Japanese Basics

The Three Writing Systems

Unlike English, which uses a single alphabet, Japanese uses three distinct writing systems together: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

1. Hiragana (ひらがな)

Used for native Japanese words and grammar particles. It has rounded, soft shapes.

2. Katakana (カタカナ)

Used for foreign loanwords (like coffee) and emphasis. It has sharp, straight lines.

3. Kanji (漢字)

Logographic characters from China that represent meanings or concepts rather than just sounds.

Real Life Example

Most Japanese sentences combine all three systems to clearly separate words and indicate their grammatical roles.

Component Breakdown

• 私 (Kanji): "I"
• は (Hiragana): Topic particle (marks the subject)
• コーヒー (Katakana): "Coffee" (Loanword)
• を (Hiragana): Object particle (marks what was drunk)
• 飲みました (Kanji + Hiragana): "Drank" (Polite past tense)

The Small 'tsu'

The Sokuon is represented by a small tsu character (っ in Hiragana, ッ in Katakana). It indicates a slight pause or 'double consonant'.

For example, in 'pocket' (ポケット), the small ッ doubles the 'k' sound for emphasis.

Contracted Sounds

Yōon are sounds formed by combining a 'column i' Kana (like ki, shi, chi) with a small ya, yu, or yo (ゃ, ゅ, ょ).

This creates a single syllable. For example, ki (き) + small yo (ょ) becomes kyo (きょ), as in Tokyo.