Understanding Japanese Writing Systems
Japanese uses three writing systems that work together to form written language:
Kana (仮名)
Phonetic syllabaries (hiragana & katakana) representing sounds. This is where every beginner should start.
Kanji (漢字)
Chinese characters representing meanings. These are learned gradually after mastering kana.
Hiragana (ひらがな)
Hiragana is the primary phonetic script used for:
- Native Japanese words
- Grammatical elements
- Reading aids for kanji (furigana)
- Words typically written in kanji but are too complex for the reader's level
Hiragana Chart
Complete hiragana including all variations (dakuten and handakuten)
Basic Hiragana
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ∅ | あ (a) | い (i) | う (u) | え (e) | お (o) |
| k | か (ka) | き (ki) | く (ku) | け (ke) | こ (ko) |
| s | さ (sa) | し (shi) | す (su) | せ (se) | そ (so) |
| t | た (ta) | ち (chi) | つ (tsu) | て (te) | と (to) |
| n | な (na) | に (ni) | ぬ (nu) | ね (ne) | の (no) |
| h | は (ha) | ひ (hi) | ふ (fu) | へ (he) | ほ (ho) |
| m | ま (ma) | み (mi) | む (mu) | め (me) | も (mo) |
| y | や (ya) | — | ゆ (yu) | — | よ (yo) |
| r | ら (ra) | り (ri) | る (ru) | れ (re) | ろ (ro) |
| w | わ (wa) | — | — | — | を (wo) |
| n | ん (n) | ||||
Dakuten Variations (゛)
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g | が (ga) | ぎ (gi) | ぐ (gu) | げ (ge) | ご (go) |
| z | ざ (za) | じ (ji) | ず (zu) | ぜ (ze) | ぞ (zo) |
| d | だ (da) | ぢ (ji) | づ (zu) | で (de) | ど (do) |
| b | ば (ba) | び (bi) | ぶ (bu) | べ (be) | ぼ (bo) |
Handakuten Variations (゜)
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| p | ぱ (pa) | ぴ (pi) | ぷ (pu) | ぺ (pe) | ぽ (po) |
Small Hiragana (Used in Combinations)
| ya | yu | yo | tsu |
|---|---|---|---|
| ゃ | ゅ | ょ | っ |
| Example: きょ (kyo), しゅ (shu), ちゃ (cha), っか (kka) | |||
Katakana (カタカナ)
Katakana is used for:
- Foreign loanwords (コーヒー coffee, パソコン computer)
- Foreign names and places
- Scientific terms
- Emphasis (similar to italics in English)
Basic Katakana
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ∅ | ア (a) | イ (i) | ウ (u) | エ (e) | オ (o) |
| k | カ (ka) | キ (ki) | ク (ku) | ケ (ke) | コ (ko) |
| s | サ (sa) | シ (shi) | ス (su) | セ (se) | ソ (so) |
| t | タ (ta) | チ (chi) | ツ (tsu) | テ (te) | ト (to) |
| n | ナ (na) | ニ (ni) | ヌ (nu) | ネ (ne) | ノ (no) |
| h | ハ (ha) | ヒ (hi) | フ (fu) | ヘ (he) | ホ (ho) |
| m | マ (ma) | ミ (mi) | ム (mu) | メ (me) | モ (mo) |
| y | ヤ (ya) | — | ユ (yu) | — | ヨ (yo) |
| r | ラ (ra) | リ (ri) | ル (ru) | レ (re) | ロ (ro) |
| w | ワ (wa) | — | — | — | ヲ (wo) |
| n | ン (n) | ||||
Dakuten Variations (゛)
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g | ガ (ga) | ギ (gi) | グ (gu) | ゲ (ge) | ゴ (go) |
| z | ザ (za) | ジ (ji) | ズ (zu) | ゼ (ze) | ゾ (zo) |
| d | ダ (da) | ヂ (ji) | ヅ (zu) | デ (de) | ド (do) |
| b | バ (ba) | ビ (bi) | ブ (bu) | ベ (be) | ボ (bo) |
Handakuten Variations (゜)
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| p | パ (pa) | ピ (pi) | プ (pu) | ペ (pe) | ポ (po) |
Small Katakana (Used in Combinations)
| ya | yu | yo | tsu |
|---|---|---|---|
| ャ | ュ | ョ | ッ |
Extended Katakana (For Foreign Words)
| ye | wi | we | wo | va | vi | ve | vo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| イェ | ウィ | ウェ | ウォ | ヴァ | ヴィ | ヴェ | ヴォ |