Should you learn hiragana or katakana first?

Traditionally it is recommended that you Learn Hiragana first but with our learning systems you can learn Hiragana and Katakana right away at the same time. Hiragana is used to write native Japanese words or to spell words or part of words that don’t have their own Kanji symbol.

How does hiragana and katakana work together?

Katakana is the other syllabary used in Japanese writing. Together with hiragana, they are collectively called kana. Hiragana and katakana work the same way , where each katakana character has a corresponding syllable. Katakana means “fragmentary” kana, with characters derived from components of more complex kanji symbols.

Are hiragana and katakana interchangeable?

No, hiragana and katakana are not interchangeable. Hiragana is used to write Japanese words , while Katakana is used to write borrowed foreign words in Japanese. But, sometimes you do see Hiragana written words in Katakana because it is to emphasize it’s meaning. Thank you, that clears up my confusion.

How many letters are there in hiragana, katakana?

Each Kana (Hiragana and Katakana) corresponds to a sound. Both Hiragana and Katakana consist of 46 letters each. Hiragana developed from man’yōgana, Chinese characters used for their pronunciations, a practice which started in the 5th century.

Which is used more hiragana or katakana?

Katakana is merely a thousand-year old. That means Hiragana is older than Katakana. This is why there is generous sprinkling of Hiragana characters in Katakana. It is seen that Katakana is used more as a shorthand system.

How to study hiragana?

How to Learn Hiragana Method 1 of 3: Pronouncing the Hiragana. Download a hiragana chart. Method 2 of 3: Writing in Hiragana Script. Try typing in Japanese to more quickly recognize hiragana characters. Method 3 of 3: Reading Japanese. Combine hiragana to form Japanese words you know.

What’s the difference between hiragana, katakana and kanji?

The main differences are that hiragana is used for phonetically spelling out Japanese words , and katakana is for foreign words. Katakana character strokes tend to be more straight while hiragana is more curvilinear. Kanji is not a phonetic syllabary. Instead it is a set of characters that represent whole words.