The keys in Japanese
The keys are QWERTY on Flikzi’s honeycomb: hexagons with no gaps between them, in rows of 10, 9 and 7, each row half a key further in. They are the same keys in every Latin-script language. Japanese is typed in romaji on these letters.
The three rows
| Row | Keys, and what a flick down types |
|---|---|
| Top | q1w2e3r4t5y6u7i8o9p0 |
| Middle | a@s#d$f_g&h-j+k(l) |
| Bottom | z*x"c'v:b/n!m? |
A tap types the letter. A flick down types the digit or mark shown under it. ?123 and ☺ are half keys at the two ends of the middle row. The comma is left of the bottom row; right of it are the full stop and enter. The space bar is below: swipe left on it to delete. Every gesture.
Typing Japanese on Flikzi
- Romaji read as kana while you type
- Kanji conversions in the strip, for the whole sentence or a part of it
- English words among the candidates
- No next-word predictions yet
Type the romaji letter by letter: konnichiha shows こんにちは, and watashihagakuseidesu converts to 私は学生です. The strip offers the best conversion of everything typed, other readings, dictionary words, the plain hiragana and the katakana, then words for the start of it. Space commits the best conversion; enter commits the kana as they are.
The usual romaji rules hold. A doubled consonant is a small っ (kitte is きって), n before a consonant or at the end is ん, and nn is ん too. Flick h down for a hyphen and it becomes the long mark ー; flick c down for an apostrophe to end an n before a vowel (n’a is んあ). Small kana on their own are xa or lyo.
Choose in parts if you like: tap a candidate that covers only the start, and the rest stays for you to convert.
English words for the letters you typed appear among the candidates, and come first when the letters can’t be romaji or read only as kana no word has. Punctuation is full-width: 、。！？ Each tap types the key it lands on: the autocorrect of the word languages does not apply to romaji.
With Flikzi Pro, the mic at the right end of the strip types by voice in Japanese, when the speech recogniser on your phone has that language. Voice typing.
Japanese with your other languages
A phone already set to Japanese starts with it on. Otherwise pick Japanese in Flikzi’s settings, under Language: the free version types one language, and Japanese can be it. With Flikzi Pro, open Several languages to switch on as many as you use, then flick up on the left of the space bar to move to the next one, or flick up and hold for a picker. The space bar shows 日本語 while you type Japanese, and the picker lists it as あ.
Often typed with Japanese: Chinese, Korean, English. All 23 languages.
Where the words come from
Conversion uses the open-source dictionary and connection costs of Google’s Mozc (BSD licence, with IPAdic and the Okinawa dictionary), converted by Flikzi’s own engine. It all ships inside the app and runs on your phone, so nothing you type is sent anywhere. Open-source licences.
Questions
Is Flikzi’s Japanese keyboard free?
Yes, if Japanese is the language you type: the free version of Flikzi types one language of your choice, with every flick on the letters and the space bar. Typing Japanese alongside other languages, and switching between them with a flick, needs Flikzi Pro, a one-time purchase of US$4.99 before tax. Every new install gets 14 days of Pro free.
Does Flikzi have a kana (flick) keyboard for Japanese?
No. Flikzi types Japanese in romaji only, on the QWERTY keys. There is no kana grid.
Does Japanese conversion work offline?
Yes. The dictionary and the conversion run inside the app. Nothing you type is sent to a server.
Does Flikzi send what I type in Japanese anywhere?
No. The dictionary and the engine are inside the app, and nothing you type leaves your phone. Flikzi has no internet permission, so it cannot send anything. It asks for your contacts or the microphone only if you turn on contacts’ email addresses or voice typing, and it works without them.