Typing なに and みかん: the n row and when ん needs two keys

Yesterday you got か, さ and た under your fingers, along with the odd ones: し is shi, ち is chi, つ is tsu. Today we add the な row, and then the character that trips up almost everyone at first: ん.

The な row

Five kana, five predictable romaji.

• な = na
• に = ni
• ぬ = nu
• ね = ne
• の = no

No surprises here. If you can type the た row, your fingers already know the shape of this one. Try these:

• なに（なに）— what
• ねこ（ねこ）— cat
• いぬ（いぬ）— dog
• のむ（のむ）— to drink

Type each one twice. The second time, say the reading out loud as you type it.

ん is where it gets interesting

ん has no vowel. It is the only kana in the basic set like that. So romaji input has to decide: when you type n, did you mean ん, or the start of な/に/ぬ/ね/の?

The convention most input methods use:

• Type n twice (nn) when ん comes before a vowel or at the end of a word.
• Type n once when ん comes before a consonant that is not y.

So:

• みかん（みかん）— mandarin orange → mikann
• かんじ（かんじ）— kanji → kanji (one n is fine, because j follows)
• しんぶん（しんぶん）— newspaper → shinbun
• こんにちは（こんにちは）— hello → konnichiwa

That last one is worth a second look. こんにちは has ん followed by に. If you type konichiwa, the input method reads the n as the start of に and gives you こにちわ — wrong. You need konnichiwa.

Why the double n

Think of it this way: a single n before a vowel is a promise that a な-row kana is coming. If no な-row kana is coming, you have to break that promise by typing n again. The second n says: no, that was ん, we are done.

At the end of a word there is no following character to lean on, so ん always takes nn there.

• ほん（ほん）— book → honn
• でんわ（でんわ）— telephone → denwa (one n, because w follows)
• ぱん（ぱん）— bread → pann

If you are on a phone with a flick keyboard rather than romaji, none of this applies — ん is its own key. But if you type on a laptop, or you use romaji input on your phone, this is the rule that saves you.

Reading back at speed

Typing is only half of it. The other half is recognising kana without sounding them out letter by letter.

Cover the right-hand column and read these:

| Word | Reading | Meaning | |—|—|—| | なつ | なつ | summer | | にく | にく | meat | | ねこ | ねこ | cat | | いぬ | いぬ | dog | | みかん | みかん | mandarin orange | | しんぶん | しんぶん | newspaper |

If しんぶん took you more than a second, that is normal on day three. It will shrink.

A note on こんにちは

You will type this constantly. It is spelled こんにちは, not こんにちわ — the final kana is は, even though it is pronounced "wa." This is a historical spelling, and it is standard. The same goes for こんばんは (good evening).

In a chat window in your city or anywhere else, this is the first thing you type to someone. Getting the spelling right matters more than getting it fast.

Practice set

Type each of these five times. Say the meaning as you finish each one.

1. なに — what
2. ねこ — cat
3. いぬ — dog
4. みかん — mandarin orange
5. しんぶん — newspaper
6. こんにちは — hello

By the fifth pass, your hands should stop consulting your brain for the nn decision. That is the goal.