Writing systems

In this page, we are going to learn how to write and read Japanese!!

It seems to be difficult, but it is not too difficult when you understand some rules. 

Japanese alphabets

First, you need to learn the Japanese alphabets. 

There are three different alphabets; Hiragana (ひらがな), katakana (カタカナ) and kanji (漢字). Hiragana (ひらがな) and katakana (カタカナ) have 46 characters each. They are able to show "sound". Kanji (漢字) shows "meaning", and there are many kanji symbols. There are some kanjis that even the Japanese don't know. So, you don't need to learn all kanjis. 

Click on the buttons to learn about the three alphabets↓↓↓

The order of reading/writing

Japanese is written in two ways: left to right, same as English and top-down. The way to turn the pages also changes. Most novels in Japan are written in vertical ways. But the others are written in horizontal ways. 

Here are worksheets to learn hiragana and katakana!!