The Japanese Writing System

- Intro -

The Three Scripts

The Japanese writing system is unique because it uses three different scripts, Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji, simultaneously. All three are used together and will often all appear in a single sentence.

Hiragana - ひらがな

Hiragana is a phonetic alphabet, where each character represents a single sound called a mora (like a beat or syllable). Hiragana is used for simple words and grammar. Characters are simple, curved and fluid in appearance.

There are 46 basic Hiragana characters, not counting combinations that can result in a few additional sounds.

あa おo ふfu かka ろro ぐgu をwo Just a few examples

Katakana - カタカナ

Likewise, katakana is also a phonetic alphabet. It has a corresponding symbol for every hiragana symbol. Katakana is used mainly for foreign words, technical terms, onomatopoeia, or even just emphasis. They are more blocky and angular.

There are also 46 basic katakana characters, not counting combinations.

アa オo フfu カka ロro グgu ヲwo The same sounds as above, but in katakana

Kanji - 漢字

Kanji are more complex ideographical characters, adopted from Chinese. Each kanji chracter represents one or more meanings, and can have one or more readings. Most Japanese words are formed by combining one or more Kanji characters together.

There are thousands of Kanji characters, ranging from common to rare, simple to complex. The more kanji you know, the more you can read and write Japanese.

山 Meanings: Mountain Readings: yama, san, sen
休 Meanings: Rest, day off, retire, sleep Readings: yasu, kyuu
清 Meanings: Pure, purify, clense Readings: kyo, sei, shou

A Full Sentence

See how all three scripts can be used in the same sentence:

私watashi がga アメリカamerika にni 行iくku.。 I'm going to America.

The kanji 私 means "I, me, private" (and when by itself is also a word meaning "I") and the kanji 行 means "going, act, conduct".

The hiragana が and に are grammar markers; and く turns the standalone kanji 行 into the verb 行く ("to go").

The katakana アメリカ is the foreign name for the country of America.

Putting it all together you get: "I go to america" or less literally: "I'm going to America"

Summary
Kanji provides substance, emphasizing the main nouns, verbs, and ideas. Sentences would be hard to parse and slow to read without kanji.

Hiragana provides the grammar. The relationships between nouns, verbs, and adjectives are expressed in Hiragana.

Katakana provides emphasis. Just as kanji makes a sentence more readable by making the important words stand out, katakana does the same for words that lack a kanji, like foreign words or new/technical terms. It gives the language more flexibility.
Glossary
Hiraganaひらがな The primary Japanese phonetic script used for grammar and native words.
Katakanaカタカナ A phonetic script used mainly for foreign loanwords and emphasis.
Kanji漢かん字じ Logographic symbols borrowed from Chinese that represent meanings or concepts.
Mora The unit of rhythm in Japanese, similar to a syllable, each kana character represents one mora.
Stroke Order The specific order and direction used to write the lines of a character.
Okurigana送おくりり仮が名な Hiragana attached to a Kanji to complete a word.
Furigana振fuりり仮が名な Small hiragana written above Kanji to show how to pronounce it.
Voiced濁だく点てんdakuten (◌ ﾞ) Two small dots that turn "unvoiced" sounds into "voiced" ones (vibrates the vocal coards) (K > G, H > B, etc).
Semi-Voiced半はん濁だく点てんhandakuten (◌ ﾟ) A small circle used to turn "H" sounds into "P" sounds.
Hard Consonant っ A small "tsu" (っ) used to double the following consonant, creating a brief pause.
Long Vowelsえいee・おうoo・ー Extending a vowel sound an extra beat by adding an additional vowel, or by adding "ー" in Katakana.
Onomatopoeia Words that mimic sounds or describe physical states and feelings, usually written in katakana.
Radicals 部ぶ首しゅbushu The smaller kanji pieces that make up larger kanji. Traditionally used to catalog kanji in dictionaries, but used here as logical pieces in memory aids for learning Kanji meanings and readings.
Kanji Meanings A kanji often has multiple possible meanings, usually related to each other or to its radicals.
Kanji Readings The different ways to pronounce a single Kanji depending on what word it's used in.
Onyomi音おん読よみみ The "Chinese-derived" reading, usually used in multi-Kanji compound words.
Kunyomi訓くん読よみみ The "native Japanese" reading, usually used when a Kanji stands alone as a word, or with okurigana.
Pictographic Kanji Kanji that represent concrete, physical objects, like mountain (山) or tree (木).
Ideographic Kanji Kanji that represent abstract ideas or symbols, like up (上) or center (中).
Phono-Semantic Kanji Characters that combine the above, usually with some parts providing meaning and other parts providing a reading (音おん読よみみ).
Iteration Mark々 A symbol used to repeat the previous Kanji (時々, 人々).
Voicing連れん濁だくrendaku When the first sound of the second kanji reading in a compound becomes voiced to make the word flow better.
Hard Consonant Shift促そく音おん化かsokuonka When the end of one kanji reading in a compound "merges" with the similar sounding start of the next, replacing it with a small っ (hard consonant), to make the word flow better.
Jouyou 常じょう用よう The "Daily Use" kanji list maintained by the Japanese Ministry of Education. It consists of the 2,136 characters officially recommended for use in government documents, media, and general literacy.
Jinmeiyou 人じん名めい用よう A list of an additional 863 characters that are legally allowed to be used in personal names."
Kyouiku 教きょう育いく A subset of 1,026 kanji taught during the six years of Japanese elementary school.
Hyougai 表ひょう外がい Kanji that fall outside the Jouyou and Jinmeiyou lists. Despite this, some of these characters can be quite common in specialized domains, traditional arts, or specific surnames.