katakana

[skylarktg]

Galaxy S21fe
Well, I've searched all over and I have not been able to find the answer.
I installed the Japanese language and I've been using it fine for hiragana... BUT I can't figure out how to go to katakana. Doing searches, I've found posts from years ago saying there is a button to the left of the little globe language change button. Click that button and it'll switch. Yeah, I don't have that button.
I've read to uninstall and reinstall the language. Done that several times. Nothing.

I even did a chat from my phone with samsung to get help.... and the guy said, nope, you have to download the google keyboard. So I guess Samsung's own Japanese keyboard is unable to do katakana, although it apparently did in the past? WTH?

Does anyone else know otherwise? I'm installing the google one, but I'd like to stick with the samsung if I can.

 

[skylarktg]

So I'm guessing no one has a dedicated katakana keyboard. You just have to type it FIRST in hiragana and then manually select it from the suggests. Yeah, that's great.

 

[VidJunky]

Hey, welcome to Android Central forums. I was mulling around and came across your thread and popped in.

I'm not familiar with foreign languages, much less their keyboards.

Anyway, I'm sure you've probably already tried searching for a purely, I'll just call it KTK, a purely KTK keyboard on the Play Store. I found several suggestions but most just called themselves Japanese keyboards which I'm assuming has some differences.

Just for my curiosity, what's the difference? Does it change the language from casual to formal or something like that? I worked for a Japanese company and I know there are times when protocol demands a level of respect, or formality.

Have you considered joining one of these Japanese boards? I found this thread, which I assume is the one you're referencing talking about the button, but further down I saw other screenshots of people's keyboards that show different buttons in this area. One looked like emojis which caused me to think that, like other keyboards I've used, there may be a setting to switch the function of that button. For instance, I saw one that shows a smiley face and Google translates the word next to it as Record, Notes, and Write down. It translated it 3 different ways depending on how much I zoomed in on it, and I have no idea how the smiley plays into this at all but otherwise it appears to be the same keyboard.

This is the thread I'm referring to.

Katakana on Android

I’ve been using a keyboard where I type out the romaji. the keyboard you use, how do you get to the other characters? Do you see them if you hold down?

community.wanikani.com

I think, if you haven't already, you will find better help somewhere where more people use the language than will here. I know this site hosts people from around the world but most appear to be English speakers, and for the handful I've come across that are not few have been Japanese.

Sorry I couldn't help more, if I helped at all.

幸運をお祈りしています。