Learn the Basics of the Japanese Writing System

 

 

 

Each year, the number of business people, world travelers, scholars, and others who have learned Japanese rises. Japan is a globally influential country, effecting the world economy, business, and media.

 

I’ve been learning the language for only two months now, so I’m still a novice, but here I will post the basics that anyone needs to know before they begin learning the beautiful, stimulating language of Japanese.

Is Japanese a very difficult language to learn?

 

The spoken language is no harder than any other language is to learn. In fact, I would say that Japanese is one of the easier languages to master. I personally have some problems with pronouncing foreign words that require the usage of strong accents. Japanese generally has no such words. The language has a very basic pronunciation scheme, and the conjugation system of most verbs is fairly simplistic and, with a reasonable amount of effort and study, certainly learnable.

However, what IS difficult to learn is the writing system. In Japan, they use four different writing systems, and combine all four systems into one complex code. But if you have the determination and ambition, ‘decoding’ the Japanese writing system can be very rewarding.

Hiragana

The first writing system that is taught to young Japanese schoolchildren is hiragana. This system consists of about 46 symbols. Each symbol stands for a different phonetic sound, and all of the words are spelled phonetically. In Japan, they mainly use hiragana in school, manga (similar to comic books), newspapers, magazines, and video games. Hiragana is often put above kanji symbols in newspapers and magazines for those who cannot fluently read kanji. It’s also used to write words that there are no common kanji for. (Kanji will be explained later in this article, and this concept will make more sense.)

Katakana

Katakana, like hiragana, consists of about 46 different symbols and is used to spell out words phonetically. However, it differs from hiragana in the fact that it is used only to spell out words foreign to the Japanese language. Examples of words that would be written in katakana would be foreign names (ex: Hannah, Sarah, Bob) or companies/businesses (Coca-Cola, Abercrombie).

Kanji

 

This is the most difficult writing system that the Japanese have. There are 1,945 standardized symbols that one must memorize before being considered a fluent writer/reader of kanji.

 

Kanji is different from hiragana and katakana because every kanji symbol stands not for a sound, but for a specific object, word, or phrase. For example, the shape of a cross is the kanji for the number 10. Some kanji are very simple to write, but other kanji are more complex.

 

There are basic rules for writing kanji. For every kanji symbol, there is an assigned stroke number. The stroke number is important because it tells the writer how many times he/she should have to pick up their pencil while writing a symbol. Here are some basic kanji-writing rules: 1) Horizontal lines are always drawn before vertical. 2) Horizontal lines are drawn from left to right. 3) Vertical lines are drawn top to bottom.

Romaji

 

Romaji is the English, or Roman-derived alphabet, used to spell out Japanese words. There are different systems of romaji, and I am yet to explore anything in-depth about it. However, romaji is often used in Japan on signs and notices for the sake of helping out foreigners/tourists.

I hope this article provided some basic insight into the Japanese writing system, and that you found it useful. Thanks for reading!

Tips for Beginners

 

If you are trying to learn Japanese on your own, learning it via Internet is a great way of doing so. I would suggest signing up for a daily newsletter that would provide a Japanese word of the day, or Japanese fun fact. On reliable website is

www.talksushi.com

. This website can help in increasing your Japanese vocabulary, give you a better understanding of the writing system, and more. Be sure you sign up for their free newsletter if you want to.