An electronic device and a method of receiving, by the electronic device, a character input from a user are provided. The electronic device includes a touch panel configured to receive a touch input generated by a pointing object and a swipe input of moving the pointing object while touching the touch panel with the pointing object, a processor configured to select one of a plurality of character sets based on a property of the touch input and select one of a plurality of characters included in the selected character set based on a property of the swipe input, and a display configured to display the selected character.