Add Furigana/Phonetic Guide Button in Excel for Japanese Kanji
In this article, we will explore the concept of Furigana and its significance in Japanese language. We will then walk through the process of creating a custom group with a phonetic guide button, which will allow users to easily input Furigana in Excel, even in the absence of a built-in feature.
What is Furigana?
Furigana, also known as ruby characters, are small phonetic guides typically placed above or to the right of Kanji characters. They help readers, especially those who are not yet fluent in Kanji, to pronounce words correctly. Furigana is essential for children learning to read and write Japanese and is also beneficial for second language learners and anyone working with complex or obscure Kanji.
Why add Furigana input in Excel?
Excel is a popular tool for data entry and management, and it is sometimes used for creating and handling Japanese content. However, Excel does not provide a built-in Furigana input feature. By adding this functionality, users will have a more efficient and accurate way of working with Japanese text, which will be particularly useful for those working with languages and linguistics, education, or localization projects.
Creating a Custom Group with a Furigana Button
To add a Furigana input button in Excel, follow these steps:
Create a new Word document or an existing one, and insert a table. Since we will import the table into Excel, it is recommended to use a single row with two columns. In the first column, add the Kanji characters, and in the second column, input the Furigana. You can use the default font for Furigana or choose from various available options.
Save the Word document as a Web Page (.htm or .html) to preserve the table structure for Excel.
In Excel, create a new sheet or use an existing one. Then, import the saved HTML file by using the following code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<rificpro:activeWorkbook xmlns:rificpro="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel">
<rificpro:xmlData>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head></head>
<body>
<table>
<tr>
<td>...
<td>...
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>
</rificpro:xmlData>
</rificpro:activeWorkbook>
Replace the "..." in the table's cells with the content from the imported HTML file, like so:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<rificpro:activeWorkbook xmlns:rificpro="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel">
<rificpro:xmlData>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head></head>
<body>
<table>
<tr>
<td><font face="MS Gothic">山</font></td>
```php
<font face="MS PGothic">やま</font></td>
```
With the imported table structure in Excel, we can now create a custom group and button for Furigana input:
Select the Developer tab and click on Visual Basic to open the Visual Basic Editor. If the Developer tab is not visible, enable it by going to File > Options > Customize Ribbon.
In the Visual Basic Editor, click on Insert > UserForm to create a new form.
From the toolbox, add a Label and a CommandButton control to the form. Change their properties:
UserForm1.Label1.Font.Name = "MS Gothic"
UserForm1.Label1.Caption = "山"
UserForm1.CommandButton1.Caption = "Add Furigana"
Now, create the macro for user interaction:
Private Sub CommandButton1\_Click()
Dim ws As Worksheet
Set ws = ActiveSheet
ws.Cells(ActiveCell.Row, ActiveCell.Column + 1).Value = UserForm1.Label1.Caption
UserForm1.Hide
End Sub
Lastly, associate the Furigana input button to the macro:
Return to Excel, right-click on the button in the custom group, and click on Assign Macro from the context menu.
Select the macro you created in the previous step, click OK, and test the button.
Summary and References
We've learned how to create a Furigana input button for Excel to support Japanese Kanji by:
- Understanding the significance of Furigana
- Importing a table from an HTML file
- Creating a custom group and button in the Developer tab
- Associating a macro to the Furigana input button