To provide a device that is capable of efficiently carrying out two different methods of character input, without requiring any particular switching from one mode to the other, etc., allowing them to compensate for their respective negative points.

A display device is so arranged as to have an editing area 31 on the upper part of its screen 30, as well as a character-input window 32. The character-input window 32 comprises an output line (section 33), a head character display (section 34), which displays the head characters of the columns of the syllabary, a character choice display (section 35), which shows the choices of characters within a column, and a function button display (36). The device is provided with two different character input means; the first means designates a character by combining one of the column head characters displayed in the head character display (section 34) with a choice from the characters within a column displayed in the character choice display (section 35); the second means designates a character by the number of designating operations on the head character in the head character display (section 34). The device efficiently carries out the input of characters by the use of these methods of character input.