Learn Japanese: Guide to Japanese Grammar

Japanese Writing - Do It Right!

Characters

     In tradition, Japanese is written from right to left and top to bottom. But today, it is also written from left to right; similar to English. While studying the Japanese writing system, you may see three different characters. One is similar to the Chinese writing system. 

Kanji: 漢字 (kahn-jee)

Hiragana: ひらがな (hee-rah-gah-nah)

Katakana: カタカナ (kah-tah-kah-nah)

     Hiragana and katakana are also called kana (kah-nah). These three different writing styles are what make up the Japanese language. But, it wasn't always like this. Similar to how language is created, it has to come from someplace. Another culture, city, or group of people had to have come up with languages that have influenced others, right? Well, in the 4-5th century, China did just that. Their language has influenced Japan in the form of kanji. 

Kanji

     Kanji influenced Japan during the 4-5th century. During this time, Japan took the images of kanji and made them into their own images. But they have different definitions than traditional Chinese characters. And kanji is pronounced differently from traditional Chinese pronunciation. When students reach the end of their junior school years, they have already mastered over 2,000 kanji. That is how much kanji there is in a Japanese newspaper. But there are over 5,000 kanji to master. There are two different types of kanji; simple and complex. Simple kanji have only 1 to 3 strokes and are often memorized the fastest. Complex kanji, however, can have even more strokes and are difficult to memorize. 

Example 1: 山・川　/　やま・かわ　Means "mountain" and "river"

Example 2: 日本・人　/　にほん・じん　Means "Japan" and "person"

     The kanji used in example one if combined are used as a surname (last name) in Japanese. In example two, when combining these kanji, you are saying/writing 日本人/にほんじん which means "Japanese (person)".

Hiragana and Katakana

     Hiragana is used for traditional Japanese words and phrases. While katakana is used to pronounce foreign words. For example, スミスさん meaning "Mrs. Smith" or マリアちゃん meaning "Maria (-chan indicating female)". There are 46 different hiragana and katakana characters. Each katakana character closely resembles a hiragana character.