An apparatus for inputting ideographic characters such as Chinese and Japanese characters, comprising an input pad having at least three rows and three columns of keys, forming a square with four corners and one corner key at each corner. At least two of the corner keys (1, 3, 7, 9) have corner-shaped stroke representions shaped approximately in correspondence with the corresponding corners. This gives a user a useful visual aid. Keys of a left-hand row (1, 4, 7) represent strokes that predominate in left-hand portions of characters and radicals, and keys of a right-hand row (3, 6, 9) represent strokes that predominate in right-hand portions of characters and radicals. A lower-left key (7) represents a stroke having a right hook and a lower-right key (9) represents a stroke having a left hook. These features lend themselves to ergonomic efficiency in character entry.