keyboard features a straightforward writing system based on hiragana and kanji radicals. Common kana are saved for easy access and the auto-correct is surprisingly accurate.

Theres even an option to translate kana into English text, which is useful for Japanese learners who have trouble recognizing kana.

Since this isnt a romaji-based keyboard, it may be best suited for intermediate and advanced learners who want to brush up on their hiragana and kanji reading skills.

Japanese KeyboardEnglish to Japanese Typing

This keyboard is ideal for beginners or intermediate learners who are comfortable enough with romaji to use a romaji-to-Japanese keyboard. Its also perfect for newbies whod prefer to use English, instead. It can save a ton of time compared to other keyboards that are kana based, especially if you arent very advanced in learning kana.

Using the app is easy: simply type in English and the text gets translated in real time to Japanese.

Installation is really easy, as well. Simply install and open the app, enable it as your default keyboard, choose a colorful keyboard theme that you love and youre all set! Once its in place, you can press and hold the space key to switch back to your default English keyboard.

This keyboard is free to use with premium options available to remove ads.

Simeji Japanese Keyboard + Emoji

Do you prefer a keyboard thats loaded with features? Simeji Japanese Keyboard + Emoji has a ton of bells and whistles that go above and beyond basic Japanese input.

With Simeji Japanese Keyboard + Emoji, you can create a custom keyboard background or choose from tons of different themes. You can also access different kaomoji and emoji instantly to add some personality to your chats.For those who dont know, kaomoji are Japanese emoticons made from Japanese keyboard punctuation and kana.

Want to take it up a notch? Thiss apps sticker function has a ton of super cute stickers and GIFs to send to your friends.

If youre less concerned about aesthetics and more concerned about communication quality, youre also in luck! This keyboard has over two million Japanese phrases and words in its cloud-based dictionary.

Other features include voice input, a wide range of slang words registered, tons of preset phrases for quickly responding to friends on the go and super user-friendly input. Literally any level of learner can benefit from using this keyboard!

This app is free to use with ads and a premium service is available.

TypeQ Keyboard

TypeQ is one of the most popular Japanese keyboards available in the Google Play store.

Like many of the keyboards on this list, you can access an emoji and kaomoji bank, customize themes for your keyboard and type in Japanese. The additional features take it from being just a normal Japanese keyboard to being an all-in-one communication app.

First, lets look at the actual Japanese typing specs. You can toggle between typing in English and typing in hiragana. There isnt an English-Japanese dictionary available. In addition, there arent any romaji input options and it doesnt seem like kanji is enabled either, so this keyboard would best fit an intermediate or advanced learner or a beginner whos studied hiragana extensively.

Flick input is enabled so you literally dont have to lift a finger to type words quickly and accurately.

On the fancy side of this app, you also can access your phones camera through the keyboard and use the built-in photo editor and collage function to make social media-ready selfies. There are 12 font variations, a ton of super unique themes created by other users, special effects to add to text and a sticker upload option.

TypeQ is free to use with ads and there are additional in-app purchases available.

Sensomni Japanese Keyboard

Sensomni Japanese Keyboard is a particularly unique keyboard because its extremely easy to access all of its functions.

You dont have to root around the app to find emoticons or special features. Simply click the T-shirt button to change themes, click the Emoji button to find emojis, click the Eng button to switch to English and click the Japanese button to switch to hiragana.

Kanji isnt readily available and youll have to know hiragana in order to use this keyboard. Still, the ease of use is fantastic and makes communicating online in Japanese a breeze.

Since theres a built-in English keyboard with auto-correct, you wont need to switch between different keyboard when talking to Japanese or English-speaking friends. You can just use this keyboard 24/7!

Sensomni Japanese Keyboard is free to use with in-app ads.

Did you find at least a couple of these stellar Japanese keyboard appealing? The basic Japanese keyboard for Android devices may be good enough for some, but it really feels nice to have a keyboard with more than just the basic functions.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Em Casalenais a published author, freelance writer and music columnist. They write about a lot of stuff, from music to films to language.