How is 鎗 different from 槍 and 鑓?


**Edit** : This question has been reworded as much as possible from the
original to try to make it a question about Japanese. Also, adding the
IME単漢字辞書 fixed the IME problem (thanks to Tsuyoshi Ito for pointing that out).
Quote about 単漢字辞書: `Microsoft
IME単漢字辞書には、マクロソフトで読みが確認できたJIS第三・第四水準漢字が登録されています`. However, it looks like 鎗 is
part of JIS第一水準漢字, so I still don't understand that part.

If I [look in the dictionary](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch/0/0na/18615800/),
やり has three versions: 槍／鎗／鑓 (I understand they are not standard).

When I type やり, my windows IME shows me the following:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/62w4S.png)

**Question**

Why is 鎗 not on the list? It seems 鎗 is considered to be different than 槍 and
鑓. What is special about the character 鎗?

**CLARIFICATION ON ENCODINGS AND IME DICTIONARIES**

MS IMEs 標準辞書 is based on jis x 0208 which includes JIS第1水準漢字 and JIS第2水準漢字. 鎗
is part of JIS第1水準 and this is why it comes out why you type そう with the
default dictionary on MS IME. 単漢字辞書 is a separate dictionary based on JIS X
0213 which includes 第3水準漢字 and 第4水準漢字, if you add it, it shows 鎗 in the 変換リスト
when you type やり. Now, why exactly this behavior occurs to me is a mystery
(perhaps its just a bug), but I know that other dictionaries for other non-
microsoft IMEs do not exhibit this behavior. I am assuming this is because
they include all characters in the BMP and do not divide things up according
to shift-jis taxonomy. Also, perhaps the dictionary implementors decided that
鎗 is 異体字, so they left it out.




Get another IME. "鎗" was the _second_ choice of my suggestion list, 槍 being
the first one. I use "skk" via ibus for my IME. The reason it is not in your
list is that you assumed that your IME would be exhaustive, and I don't think
any IME would ever claim that.

As far as the difference is concerned, just looking at the radicals, I'd say
the difference is what the spear is made of: wood, iron, or something else.




Get another IME. "鎗" was the _second_ choice of my suggestion list, 槍 being
the first one. I use "skk" via ibus for my IME. The reason it is not in your
list is that you assumed that your IME would be exhaustive, and I don't think
any IME would ever claim that.

As far as the difference is concerned, just looking at the radicals, I'd say
the difference is what the spear is made of: wood, iron, or something else.

