Heisig IME

From RevTK

Contents 1 Motivation 2 Usage 2.1 Windows IME 2.2 Google IME 2.3 Mac IME 3 Keywords 4 Notes

Motivation

One possible downside of Heisigs method is the inability to type Kanji on a computer. Even if one knows the set of Kanji of an unknown word, it's not a trivial task to look up vocabulary despite knowing the characters meanings. However, Heisig called his keywords an “English reading” for the Kanji. Setting up an Input Method Editor is a convenient way to handle input while not yet knowing any readings.

Usage

In general, you type a keyword in roman characters, and use an IME to convert it to a Kanji. Details are specific to the input method

Windows IME

1. Import the Heisig IME dictionary file
2. Switch to Full-Width Alphanumeric mode.
3. Enter the keyword
4. Press Shift-Space to convert

Google IME

Same as Windows IME. This textfile can be imported.

Mac IME

1. Import the Heisig IME dictionary file into Kotoeri
2. Enter the keyword in Hiragana
3. Press Control+; and then Spacebar to convert

Keywords

• all keywords are lower case
• trailing “-” are removed (”inter-” becomes “inter”)
• inner “-” are replaced with spaces (”mother-in-law” becomes “mother in law”)
• “.” are removed (”dr.” becomes “dr”)
• spaces are removed in the Mac version

Notes

It would be nice if you contributed a solution to other input methods (Namely SCIM and the OSX IME)