Understanding Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji

Japanese is written using a combination of three scripts: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Each script has its own purpose and is essential for reading and writing fluently.

• Hiragana is the basic phonetic script and is used for native Japanese words, grammatical particles, and verb endings.
• Katakana is used for foreign words, loanwords, onomatopoeia, and emphasis.
• Kanji are characters borrowed from Chinese and represent whole words or ideas. They can have multiple readings.

How They Work Together

A typical Japanese sentence will use all three scripts. Mastery of these is the foundation for progressing to higher levels of Japanese.

Tips for Learning

• Practice writing each character repeatedly.
• Read simple texts to see how scripts are used in context.
• Use flashcards for Kanji memorization.

Real-World Use

Reading menus, street signs, and manga all require knowledge of the scripts.