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Why is it that when Kagami used Konata's keyboard, what she intended to type
did not come out as what she wrote?

This occurred at the very beginning of episode 23.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-05-03T07:10:47.897
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2015-01-11T07:58:07.767
2014-05-04T09:29:15.227
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lucky-star
Why did Kagami have difficulty using Konata's keyboard?


Since nobody else has attempted an answer, I'll give this my best shot. Be
forewarned that this answer will be fragmentary. Also, this explanation will
probably be kind of difficult to follow if you don't already know a bit of
Japanese. Suggestions/edits to make the explanation clearer are welcome.

* * *

To understand why this is funny, you need to know how input method editors
work.

In order to type in Japanese, one typically uses an [input method
editor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input_method_editor) (IME), which is a
program that basically converts Latin-script text like `nihon` into Japanese
text, e.g. 日本 (gloss: "Japan"). Since the mapping from Latin letters to
Japanese text is one-to-many, the IME doesn't always correctly guess what
Japanese text you want, forcing you to go into a menu and select the correct
Japanese text.

IMEs usually allow you to define your own Latin-to-Japanese conversions. For
example, I've set my IME to convert `toripurubaka` to 驫麤. IMEs will also
frequently adjust which Japanese text it automatically selects based on your
previous usage patterns, so if you frequently correct e.g. `saikai` from 再会 to
最下位 (homographs when romanized), the IME will eventually start defaulting to
give you 最下位 when you type `saikai`.

* * *

So.

First, Kagami types `fuchou`, expecting 不調 ( _fuchou_ = "unwell") but instead
getting 婦長 ( _fuchou_ = "head nurse"). Then, `maniaisou`, expecting 間に合いそう (
_maniai-sou_ = "likely to make it in time") but getting マニア移送 ( _mania-isou_ =
"transfer of being-a-fan(??)" - this isn't an actual phrase). I _think_ these
two are just supposed to be funny because of how silly they are.

After that, Kagami types `josou`, expecting 助走 ( _josou_ = "a run-up") but
getting 女装 ( _josou_ = "crossdressing as a woman"). Perhaps this is supposed
to reveal something about what Konata posts about on the internet.

Kagami then types `fuinki`, expecting 雰囲気 ( _fun'iki_ = "atmosphere
[metaphorically]"). Note the discrepancy between the Latin input and the
proper romanization - this results in the IME displaying ふいんき（←なぜか変換できない）
("`fuinki` (← unable to convert for some reason)"). This IME conversion
failure is apparently [a meme on
2ch](http://dic.nicovideo.jp/a/%E3%81%B5%E3%81%84%E3%82%93%E3%81%8D), dating
from circa 2003 (see also [this answer on Japanese.SE about
metathesis](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/3293/3437)). The implication,
I suppose, is that Konata has been posting this meme enough that she set up a
custom conversion to let her type it faster.

Kagami types `kuwasiku`, expecting 詳しく ( _kuwashiku_ = "in detail"), but
instead getting ｋｗｓｋ. As it would happen,
[ｋｗｓｋ](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=kwsk) (derived from
_kuwashiku_ "in detail") is basically the Japanese equivalent of "sauce pls".

Finally, she types `ikitai`, expecting いきたい ( _ikitai_ = "want to do ~ going
forward"), but instead getting 逝きたい ( _ikitai_ = "want to perish"). Like the
first two, I think this is just funny because of how silly it is.


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2014-05-09T22:18:56.827
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2015-01-11T07:58:07.767
2017-04-13T12:43:49.183
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