Patent ID: 8855424

Claim:
A word recognition method in which as a result of a recognition process performed on an image of a character string, one or more character candidates are obtained for each of characters forming the character string, according to which a word corresponding to the character string is recognized using a word database having registered therein a plurality of words, the word recognition method comprising: setting a predetermined number of words included in the word database, as initial word candidates; performing a process in which the characters forming the recognition target character string are set as processing targets, one character by one character, and every time a processing target character is set, word candidates present at a time of the setting are narrowed down to words in which any of character candidates obtained for the processing target character are arranged at a same location as a location where the processing target character is arranged in the recognition target character string, by excluding words in which character candidates obtained for the processing target character are not arranged at a same location as a location where the processing target character is arranged in the recognition target character string, without generating string candidates by combining the character candidates; and identifying, when a narrowing-down process performed on a last processing target character in the recognition target character string is completed, a word corresponding to the character string from among word candidates extracted at a point in time of the completion of the narrowing-down process.