An intermediate code and electronic device therefore uses a method for character entry that has the steps of entering a first character code into a memory buffer (320, 360, 390), entering an intermediate code into the memory buffer (310, 350, 380), entering a second character code into the memory buffer (332, 378), changing the intermediate code to one or more character codes (333, 336, 365, 375, 393, 396), and using a display engine to display one or more characters represented by the first character code, the one or more character codes, and the second character code. These intermediate codes are useful for reduced keypads where certain characters, such as ligatures, are difficult to access from the keypad.