Japanese Typing Practice

A target line of kana characters appears at the top. Type each kana by entering its romaji equivalent — for example, type "ka" to produce か. As you type each character correctly, it turns green; the current target is blue, and remaining characters stay grey. When you finish a line, the drill scores your speed (words per minute) and accuracy, then loads a new target.

Native Japanese typists typically reach 50–80 WPM in romaji-based IME typing. Learners starting out can expect 10–20 WPM, and reach 30 WPM after a few weeks of daily practice. WPM here means kana per second × 12 (one "word" ≈ 5 kana), which matches how Japanese typing tests like sushida.net count.

On a standard English keyboard, you type Japanese using an IME (Input Method Editor). You type romaji like "ka" and the IME converts it to か. To type Japanese on your computer, install Microsoft IME (Windows), Japanese IME (macOS), or Mozc / fcitx (Linux). This tool simulates that romaji-to-kana conversion in the browser so you can practice without installing an IME.

Romaji is a system for writing Japanese sounds in Latin letters — "konnichiwa" is romaji. An IME is the software that converts your romaji keystrokes into kana and kanji as you type. This drill practices the romaji-to-kana step. Real Japanese typing also involves selecting the right kanji from candidate lists, which is a separate skill you build later.

Yes. Switch the drill mode to "Katakana" and the target line will display katakana characters instead. The romaji-to-katakana mapping is identical to romaji-to-hiragana — typing "ka" produces カ. Switching modes mid-session also restarts the drill with a fresh target.

Two things commonly slow learners down: (1) you have not yet built muscle memory for the IME romaji shortcuts (the small つ is "tt", long vowels are "ou" or "uu", n is "nn"), and (2) you are looking back and forth between the screen and the keyboard. Both improve fast — most learners double their WPM in the first two weeks of daily 5-minute drills.