{"id":29565,"date":"2018-02-21T16:00:52","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T16:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/?p=29565"},"modified":"2023-05-31T01:11:25","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T01:11:25","slug":"japanese-characters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gogonihon.com\/en\/blog\/japanese-characters\/","title":{"rendered":"All about Japanese characters: hiragana, katakana and kanji"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Japanese writing system consists of two types of characters: the syllabic kana \u2013 hiragana<\/em> (\u5e73\u4eee\u540d) and katakana<\/em> (\u7247\u4eee\u540d) – and kanji<\/em> (\u6f22\u5b57), the adopted Chinese characters. Each have different usages, purposes and characteristics and all are necessary in Japanese writing.<\/p>\n

Most Japanese sentences will have combinations of hiragana and kanji and occasionally, katakana. Hiragana and katakana are unique to the Japanese language and we highly recommend students master these two systems first<\/strong> before beginning their Japanese language studies in Japan.<\/p>\n

Because of the three distinct characters and the varying usage, the Japanese written language is described as one of the most difficult languages<\/strong> to master. Read on to find out all about Japanese characters: hiragana, katakana and kanji.<\/p>\n

You can write Japanese characters in two ways. Firstly, they can be in columns going from top to bottom, right to left (like in Chinese). Or horizontally from left to right, top to bottom (like in English).\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s why you\u2019ll find some books open with the spine of the book to the right, while some open to the left.<\/p>\n

\"English<\/p>\n

Hiragana<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Hiragana, which literally means \u201cordinary\u201d or \u201csimple\u201d kana, is used primarily for native Japanese words and grammatical elements. There are 46 basic characters<\/strong> which all symbolise syllabaries, or 71 including diacritics. Each sound in the Japanese language corresponds to one character in the syllabary. Students will typically learn hiragana first, before learning katakana and kanji.<\/p>\n

Hiragana is also used for furigana<\/em> (\u3075\u308a\u304c\u306a) or yomigana<\/em> (\u8aad\u307f\u4eee\u540d), a reading aid for kanji you will find either next to or above the kanji. It will help you read kanji you may not know yet, which is another reason why it’s important for students to master hiragana first<\/strong>. Children\u2019s books targeted at young children are often written in hiragana.<\/p>\n

On a more technical note, hiragana is used to write:<\/p>\n