As you learn different languages on Busuu, you’ll meet new letters, accents, or even completely new writing systems!
Latin-script alphabet
When you're on our website, we'll show you extra keys you might need with an on-screen keyboard. ¹
If you're using our app, just long-press on a key to see its alternatives. For instance, if you need 'œ', long-press 'o' and slide your finger to the symbol.²
Add a new keyboard
Studying a language with a different writing system? You might want to add that language's keyboard to your device. This will let you type easily in the language you're learning, without changing your device's language settings.
Here's where you can find instructions for adding a new keyboard to your device:
Hangeul (for 🇰🇷 Korean)
On Windows, choose '한국어 Korean' when setting up your keyboard, and opt for 'Handwriting'. On macOS, select '2-set Korean'. Each key corresponds to a specific consonant or vowel in Hangeul.
For iPhones and iPads, and Android devices, use the 'Korean → Standard' keyboard (not the 10 Key keyboard).
For Android, please add '한국어' if you are setting the keyboard from your device settings, or 'Korean → 2-bulsik' when using Gboard, the virtual keyboard app.
Typing on some Android devices might look a little different from an iPhone, as shown below:
In this type of keyboard layout, the “.” key in “2” represents the dash in vowels 'ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ'. So to type the vowel 'ㅏ', you would type 'ㅣ' + '.'.
Here are some examples of how you would type each syllable:
- 사 = ㅅ > ㅣ > .
- 소 = ㅅ > . > ㅡ
- 셔 = ㅅ > . > . > ㅣ
- 솨 = ㅅ > . > ㅡ > ㅣ > .
Hiragana (for 🇯🇵 Japanese)
On Windows, choose '日本語 Japanese' when setting up your keyboard. Deselect ‘Set as my Windows display language’, and then select 'Handwriting'.
On macOS, go for 'Hiragana'.
On mobile devices, use the 'Japanese - Romaji' keyboard.
Cyrillic alphabet (for 🇷🇺 Russian)
You can use a standard Cyrillic keyboard, or a phonetic keyboard that matches Russian letters to similar-sounding Latin letters.
When following the ‘Add New Keyboard’ instructions, just select 'Russian'.
Simplified Chinese characters (for 🇨🇳 Chinese)
Use ’中文(简体) Chinese Simplified’ when setting up your keyboard.
Arabic script (for 🇸🇦 Arabic)
Opt for ‘ العربية Arabic’ when setting up your keyboard.
Switch between keyboards
Once your keyboards are added to your device, you can switch between them as you wish. Here's how:
¹ Image is showing keys displayed on the French course as an example.
² Although the example image shows a keyboard from an iOS device, this is also the case for most Android devices.