What each script does
A script is a set of written symbols. English uses one script, the Latin alphabet. Japanese uses three side by side, and each has its own job, so the shape of a word tells you something about it before you read it.
| Script | Looks like | Used for | How many |
|---|---|---|---|
| ひらがな hiragana | あ の さ | particles, verb and adjective endings, native words with no common kanji, all text for young children | 46 basic characters |
| カタカナ katakana | ア ノ サ | words borrowed from other languages, foreign names, company names, sound effects, emphasis (like italics) | 46, the same sounds as hiragana |
| 漢字 kanji | 山 語 食 | the meaning part of most nouns, verbs and adjectives; names of people and places | 2,136 on the official everyday list |
| rōmaji Latin letters | JR, SALE | station signs for visitors, abbreviations, typing on a keyboard; not used to write Japanese sentences | 26 letters |
Hiragana: the script for grammar
Hiragana is a syllabary: each character stands for a whole sound unit, not a single letter. か is “ka”, not “k”. Every Japanese word can be written in hiragana, which is why it comes first. These are the five vowels the rest are built on.
Japanese has only five vowel sounds, and they never change. Once you know あいうえお, every other character is a consonant plus one of them: か ka, き ki, く ku, け ke, こ ko. The full hiragana chart covers all 46.
Katakana: the script for borrowed words
Katakana writes exactly the same sounds as hiragana with sharper, straighter shapes. Its main job is loanwords (words taken from another language). Japanese has thousands of them, mostly from English, and a long line in katakana, ー, marks a long vowel.
Because katakana flags a word as foreign, it also works like italics for emphasis, and it is used for animal and plant names in science writing. The katakana guide shows how English words are reshaped to fit Japanese sounds.
Kanji: characters that carry meaning
Kanji came to Japan from China around 1,500 years ago. Each one stands for a meaning, and most have more than one reading (way of being pronounced): a native Japanese one and one based on the old Chinese sound. A few started life as pictures.
Kanji solve a real problem. Japanese has few sounds, so many words sound alike: はし can be 橋 (bridge), 箸 (chopsticks) or 端 (edge). Written in kanji, they are instantly different. Kanji basics explains readings and radicals.
How the three scripts share one sentence
Read these examples slowly and notice the pattern: kanji at the start of words, hiragana after them, katakana wherever a word came from abroad. Japanese does not put spaces between words; the change of script shows you where words begin.
Furigana and romaji: the two reading aids
Furigana
Furigana are small hiragana printed above or beside a kanji to show how to read it. Children’s books, manga for young readers and learner materials use them, and so does every example in this course.
Romaji
Romaji writes Japanese sounds in Latin letters. This course uses the Hepburn system, the one on Japanese passports and station signs, with a line over long vowels: ō is “o” held for two beats. Use romaji to pronounce, not to read: real Japanese text never uses it.
Horizontal and vertical writing
Japanese can run in two directions, and the characters themselves do not change. Horizontal text reads like English. Vertical text reads down each column, with columns ordered from right to left, so a vertical book opens from what English readers think of as the back.
Reading a real sign, script by script
Everyday Japanese mixes all the scripts in one line. Each script does its own job.
Vertical and horizontal writing
Japanese can be written top to bottom (縦書き tategaki), with columns from right to left, or left to right in rows (横書き yokogaki). Novels and newspapers use vertical text; websites, textbooks and science use horizontal. Books written vertically open from what an English reader would call the back.
Furigana and okurigana
Furigana are small kana printed above or beside a kanji to show its reading, used in children’s books and for rare words. Okurigana are the kana written after a kanji to show grammar endings.
Check yourself
Try each one, then open the answer to check and hear it.
- Which script is used for the particle in 駅の?
Show answer
noHiragana: grammar words and endings. - Which script writes loanwords like “coffee”?
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kōhīKatakana. - Read the place name 東京.
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TōkyōKanji, with an on reading. - Which part of 食べます is okurigana?
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tabemasuべます: the kana after the kanji. - How are vertical columns read?
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tategakiTop to bottom, right column first.
How many characters you need
The numbers sound large, but they arrive in a fixed order and you use each one as soon as you learn it.
- 46hiraganaWeeks 1 to 2. Enough to write any word.
- 46katakanaWeeks 3 to 4. Menus, brand names, your own name.
- ~100first kanjiA1. Numbers, days, people, places.
- 2,136jōyō kanjiThe official everyday list (2010), the target for reading newspapers.